Nomadic
TYPE
Ecommerce Responsive Web
OBJECTIVE
New responsive site, logo & brand
TIME
80 Hours
VIEW PROTOTYPE
Nomadic Travel is a travel site for Digital Nomads.
“Digital Nomads” are people who are location independent and use technology to perform their job. Many digital nomads are able to work as they slowly travel. In addition to finding flights and accommodation, DNs also are in search of “Nomad friendly” destinations and places where they can work.
The main goals of my research was to figure out:
What are digital nomads looking for in an “all in one” booking site for flights, coworking, coliving?
How do DNs navigate the site (ex. navigation, search, filters, managing bookings etc.)?
What are some of the pain points that Digital Nomads have when they are booking their next destination?
I sent a digital survey to 13 Responders who are all digital nomads or aspiring digital nomads.
Responders spend 4-6 hours researching and booking their next destination and they visit 6-10 destinations each year for 1-2 months at a time. They use a lot of different sites to research: Nomadlist, facebook groups, reddit, google, articles.
They use a lot of resources to book: Airbnb, Skyscanner, kayak, booking.com, Agoda, google flights etc.
Clear pricing and strong wifi were the top priorities for booking travel.
I started by exploring other websites that digital nomads use to book their travel. I wanted to get a better understanding of each competitor’s features as well as strengths & weaknesses.
As I learned from my survey results, many digital nomads use facebook and reddit to talk to other DNs about what destination to go or what resources to use.
I gathered feedback from 2 Facebook postings and 1 reddit post that I posted asking for feedback on how users book travel, pain points while booking travel, and resources they wish they had while booking travel.
After reaching out to users who provided feedback via social media, I contacted them individually and conducted 3 over the phone interviews with a digital nomad in Malaysia, a part-time digital nomad in the UK, and a previous digital nomad living in LA.
Here were my overall findings from my research:
Needs:
Options to search & book by Location, Flights, Co-living, and Co-working options: DNs use multiple sites and hours booking their next destination, using one or two sites for research and then various others to book. Need to create a platform that included the ability to search and book in one to streamline process.
Explore Option/Travel by Price: Clear pricing is the top feature they would like in a booking site. Skyscanner “Explore” option was mentioned by nomads as a helpful resource.
Clear Destination Information :Laws, Sim Card Packages & Carriers, List of Cafes/Co-working, List of Accommodations
Opportunities for Improvement:
Wi-Fi Tracker Indicator for all Destinations: Through surveys, interviews, and social media posts, there was a lot of concern about strong wi-fi in coworking/hotels/airbnbs.
There should be a wi-fi indicator as well as a wi-fi test for all co-living/co-working destinations.
I found through my research that being a new digital nomad can be overwhelming because there is a lot of information out there but it is not very streamlined in one place and can be overwhelming.
My persona Kara is a new digital nomad who may need more hand holding through the process.
Find (Search Function) HIGHEST IMPORTANCE
Book Flights (the user knows exactly where they want to go)
Tab: Explore Destinations (user is still in research mode but may want to save location for later)
Tab: Coliving Finder (user has booked flights already but needs a place to stay)
Tab: Coworking Finder (user has booked flights already but needs a place to work)
Locations Pages HIGH IMPORTANCE
Information on Laws, Areas to stay, SIM card information, Apartments with prices, wi-fi strength & reviews, List of Cafes with prices, wi-fi strength & reviews
In the user flow, I explored 3 different flows to explore destinations, book flights, accommodation and coworking.
For my prototype, I wanted to create a “master” flow that would allow users to book all of these in order.
Please click on image to view more.
After sketching on paper, I started creating my wireframes in sketch.
The Nomadic travel brand is adventurous, community based, safe, harmonious, and budget friendly.
For the logo I wanted to incorporate natural elements like a leaf as well as incorporating travel elements in a modern and clean design
Using the updated branding and style kit, I created the high-fidelity wireframes in Sketch.
I created a high fidelity Prototype with 28 screens with one user flow to explore destinations, book flights, book accommodation, and book coworking space.
II conducted usability testing with 5 people between ages 25 and 37 on March 21st and 22nd.
The Test objective was to Identify the user flow pain points for users when booking their travel experience on the site.
Overall Booking Process: 5 out of 5 users successfully booked their flight, living, coworking
Homepage tabs: 3 out of 5 people understood all tabs, with a few users not understanding routes & destinations
Icons: There was some confusion on what each icon meant but users who read the steps on the homepage and understood the top right icons were able to connect the dots on what each icon meant.
Priority Revisions
Opportunity to add banner on top to remind users of steps and where they are in the process. I think this would also mitigate confusion on what icons mean in the process
Make slight adjustments to UI and more details that users come to expect when booking travel online
Build out additional pages and mobile screens
After priority revisions are made, I would like to build out the community page and the DN Hub page so that new digital nomads can have more resources to connect with others and find more information about the lifestyle.
Since this is a responsive side, I would also explore the designs for the mobile version of the site.
