Road Trips

New South Wales regional cities and towns rely heavily on the drive market to support their local communities, economically and socially. Road trips are vital in stimulating dispersal of revenue beyond major regional hubs.

Defining the Problem

To begin the discovery process I utilised primary and secondary research methods including surveys, Google Analytics data and research work performed by Destination NSW agency partner and UX specialists Nightjar.

Through empathising with users and analysing multiple data types I built an understanding that people often couldn’t locate road trip itineraries because they were forced to use the map functionality to see them. This was illogical, confusing and led to a high percentage of people leaving the website in frustration.

Observing Users

I ran a myriad of unmoderated user tests so I could observe people’s road trip user journey first hand, from an initial Google search to our existing road trips experience, then competitive testing to identify and understand pain points and opportunities to delight.

Design Process

Most of the components used in the designs were already in place in the design system, so I jumped straight into designing wireframe prototypes to explore several potential design options and flows.

Chosen Solution

After several iterations and user tests at the wireframe stage I hypothesised that by utilising trip filters to make discovery and selection easier, then integrating the feature-rich utility of maps, the experience would be more engaging, fun and useful.

Results

This mobile-first experience applied consumer insight from user testing, behavioural data and a global competitive review to redesign the road trips experience, the outcome of which has been a measurable increase in important performance metrics.