Hey Holiday
Hey Holiday aims to be the ultimate travel companion, providing users with detailed information on destinations, activities, and experiences.
project overview.
TYPE: Client based project
ROLE: UX & UI Designer
TEAM SIZE: 3
DURATION: 5 months
Hey Holiday is a dynamic platform that connects travellers with unique, user-hosted activities around the world. My task was to redesign the website, reflecting the client’s vision for a clean, minimalistic, yet vibrant interface. The aim was to streamline the user experience, making it effortless for users to discover exciting destinations, explore activities, and make bookings with ease. The redesign focused on enhancing usability while maintaining the platform’s bright and engaging character, bringing the joy of travel to life.
The Problem.
Travellers often face challenges when planning holiday activities, having to use multiple platforms to find, book, and coordinate details with local hosts. At the same time, activity hosts struggle to showcase and customize their listings, limiting their visibility and ability to attract travelers. While the original Hey Holiday website sought to centralize these tasks, it suffered from a disjointed user experience and lack of visual appeal, making navigation difficult for both travellers and hosts. The absence of clear branding further weakened the platform’s ability to compete with other travel services.
The Solution.
Hey Holiday addresses these challenges by creating a unified platform where users can seamlessly explore destinations, find activities and events, and book them directly. Travelers can communicate with hosts to arrange every detail, simplifying the planning process. For hosts, the platform offers greater visibility and allows them to easily create and customize their listings to stand out. The redesign introduced a clear and cohesive visual identity, modernizing the look while keeping it bright and engaging. By enhancing user interactions and simplifying the experience, the platform now caters effectively to both travellers and activity hosts.
Research.
My research phase involved:
Competitive Analysis: I examined leading travel websites to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for innovation. This helped highlight best practices and areas where Hey Holiday could differentiate itself.
Market Trends: I stayed updated on the latest trends in travel and web design, ensuring that the solution would be modern and relevant. This included exploring advancements in user experience design and emerging technologies that could enhance the platform.
Stakeholder Engagement: I collaborated with key stakeholders to brainstorm ideas and gathered valuable insights through discussions. This collaboration allowed us to identify pain points and opportunities directly from those involved in the platform's success.
A/B Testing: To validate our ideas, I conducted A/B testing on various design concepts and user flows. This approach provided quantitative data to determine which features resonated best with users, enabling us to refine our design strategy.
Website Structure Analysis: I thoroughly researched and analysed the existing website’s structure and architecture. By mapping out user flows and identifying areas for improvement, I ensured that the redesigned platform would provide a seamless experience before enhancing its visual appeal.
Personas.
To enhance the design process and ensure a user-centered approach, I created two personas representing the primary users of the Hey Holiday platform: the adventurous traveller and the local activity host.
Branding & Design system.
The branding for Hey Holiday is designed to evoke a sense of adventure and exploration, providing an engaging experience for both travellers and local hosts. Featuring a vibrant colour palette of warm yellows, refreshing greens, and ocean blues, the design reflects the joy of discovering new activities. For typography, we chose a clean, sans-serif font to ensure both readability and approachability, promoting a friendly atmosphere that makes the platform accessible to all users.
The design system includes a comprehensive library of UI components, such as buttons, cards, and input fields, guaranteeing a consistent and user-friendly interface. The selected iconography complements the brand's aesthetic, offering clear visual cues that enhance navigation. With detailed guidelines and documentation in place, this design system not only facilitates a cohesive user experience but also supports future scalability and enhancements.
Final UI Design.
The final redesign of Hey Holiday caters to both desktop and mobile users, prioritising a seamless experience for exploring and booking activities. Travellers can effortlessly search for cities and discover unique local experiences, from exciting kayaking adventures to delightful food tastings, each showcased with engaging visuals. The streamlined booking process makes securing reservations quick and enjoyable.
Explore desktop version.
The desktop layout is designed to complement the on-the-go experience, enhancing the planning process with larger visuals and streamlined navigation. It makes it easy for hosts to create and manage listings while providing travellers with a comfortable platform to review and finalise bookings.
Dark mode.
Additionally, I developed a dark mode version of the Hey Holiday platform, catering to users who prefer a more subdued aesthetic or who may be browsing in low-light environments. This option not only enhances accessibility but also aligns with modern design trends, ensuring a comfortable viewing experience regardless of the time of day.
Conclusion.
The Hey Holiday redesign successfully connects travellers with local hosts by creating a vibrant and user-friendly platform for discovering and booking activities. One big lesson I picked up along the way is just how valuable iterative design can be. By consistently gathering feedback and tweaking the user experience, I was able to craft a platform that feels both effective and enjoyable. It was a fun challenge to take a website that needed a complete makeover and turn chaos into clarity—it felt like solving a puzzle! This experience reminded me of how much of a difference good design can make for a product.