Strategic Tactical Journey
Embracing newcomers and welcoming returning explorers
Project Overview
This project aimed to educate users, new and old, about the value of a Viking cruise, while also showcasing the current offerings. For many users, understanding the full cruise experience can be a challenge. This struggle can become even more pronounced for those who are new to a particular brand or have never cruised before, resulting in lower conversion rates. More and more of users are becoming mobile users, so this had to work on all breakpoints.
My Contribution
As the main designer on this project, I had the responsibility of ensuring that the final product was designed to meet all project requirements. I was focused on creating a user-centered design that provided an intuitive and seamless experience to our users. My contribution to the project included conducting user research, creating wireframes, creating final UI designs, and building prototypes.
Problem
The current design appears outdated and lacks user appeal, potentially eroding trust. Moreover, the absence of informative content hampers the user's understanding of the Viking cruise experience.
To address these issues, I recommend incorporating genuine customer testimonials for authenticity and showcasing the comprehensive value of Viking's offerings. A visual update can make the page more inviting and user-friendly, aligning with our user-centered design approach.
This holistic strategy aims to establish trust, resonate with users, and drive conversions. By blending content enhancement with visual refinement, we can provide a more engaging user experience and ultimately boost conversion rates.
Goal
Create added value of the offer and the Viking experience
Optimize the urgency of the offer details
Increase booking conversions (emphasis on new-to-brand)
Reduce bounce rate
Solution
Testimonials from satisfied customers: By putting testimonials from satisfied customers, users can understand the unique value that Viking offers. Testimonials also humanize the experience.
Inclusive Value: Highlighting the Viking inclusive value, which includes no extra fees or hidden charges. It's an important aspect that potential users might expect from a brand that has been around for over 25 years.
User-Friendly Design: Ensure that the design of the page is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and aligns with Viking's brand identity. Updating the images, fonts, and layout of the site can make a significant difference in attracting users.
Educational Content: Provide clients with insights into the Viking cruise experience, itineraries, and other relevant information that can help them make informed decisions.
Process
1 — Kick Off with a Product Manager
Introduction and Purpose: Both myself and product manager briefly explain our roles in the project. We establish the goal of the kick off call, which is usually to align on the project requirements, objectives, and expectations.
Project Overview: The product manager provides an overview of the project, including its purpose, target audience, market positioning, and strategic goals. This aids me in understanding the context within which I will be working.
User Research and Insights: The product manager shares any relevant user research findings, user personas, or customer insights that have been gathered. This helps me to gain insights into the user needs, motivations, pain points, and goals.
Scope and Deliverables: The product manager and UX designer discuss the project's scope, including specific features, functionalities, and design deliverables that need to be prioritized. This ensures alignment on what needs to be achieved within the given project constraints.
Timeline and Milestones: The product manager discusses the project timeline and important milestones, such as key design iterations, user testing sessions, and development sprints. This helps establish a shared understanding of project phases and key deadlines.
We also discuss any technical constraints, how big the dev team is that will be working on the project, and what KPIs we are trying to hit.
2 — Research
Carefully analyze the information provided, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the project requirements.
Identify and analyze the target user group(s) for the specific assignment.
Consider factors such as demographics, preferences, needs, and behavior patterns to inform design decisions.
Competitive and Comparative Research: Conduct an in-depth study of existing similar special offers experiences.
Analyze the market and identify key competitors to assess their strengths, weaknesses, and strategies.
Evaluate the success and shortcomings of comparable experiences, determining how our product can differentiate itself.
Review any previous user interviews conducted as part of the research process.
Analyze the insights gained from these interviews, considering user feedback, pain points, and desires.
Utilize this information to inform the design process and improve the overall user experience.
Below you will find a sample of images of my research
Existing Design
Desktop
Mobile
Inspiration
Royal Caribbean
Virgin Voyages
Celebrity Cruises
3 — Sitemap
I required a comprehensive understanding of the landing page's functionality, including the destination of the CTAs and the specific content that would be present on this page. Although there were slight deviations from the sitemap in the final design, it served as an incredible north star.
4. Low-Fidelity Mocks
This is the moment when everything starts to click, and we can really envision how the product will come together. It's honestly one of the best parts of the whole process because not only does it help me and the team understand the project better, but it also gives our stakeholders a clearer picture of what we're aiming for. Other than watching users interact with a prototype or a finished product, nothing is more helpful than finally getting to see a visual representation of the project.
During the low-fidelity mock phase, we were able to iron out some design decisions. We removed some sections, added new ones, and simplified others. An example of this would be the Discover Our Ships section. This area took up too much room and was better left to being on its own separate page. We instead added a highlight about the Viking ships in a different section.
5. High-Fidelity Mocks
After tinkering with the UX of the landing page, it finally came time to make the high-fidelity version. I used our branding and implemented our design system to create these mocks.
Desktop
Tablet
7. Testing
After spending all this time and effort on this experience, we have reached the mark of getting users’ eyes on this. I set up a test on Usertesting.com to gather any information that can help us iterate this design before launching. If we can take care of any obstacles now, we won’t have to backtrack on development time.
Once I gathered all the research from the user test I changed the design where need be. For instance, the Itinerary Cards had a carousel arrow to the right to view more cruises, but users were missing this UI. So I chose to add a “Show More” CTA button instead.
6. Yay we’re done! Launch!
…never that simple huh?
Mobile
Conclusion
With this new version of the Strategic Tactical Journey Page, users are now getting a full experience. Rather than seeing an outdated website with no context, users instead get educated on the Viking brand, see what the current deal is, and are given a quick view of all itineraries that are available.
Data Points:
85% of users said they prefer this type of landing page with more content
85% of users said the Special Offer on this page was more clear than the original version
95% of users said they are interested in learning more about Viking by clicking on the CTA buttons
Out of 20 people, 15 said they found the extra information informative rather than distracting
95% of users enjoyed the new version more than the original version