Andronik K Mamayan
UX | UI Researcher. Designer. Empathetic Listener.
SeattleBallooning.com
A case study on the redesign of a popular hot air balloon company website with the aim of persuading more users to book a flight.
BACKGROUND
The redesign of SeattleBallooning.com started with a conversation with the company's Chief Pilot and Operator.
Seattle Ballooning has been providing Seattle-area residents and visitors a spectacular view of Mt Rainier and the Cascades from 15 launch points around Enumclaw and Auburn. The typical client views this as a luxury experience where they expect a world-class level of service and lasting memories. 1,000's of people have flown with Eliav and his crew since 2013 and are extremely satisfied with their experience (as seen on popular review site, TripAdvisor).
TEAM MEMBERS
myself
Steven W.
Kyle D.
DURATION
3-Week Sprint
TOOLS
Figma, Adobe XD, Google Docs, Trello, Miro, Maze
The Challenge
The aim of this project is one thing: to improve conversions.
Seattle Ballooning receives over 3,000 weekly visitors onto its site during peak season. Our challenge was to explore different ways to organize its web content to help users navigate the website with more ease.
Our client's primary needs are:
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To simplify and streamline the site's user flow
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To increase stickiness & conversion
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To reduce the amount of clicks to get to certain pages
A Solution
We re-designed the current Seattle Ballooning website to provide users with more ease and comfort in getting to the booking page, as we believe first impressions matter.
The website is uniquely positioned to create a feeling of security for those who are nervous about flying. As the tendency is for visitors who like to skim through web content quickly and easily. The decision was made to make the content succinct, digestable, relateable, and above all else, captivating!
RESEARCH + DEFINE
We began with 5 10-minute interviews. Then we moved on to 14-question surveys which were completed by 18 people . The results were remarkable...
A RUNDOWN OF OUR PROCESS
The three phases of our research were: a) interview the owner-operator, b) interview a selection of the target demographic, and c) survey a larger group to confirm or refute any of our assumptions made from our interviews.
Over the course of a week before we started designing the new site, I sat down (virtually, of course) with Eliav, the owner and chief pilot of Seattle Ballooning to get a sense of what he was after. After all, he "hired" us by giving us permission to take on this project. The session laster 45 minutes and covered topics like visitor traffic, the competition, his history with SEO algorithms and so on and so forth.
With a general sense of which direction to go, we then created our interview questions and survey questionnaire. The data is presented below.
Survey Results
The typical user, we thought, was an adventurous 20-30 something looking to impress their partner. But were we wrong! Based on user responses to a survey sent to 15 people, most just wanted to treat themselves. Although almost no one had flown before, most were willing to spend the extra money if it meant they'd get a memorable experience that was on par with what they considered a 'luxury' or 'splurge.' Due to the high ticket price of hot air ballooning, most were comfortable booking the standard hour flight weeks (if not months) in advance. That meant we needed to have a seamless booking process that is--in one user's words--'brain-dead stupid easy.'
Competitor Analysis
An analysis of various competitors including Snohomish Balloon Rides, Over the Rainbow, and Balloon Depot was done. These companies are generally cheaper but they also don't offer the best views or have the best reviews. The goal of standing out and appearing modern was, essentially, accomplished by the previous design team. Our task was to further the mission of impressing upon visitors the company's reputation for safety and premium service. The site currently appeared to be on par with another competitor, Snohomish Balloon Rides, and would do better utilizing a simpler booking process.
Proto-Persona
On one particular flight with Eliav, I met a lovely couple that was--unbeknownst to one of them--celebrating their engagement. Thus, the proto-persona of Ben Newcomb was developed as a preliminary aid in our design. We imagined a young professional in his late-20s, in a serious relationship, lives around the Seattle area and wants to propose to his girlfriend, Julie. The idea of a hot-air balloon ride being novel and charming comes from film and images of festivals with hundreds of colorful and artistic balloons floating in some desert sky. Most have never done it, but some would be willing to try, given the right opportunity.
What should be included?
Most surveyors expected this to be "something romantic." Others were more specific. Saying, "wine and cheese", "alcohol", and "lots of coffee" should be included. Everyone expected their pilot to be knowledgable.
How do you like to plan?
Through Google. Most stated.
However, some specifically mentioned TripAdvisor in addition to the famous search company.
Yet, others have a friend or two from whom they can reliably expect a decent suggestion.
How Old Are You?
About half of respondents were between 31-40. Slightly more than a third were in their 20s and the rest were between 41-50.
The general idea was to target adults who were not yet retired as these were most likely to participate in extreme sports such as this.
When planning a trip like a Hot-Air Balloon Ride which do you prefer...?
To build your own package or select from a menu?
Most (nearly 2/3) wanted to see their options, then choose.
What kind of Planner are You?
When planning a trip. Even one as short as an hour (not including travel to the destination) most survey respondents said they were active planners, as opposed to spontaneous ones.
INTERVIEW & SURVEY RESULTS
To understand the purchase habits around entertainment and high-ticket experiences our participants have. We made some very noteworthy discoveries, plotted in charts below.
We discovered that 12 out 15 would be open to flying, the rest would not.
The typical period between booking and actually taking the flight can be upwards of several weeks, if not a few months.
Planning these types of adventures is a thoughtful and slow process, where cost and value are compared among competing companies, despite the initial impulse of wanting to fly.
AFFINITY DIAGRAM & EMPATHY MAP
Organizing each response from interviews and surveys presented four major themes:
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Expectations when booking experiences
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Making an informed decision
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The individuals fears/concerns/questions
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Expectations about the activity of flying
You have to admit, the idea of sitting in a whicker basket floating 3,000 feet in the air is a scary one! Which is why the website and booking process has to be water-tight in terms of appearing polished.
The curious adventurer needs to feel like every step of the process is effortless because of a need to feel secure.
(User Insight)
IDEATE
Although brief, the importance of the user persona can not be understated. In the end, a group of three guys created a woman to steer our development. Because, of course.
USER PERSONA
Based on survey results and interviews from a majority of women ages 25-38, we created a persona that is both relatable and captivating. Being a millennial, she is not above the influence social media has on people her age and seeks to promote the kind of lifestyle she believes other people would want.
Who is Piper?
First, she is smart and adventurous. In her social media posts, she is seen partaking in relaxing or thrilling activities that are uncommon and creative.
Despite her knack for finding interesting adventures, she is impatient when it comes to dealing with business and procedure. That means if a website takes too long to load, a form asks too many questions of her, or a sales pitch is drawn out and repetitive, she will disengage immediately.
We believe that a beautiful, engaging website coupled with an easy, painless booking process is the simplest way to win Piper over.
JOURNEY MAP
The point of inspiration can come at any time and can be tabled for later or forgotten altogether. Those among us who are digital natives are able to search for anything that pops into one's mind and decide very quickly if they believe it's worth their time in pursuing further.
A quick glance below illustrates the importance of emotional decision making. The nature of a hot air balloon ride is like any other experience, except with Seattle Ballooning we needed to make the time and effort between opening the page on your phone or computer, skimming through the flight options, and booking a specific flight short and seamless.
This journey may span anywhere from minutes to hours. A very short time frame, indeed!
UI DESIGN
The inspiration for the redesign came from famous European luxury travel adventures company, Belmond.
We took cues and went with a refined, simpler style.
Guidelines: A clean sans serif font for both the header and the copy. The impression has to be one of elegance and luxury. We would make strong use of white space and contrast. Users eyes would be drawn to call-to-action buttons. The site would follow atomic design.
The famous European train tour company, Belmond, was the inspiration for the redesign. It captures the feeling of a world-class luxury experience that a hot-air balloon ride like this aims to resemble. Our visitors need to feel impressed with the site, that's the most assured way for them to book that next flight with Seattle Ballooning.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
The status of the existing website's navigation was acceptable. However, user interviews brought up an underlying concern we felt needed to be addressed.
That concern was Safety. Our visitors were excited and anxious when visiting the website. Sometimes their excitement led them to booking a flight, and at times, it was their anxiety that had them think about it and come back. We wanted to have a dedicated page that users could utilize to assuage their worries. We also believed that the current navigation could be condensed to avoid overlap.
The User Flow seems to have the least need for modification. We kept it the same and removed the Balloon Rides page. It was one less step to actually booking a flight.
UI STYLE TILE
The luxury experiences that we we wished to emulate stemmed from the famous rail lines of Europe.
PROTOTYPING
As you will find, we made a break for the mid- and hi- fi version simply due to time constraints and having already a good sense of the direction the website redesign would take.
Mid-Fi PROTOTYPE
This is a mobile-first site. Users are most likely going to use their phones first and perhaps log on to a desktop later after they've given it some thought.
The challenge was to make a mobile and desktop version concurrently. Therefore we chose the web-based program, Figma, where the design for the desktop would be built as soon as the mobile one was ready.
The aim was to have our users book a private flight for 2 on May 20, 2021 in the morning. The ease and speed in doing this simple task was of primary concern. After some testing was performed, about 25% had direct success (meaning they completed the test via the expected path). Yet almost half completed it in an indirect/unexpected path. Almost a third gave up and aborted the mission.
User Testing
Two rounds of testing were performed both in-person and with MAZE.
Generally, Users wanted to select a package option earlier in the checkout process.
Mobile Feedback:
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Increase the padding on the buttons.
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Remove the fixed positions of items that don't need to be.
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Fix the header to the top to avoid excessive scrolling.
Satisfaction rating: 7.4/10
Desktop Feedback
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Some information on checkout is confusing
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All subjects wanted a progress bar throughout checkout
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Some text is small/illegible
Satisfaction rating: 5/10
Hi-Fi PROTOTYPE
We took the feedback and implemented the quick and easy parts that would make the greatest impact. Then we added the style tile motif and fixed any final bugs. The end result speaks for itself.
The red-line diagram is meant to illustrate the importance of following a set design plan. Each part of this page is made with intention to look the part of a luxury flight experience in the most famous city in the Northwest.
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The top nav bar was simplified (as referenced in the IA section) to give users a chance to find--what we believe--are the most important actions.
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We replaced the page titles to better describe where the user was. Each page title was top and center, with clean lines for the font.
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The site's existing images were repurposed to help make each page come to life. The website does a good job of that.
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We decided to accent each body paragraph to help readers read against a peach background. The off-center box creates the brand.
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Buttons were made basic on purpose. To follow the path of least resistance, we decided on a modern, simplified style.
We think this gives the site a more crisp, elegant feel and has a heightened focus on images. The simpler navigation, we believe, will make it so that users who are simply researching or skimming through the site will enjoy less conscious effort in booking a flight.
User Testing (Final)
In the last version of testing through Maze, we were looking for any last opportunities to make the site better.
We learned that Users were confused between "About" and "Experiences" in the navigation. It soon became "About Us".
Mobile Feedback:
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Users prefer a Header that stays fixed on all pages.
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Additional padding padding on some buttons needed.
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"View Availability" button is hard to find.
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83% completion rate.
Satisfaction rating: 9.6/10
Desktop Feedback
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Header text can benefit from bolder text or larger font.
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Calendar filter is hard to find.
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24% completion rate.
Satisfaction rating: 7.4/10
The FINAL Prototype: a visual demonstration
FINAL THOUGHTS
This project showed us the importance of reiterating our design. Feedback from users went a long way and surprised us at times. When expectations and reality clash, poor UX arises and with such an aspirational goal of perfecting an already running website, we had to keep iterating. If we had more time, we would develop the Safety page. This is where we believe the margin of people coming to the website unsure of the whole thing would be convinced this is a safe activity. The fear of heights is likely the leading factor over time and money in these cases. Overall, this was a super fun project and I expect to update this page once the owner is able to apply some of these changes.