aHa!

Tools:

Figma | Illustrator

Roles:

UX Researcher | UI Designer | Creative Director

— Empathize —

Problem

In the world of airline alliances, major players like Star Alliance face challenges with their current apps, including issues such as uninspiring design, limited user interaction, and a lack of distinctive features. This impacts user experience, hindering brand loyalty. The aHa! app aims to solve these problems, providing a fresh approach to enhance the airport experience for frequent travelers within the Star Alliance network.

Competitive Analysis

Prior to commencing my design, I analyzed three primary travel-related apps within the Star Alliance network – Star Alliance, Sky Team, and One World. These applications reveal multiple UI deficiencies that hinder their usability for users. Despite adopting a simplistic design approach, the absence of engaging icons detracts from the visual appeal and fails to capture user interest effectively. Another significant drawback lies in the insufficient interaction capabilities between users and the apps, presenting a missed opportunity for fostering engagement and delivering personalized experiences. Additionally, a lack of distinct features among the individual apps contributes to potential user confusion. These identified UI shortcomings underscore the necessity for improvements in visual engagement, user interaction, and differentiation within the evaluated airline alliance applications.

User Interviews

revealing a common theme among travelers during layovers. The findings indicated that travelers often feel unproductive and restricted in airports, resorting to repetitive activities such as work, reading, sleeping, or eating to pass the time until their next flight. These interviews provided crucial understanding into the challenges faced by travelers during layovers, informing the development of solutions aimed at enhancing their airport experience.

Solution

Develop an augmented reality (AR) experience that simulates real-world scenarios, enabling users to interact with location-specific sites within their airport surroundings. This solution aims to not only enhance the airport experience by building brand loyalty but also effectively utilize and enrich downtime during layovers.

Mind Mapping

The pre-persona mind map centers around users' actions and needs within the airport environment. It identifies common user behaviors, including searching for information, carrying specific items, and engaging in various activities. The analysis of existing airline alliance apps highlights UI faults impacting user engagement. The design strategy for aHa! is formulated to address these issues, emphasizing simplicity, engaging icons, and meaningful interactions. Within this context, the mind map provides a broad understanding of users' typical actions in airports, helping to inform the development of the app.

Empathy Map

I utilized both personas of: Sarah, a 35-year-old Marketing Executive and frequent business traveler, and Alex, a 28-year-old Graphic Designer who loves exploring to help me understand what they might see, hear, say, do, think, and feel at the airport. This gave me a solid foundation to design an AR app that suits the needs of both business and leisure travelers, making their time at the airport more enjoyable and meeting Star Alliance's goals.

— Define —

User Personas

In the development of the Aha! AR Experience, two distinct user personas were crafted to address the diverse needs of frequent business travelers and leisure explorers. Sarah Chang, a 35-year-old Marketing Executive from New York, personifies the challenges faced by business travelers, emphasizing the importance of efficiency, timely information, and productivity during layovers. The Aha! AR Experience enhances Sarah's journey with real-time updates, efficient wayfinding, and loyalty rewards, fostering a stronger connection to Star Alliance. Conversely, Alex Rodriguez, a 28-year-old Graphic Designer based in Los Angeles, embodies the desires of leisure travelers seeking adventure and meaningful experiences. For Alex, the app offers personalized recommendations, interactive exploration, and efficient navigation, resulting in enriched experiences, memorable moments, and a deepened bond with Star Alliance. Together, these personas demonstrate the app's versatility in catering to a broad range of users and fulfilling Star Alliance's objectives of improving brand loyalty and communication during layovers.

User Journey

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User Story / Use Case Scenario

In the case study, Alex, a 28-year-old Graphic Designer and leisure traveler, utilizes the aHa! app during a layover to transform his wait into an adventurous exploration. Leveraging personalized recommendations and augmented reality features, Alex seamlessly navigates through unique airport attractions, capturing memorable moments along the way. The aHa! app not only satisfies Alex's desire for adventure but also enhances his overall travel experience, making each layover a memorable journey and reinforcing his connection with Star Alliance.

— Ideate —

Wire Frames

Figma assisted in the development of my mid-fi user-friendly aHa! app designed to enhance the airport experience for both frequent business travelers and leisure explorers within the Star Alliance network. The app's wireframes showcase a straightforward navigation system with three main buttons leading users to the augmented reality experience, home screen, and boarding passes. The home screen is thoughtfully organized, featuring categories such as necessities and luxuries, encompassing essential information from restroom locations to lounge details. The simplicity of the UI is intentional, aiming to provide users with an intuitive and easy-to-use platform for navigating airports seamlessly.