Role
Sole Website Designer - Independent Project
Skills and Tasks
Website UI Design
Visual Design
Design System
Information Architecture
Developer Handoff
Tools
Figma
WordPress
Duration
5 Weeks, Summer 2024
Earth Trekkers, my parents' travel website, needed a redesign to handle their growing content, improve site speed, and increase engagement. As the sole UX designer, I focused on addressing user pain points while aligning the redesign with business goals. My responsibilities included restructuring the information architecture of the site, creating and documenting a design system, and designing main pages to hand-off to developers.
The homepage offered a broad overview of beautiful places to visit, but it was not organized by region or travel style, making it harder to find relevant content. It also did not link out to other parts of the site or explain the type of content Earth Trekkers provides, impacting trust with new users.
The travel itineraries section was a single page containing around 75 itineraries, with no efficient way to browse content by region.
The website featured inconsistent card designs for navigation. Below are examples of the varying card styles used to find more about a destination. One of my primary goals was to develop a consistent style guide to ensure cohesive design.
I mapped out the website's sitemap to identify the content of each page and determine if any information was redundant, inconsistent, or needed further segmentation.
We added more call-to-actions and internal links into the homepage to better guide users through Earth Trekker's content, while the Travel Itineraries page was broken out by continent.
I developed a style guide to enhance consistency and improve accessibility. Previously, some users struggled to read articles due to a fine typeface.
I developed a component library featuring standardized card designs and buttons. This component library streamlined collaboration with developers, who could easily reference styles, spacing, and responsive behavior.
Some pages required more extensive redesigns, allowing me to experiment with new ways of presenting information and adding sections to enhance content discovery. Below are early design iterations that, while not used, played a crucial role in guiding us to the final design.
Most pages of the website received a refresh rather than a full redesign. As shown below, the content remained the same, but key updates were made, including consistent card design and adjustments to text size for improved readability.
Original
Redesign
Original
Redesign
The new homepage features structured sections that guide users through the site, allowing them to explore by continent, find curated inspiration, and discover wild adventures.
I divided the long Itineraries Page into five sub-pages, organized by continent and further broken down by country. This structure guides users to the itinerary they were looking for. If users are unsure of where to go, the Travel Itineraries page highlights recommended itineraries from each continent.
Learning Through Iteration and Collaboration
This project taught me the value of feedback, adaptability, and aligning my creative vision with both user needs and business goals. Early ideas proved impractical, deepening my understanding of design choices and the importance of consistency. It enhanced my skills in creating a design system, component library, and documentation for developer handoff, reinforcing the need for cohesive styles throughout. Seeing the website come to life and satisfying both the business and developers was incredibly rewarding.
