Alaska Airlines
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Alaska Airlines enlisted me as a Product Designer/Information Architect, usually in the role of Lead Designer across a wide range of projects. Team sizes varied for each project, and I consistently enjoyed the valuable collaboration with a dedicated UX Researcher. This partnership extended to User Testing, A/B Tests, and Iterative Usability Audits, quantifiably enhancing the effectiveness of nearly every assignment.
Sketch
1. Article Content Merchandising
In my role as an Information Architect on this project, I delved into the realm of Article Content Merchandising i.e. selling flights and ancillary purchases through content. Reviewing data from experiments revealed a crucial insight: extended guest engagement with content correlated positively with flight bookings and ancillary purchases. Collaborating closely with the Product Owner, we worked to strategically refine the structure, presentation and browsability of content.
Team:
Myself and Product Owner
My Tasks:
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Approach:
Collaborating closely with the Product Owner, I spearheaded feature mapping and crafted the overarching information architecture, meticulously addressing all business requirements. The adopted IA follows a conventional hub/category-list/detail page pattern. The visual diagram below illustrates the guest's navigation flow between articles, accompanied by a detailed landing page outlining desired features, components, and CTAs. These designs are optimized to encourage seamless browsing and/or purchasing, tailored to the nature of the content.
Article Merchandising IA and IxD wires
Collaborating closely with the Product Owner, I spearheaded feature mapping and crafted the overarching information architecture, meticulously addressing all business requirements. The adopted IA follows a conventional hub/category-list/detail page pattern. The visual diagram below illustrates the guest's navigation flow between articles, accompanied by a detailed landing page outlining desired features, components, and CTAs. These designs are optimized to encourage seamless browsing and/or purchasing, tailored to the nature of the content.
2. Redesigning the “Saver” Deals Page
Background:
Alaska was gearing up for the introduction of a new fare type called "Saver flights," and it required seamless integration into the current "Deals" page. Testing revealed the necessity for guest education about this novel fare type and its distinctions from existing fare options.
Team:
Me (Lead Designer), Design Manager, Product Owner, Product Manager, Dev Team, 2 UI Designers, UX Researcher
Objective:
Redesign the "Deals" page and provide guest education on the new "Saver" fare type.
Approach:
Feature Journey and Affinity Mapping
New Saver design
Some of the prototype controls for testing
Comparison Table
On-load new product messaging
3. Revenue mapping
Background:
The Savers Page constitutes just one step in a guest's journey to book a flight. Other integral steps in this journey, although interdependent, fall under the purview of different teams with distinct timelines, deliverables, and success metrics. Knowledge about the varied flight booking paths and the specific ownership of each section within different journeys was confined and not universally known. The introduction of Saver fares as a new company-wide approach led to logistical challenges stemming from the segmented knowledge around flight revenue paths.
Team:
Me (Information Architect)
Objective:
[Self-initiated project] I assumed the responsibility of mapping the varied revenue paths accessible to guests for booking flights. The objective was to assist designers and product owners in recognizing ownership and interdependencies within the process.
Approach:
I conducted interviews with individuals from multiple teams across the company, including product owners, product managers, developers, and designers. Subsequently, I began identifying and mapping the diverse routes that guests can take to book a flight. Additionally, I designed a set of reusable icons to symbolize different processes and steps in the journey.
Early flight revenue mapping
Results
The mappings serve as a tool for team members to recognize interdependencies among teams and intricate user journeys.
Flight revenue journeys
4. Contact Us page
Background:
Alaska was getting ready to incorporate new communication channels, including text and live chat, for guests to connect with the company. Despite the presence of analytics and heat mapping data on the existing page, its extensive length and overall lack of accessibility posed difficulties in effectively interpreting the data.
Team:
Me (Principal Designer), Design Manager, Product Owner, Product Manager, Dev Team, 2 jr. UI Designers, UX Researcher
Objective:
Make the page more accessible to facilitate the implementation of new and more insightful analytic tests.
Approach:
Heat maps indicated a lack of guest engagement with the lower portion of the page, resulting in reduced awareness of the diverse contact options available. To address this, I developed wireframes that introduced a secondary navigation, ensuring the various contact channels became immediately visible to guests.
Heat Maps
New Contact us wires
Results:
The revised designs facilitated the implementation of new analytics and heat-mapping tests. Alaska could now scrutinize the findings and make informed, data-driven decisions for future iterations of the page.
FAQ
Existing Alaska mobile nav pattern and alternate version for AB testing
Final Contact us page ready for real world analytics
