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Zeit Time Travel: Responsive Website Design + Branding

Background

Hypothetical Project: Zeit is a subsidiary of Richard Branson’s Virgin empire given standards by the International Concordance on Time Travel to democratize the experience of time travel. The objective is to design their new brand and set up an e-commerce responsive website to sell travel packages and tickets to different times. Total of 289 destinations all over the world from prehistoric times through today.

Challenge

How to present a new sub-industry to users in a way that satisfies the target market's needs in booking travel online?

Solution

From research to UI design, I created branding and a responsive website that was respectful of users needs, attractions, and pain points while also inline with the stakeholders' vision.

Role: UX / UI Designer

Tools: Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, Miro, Google Forms, Maze, Storyboard That, Optimal Workshop

Timeframe: 8 weeks in 2021

Process

Use the Design Thinking Process

Design Thinking Process

Understand

Research Plan

With the goal to learn what makes an enjoyable UX when booking a trip online

Understand

Methodologies

  • Customer Survey / Interviews

  • Market Research

  • Competitive / Comparative Research of competitors

  • Co-Discovery

Research Objectives

To determine how users: research their trip online, prefer to filter through travel options, and what makes them feel safe when booking (in regards to the legitimacy ​of the company and to general travel as well).

Research Debrief: Customer Survey / Interviews

​In the travel industry, users want to browse travel and purchase trips in a straightforward, timely, safe way.

Needs

  • Ability to search based on specific locations, dates, number of people travelling, budget, interests, activities, popular destinations, travel packages, flights only, and best reviews

  • Wanting to see the full price initially

  • Responsive website (users use all types of devices for travel searches)

  • Ability to answers specific questions quickly and easily

  • Ability to browse travel options if no set destination is known

  • Ability to travel solo, with partner/spouse, as group, with family/friends

Frustrations

  • Too many steps to book travel

  • Initial price not reflecting all the added fees and taxes

  • Knowing if the website is legitimate

  • Difficult to filter for specific details about locations when searching

  • Getting results that do not match user’s search (usually because of paid ads)

  • Filling in a form and the information becomes lost

  • Timer for specific travel deal

  • Websites trying to up-sell / ads

Motivations

  • Bright, modern UI

  • Ability to easily see all reviews, photos, location on a map

  • Trusted travel source

  • Price, trip details, covid, specific dates, trip packages, destination’s safety, speed of booking, style of trip, cancellation policy, accessibility

Personas

For the purpose of obtaining primary research data about booking travel online, participants were not told of the time travel aspect initially. From this research data, several personas emerged in regards to traveling the globe using current methods.​ However, since this venture is a new sub-industry of travel, it was noted that the Time Travel personas were missing during the research process.

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Adventure Traveller, Spouse etc of Traveller, Historians, and Regular Travellers were all personas that became apparent from the initial research.


Time Travel Enthusiast and Pre-Disaster Travellers were then identified as personas specific to travelling via time travel.

Empathize and Define

Through user empathy and gathering data, I was able to clearly define the problem areas for the user when booking online travel in order to drive the rest of the product development process. With this information in mind, the focus was then set on the Adventure Traveller persona being seen as the largest target market for Zeit in the travel industry as it stands without Time Travel being a factor. Empathy research, empathy mapping, and storyboarding were developed with this persona as the primary focus. Project goals were then determined as well as a website content/feature roadmap.

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Explore

Explore

Ideate

Based on the findings from the user research and competitive analysis, the following tasks were accomplished:

  • Create logo design, style tile, UI kit

  • Create design pattern ideas and UI requirements for the responsive website

  • Create user flows, task flows, and site map

  • Use card sorting to establish information architecture and website layout

  • Design responsive website wireframes prototype

Prototype

Based on feedback from users and (hypothetical) stakeholders about the branding and website direction, high fidelity mock-ups of the website were created.

Participants: 5-7, all genders, 25-60 yrs, who book travel online

Task: find and book the Eiffel Tower Package

Materialize

Materialize

Method: Usability Testing

Test Objectives:

  • To understand how easily users can complete the check-out process

  • To identify any errors users encounter during the check-out process

  • To observe how easily users find a specific package on the website

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Summary & Recommendations

Insights:

When observing participants during the usability test, it was noted that the main search bar at the top of the website and the package images in the “top packages” carousal were the most used methods of searching. When on the Trip Search page, there were too many options for some users and they found it overwhelming. Users generally enjoyed the UI, colour pallete, and logo.

Top Recommendations:

  • Hero image could be a carousal of popular packages

  • Packages should accurately reflect the search criteria

  • Remove hero image on Trip Search page to avoid confusion

  • Clearer total price and add-on options

  • Top nav bar smaller

An Affinity Map with proposed website changes was created with the RICE score being used to prioritize the revisions.

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Conclusion & Reflection

I was originally drawn to this project because of the depth of thinking that would be required throughout the process. It did not disappoint. Designing for a new sub-industry definitely has its challenges and I quickly saw the benefit of talking through ideas and concepts with other designers, business owners, and potential users. Having the advantage of seeing this project through the lens and angle of others helped me look at it holistically and better develop ideas and strategies throughout to benefit the whole.

Project Takeaways
 

Next steps would be to revisit the Design Thinking Process. Further research should be taken to ensure the assumed time travel personas are accurate. A deeper dive into these personas is recommended to better understand the potential users before further development of the website. Covid will likely continue to impact the travel industry so further research into future market trends should be examined. Multiple future scenarios of the virus' evolution should be examined in order to research their impact on the industry and this new sub-industry of travelling to the past.

Another takeaway was there were many suggestions of changes from users that should not necessarily be implemented. Careful attention should be taken in regards to how the changes will affect project and company goals to ensure the new direction aligns.

KRISTY CLINE

Vancouver Island
British Columbia Canada
kristycline@gmail.com

© 2025 Kristy Cline • Design Portfolio

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