Refining a travel brand that sparks nostalgia, curiosity, and excitement for adventure
Pilot is a social trip planner that lets travellers discover, plan and share trips with friends in one place. My role was to refine the brand identity and website.
I worked with the founder to speak with users and analyze user testing feedback. These insights impacted our design decisions for shifting the brand and website. This project strengthened Pilot’s visual identity through storytelling and influenced the design of the app interface and blog.
ROLE
Brand & Web Designer
RESULTS
33% increase to Pilot's website traffic
37% increase to search engine views
Achieved closer product-market-fit from user testing data and insights
TEAM
Connor Wilson, Yu-Wei Hung, Deanna Choi, Erin Bailey
PHOTOS TELL STORIES
People resonate and connect with photos. Users were drawn to diverse photos of landscapes, food, culture, and groups of friends. Photos win over illustrations because they tell stories, sparking feelings of nostalgia and excitement for travel.
Some feedback from the user tests were: “I feel like I could be friends with them” and “It makes me want to be there!”. Photos became a core aspect of the visual brand, and I developed guideline for selecting photos.
TAKEAWAY
User research helped me learn directly from users, gathering qualitative data that shaped our design decisions. This project strengthened Pilot's identity in the travel industry and deepened my skills in facilitating user tests.