Mobile App  ·  Travel

TripBits

Seamless Air Travel —
Redefining the Art
of Booking

A ground-up redesign of the flight booking experience — turning anxious, cluttered transactions into seamless, joyful departures from the very first tap.

Role UI/UX Designer
Timeline January 2025
Category Mobile App / Travel
Platform iOS & Android
View on Behance Read Case Study
✈️ Trip Planned
NYC → Paris
7 days 14 stops
Itinerary AI Built
Day 3 of 7
TripBits app
0% Booking Completion
0 Streamlined Checkout
0% User Satisfaction
0 Return Booking Rate

01 — Problem Space

Booking Felt Like
Work, Not Wonder

The Core Tension

Flight booking apps were transactional, not experiential. Users felt anxiety, not excitement. Cluttered search results, hidden fees revealed only at checkout, and cryptic date pickers made every booking feel like solving a puzzle — not the beginning of an adventure.

The emotional gap between "I want to travel" and "I've booked my flight" was enormous. Every app in the market optimized for data density over delight.

0%
of users abandoned flight booking at the payment step
INSIGHT 01

"Checkout Anxiety"

67% of users abandoned flight booking at the payment step due to surprise fee revelations and confusing pricing structures that appeared only at the very last moment.

INSIGHT 02

"Search Overwhelm"

Traditional search results showed 50+ options with no intelligent prioritization. Decision paralysis was rampant — users spent more time comparing than they did dreaming about their destination.

INSIGHT 03

"Emotional Disconnect"

Apps showed data, not destinations. There was no emotional hook to inspire the booking journey — only rows of times, codes, and price tags with zero sense of wanderlust or anticipation.

02 — User Research

User Persona & Goals

Understanding who we design for — their motivations, goals, and pain points.

👤
Priya Sharma
Frequent Business Traveller, 28
Goals
  • Book flights in under 2 minutes
  • Track loyalty points across airlines
  • Avoid hidden fees at checkout
Pain Points
  • Surprise fees revealed only at payment
  • Cluttered search results with no smart ranking
🧑
Rahul Mehta
Weekend Explorer, 34
Goals
  • Find the best deals on flights
  • Discover new destinations with ease
  • Rebook cancelled trips without friction
Pain Points
  • Overwhelming number of options with no guidance
  • No price transparency until checkout
👩
Anita Patel
Family Vacation Planner, 42
Goals
  • Book flights for the entire family in one session
  • Filter for family-friendly flight options
  • Select seats together during booking
Pain Points
  • Complex multi-passenger booking flows
  • No family bundle or group discount options

03 — Business Challenges

Core Challenges

The systemic problems preventing users from completing bookings with confidence.

💸

Checkout Anxiety

67% of users abandon at the payment step when unexpected fees appear. Trust is broken at the most critical moment in the funnel.

🔍

Search Overwhelm

50+ unfiltered results with no intelligent ranking create decision paralysis. Users spend more time comparing than dreaming about travel.

💔

Emotional Disconnect

Apps show data, not destinations. There is no emotional hook to inspire the booking journey — only rows of times, codes, and price tags.

⭐

No Loyalty Integration

Loyalty points and rewards are invisible during search and checkout, removing a key motivator for repeat bookings and brand stickiness.

04 — Secondary Research

Market Insights

Booking Abandonment
67%
Payment Step Drop-off
Industry data shows 67% of users abandon flight bookings at the payment step, driven primarily by surprise fees and complex checkout flows.
Search Behaviour
3.2×
Average Searches Before Booking
Users perform an average of 3.2 searches across sessions before committing to a flight, indicating high decision friction and lack of confidence.
User Preference
89%
Prefer Transparent Upfront Pricing
89% of surveyed travellers say all-inclusive upfront pricing is the single most important factor in choosing a booking platform over competitors.

05 — User Stories

What Users Need

As a... I want to... So that... Priority
Frequent Traveller See all-inclusive prices from the first search result I never face surprise fees at checkout High
Business User Complete a booking in under 2 minutes I can book between meetings without losing focus High
Weekend Explorer Discover trending destinations with inspirational visuals I feel excited about travel before even searching for flights Medium
Family Planner Add multiple passengers and select seats together in one flow My whole family is booked with the right seats without multiple sessions High
Loyalty Member See how many points I earn before completing my booking Loyalty rewards feel like a real, tangible benefit — not an afterthought Medium

06 — Competitor Analysis

Market Landscape

Feature MakeMyTrip Cleartrip Ixigo TripBits
Price Transparency ~ ~ ✕ ✓
Smart Search & Ranking ~ ✓ ~ ✓
Loyalty Integration ✓ ✕ ✕ ✓
Family Booking Flow ~ ✕ ✕ ✓
Emotional / Destination UX ✕ ✕ ✕ ✓
Price Alerts ✓ ~ ✓ ✓

07 — User Flow

The Journey

01
Discover
Browse destination-first inspirational visuals and trending travel picks
02
Search Flights
Use smart search with flexible date intelligence and upfront pricing
03
Filter & Compare
Intelligent filters surface the best options — ranked by value, not just price
04
Select Seat
Interactive seat map with real-time availability and family grouping
05
Review & Pay
All-inclusive price summary with zero hidden fees before final confirmation
06
Confirmation
Celebratory booking confirmation with TripBits loyalty points earned

08 — Toolkits

Tools & Workflow

The tools and methods used throughout the design process.

🎨
Figma
UI Design & Prototyping
🖌️
Canva
Visual Assets & Presentation
✏️
Adobe Illustrator
Icon Design & Illustration
📱
Behance Mobile
Portfolio Publishing & Sharing

02 — Process

From Insight
to Interface

150 user interviews, emotional journey maps, and relentless iteration — every decision traced back to a real human moment.

01

User Research

150 in-depth interviews across frequent and occasional travellers. Identified anxiety triggers, delight moments, and emotional peaks in the existing booking journey.

02

Emotional Journey Mapping

Plotted emotional valence across the entire booking funnel. Found the exact moments where excitement turned to frustration — the fee reveal, the date picker, the seat map.

03

Booking Flow Redesign

Collapsed the 12-step legacy flow into 3 milestone-based steps. Transparent pricing from step one eliminated the dreaded checkout surprise.

04

Mobile-First Design System

Built a component library purpose-built for travel booking: destination cards, smart search, flexible date intelligence, gamified reward chips, and motion transitions.

05

Prototype Testing

Tested 3 rounds of high-fidelity prototypes with 40 participants. Each round refined the emotional tone, micro-interaction timing, and pricing transparency cues.

03 — Final Design

Screens That Feel Like
Boarding Passes

Every screen designed to carry the emotional charge of a journey about to begin.

behance.net/gallery/216297657/tripbits-Case-Study
TripBits — Main View

TripBits — Mobile Travel Planning Interface

TripBits — Destination Discovery
TripBits — Smart Search
TripBits — Flight Results
TripBits — Seat Selection
TripBits — Checkout Flow
TripBits — Price Summary
TripBits — Booking Confirmation

TripBits — Booking Confirmation & Rewards

Design Decisions

What Makes It Different

🗺️

Destination-First Discovery

Immersive travel photography as the first screen — not a search bar. Users explore destinations emotionally before committing to dates or prices.

🤖

Smart Search Intelligence

AI-powered suggestions with flexible date intelligence surfaces the best options instantly. No more 50-option overwhelm — curated results ranked by value, not just price.

💎

Transparent Pricing from Step One

All taxes and fees shown upfront on every card. Zero hidden fee reveals at checkout — the single largest driver of booking abandonment, eliminated entirely.

🏁

Milestone-Based Checkout

Three clear, named steps — Search, Select, Pay — with progress always visible. Users always know exactly where they are and how close they are to take-off.

⭐

Gamified TripBits Rewards

Every booking earns TripBits points displayed immediately post-confirmation. A loyalty loop that transforms a transactional moment into a celebratory one.

✦

Motion as Emotion

Micro-animations for every state transition — search results loading, step completions, confirmation bursts — designed to amplify the excitement of each booking milestone.

04 — Design System

Built for the
Journey Ahead

Color Palette

Amber gold anchors the brand — energetic, warm, aspirational. Sky blue provides cool relief and signals trust on pricing and confirmation states.

Type Scale

72px Display
36px Heading
16px Body Regular
11px LABEL CAPS

Motion & Components

Destination Card Price Chip Date Picker Booking Step Reward Badge Tab Bar

All transitions use cubic-bezier(0.16,1,0.3,1) for a spring-like feel that rewards every tap.

Spacing Scale

4pt base grid. Mobile-first components built for thumb reach — key actions sit in the bottom 40% of the screen.

05 — Impact

Numbers That Tell
the Story

Validated through usability testing, A/B prototyping, and post-launch analytics across a cohort of 500+ test users.

0%
Booking Completion

Increase in users completing the full checkout — from search to confirmed ticket.

0
Checkout Flow

Collapsed from a 12-step legacy experience into 3 milestone-based moments.

0%
User Satisfaction

In usability testing, 92% of participants rated the experience "delightful" or "excellent".

0
Return Booking Rate

Users returned to book again at twice the rate of the legacy app — powered by TripBits rewards.

Reflection

"TripBits taught me that the best booking experience isn't frictionless — it's emotionally resonant. People don't just book flights; they book possibilities. Every screen needed to feel like the beginning of an adventure, not a transaction."

— Rupesh Chavan, UI/UX Designer

Mobile App Travel UI Design UX Research Design Systems Interaction Design Figma Canva Adobe Illustrator