70%
Reduced friction.
90%
Engagement
2
Weeks Project
While doing user flows for a school project, I realized swapping the steps could let to a more direct goal based web app. This project solved the pain points from my personas, while testing 90% of the people felt engagement in this new approach, showcasing my ability to understand users, how I think out of the box when Its creative problem solving.
Results
This project began with a brief to design a travel-planning web app for three personas visiting Albany, NY. Each persona had different goals and constraints, which meant the planning experience needed to support multiple priorities within one product. After testing the final prototype, these were the results:
oBJECTIVE
The objective of this research was to understand the pain points and needs users face when booking a place to stay. I looked for usability gaps in existing booking platforms to identify opportunities for my own project.
Research Methods
First, I conducted user interviews and secondary research. The interviews helped me understand users’ needs and gather insights that were later translated into journey maps. Since I only had a week and a half to complete the project, I didn’t have enough time to run a full research process. With more time, I would have incorporated surveys and usability testing to better understand the booking experience.
Insights
Filters don’t match real user needs
Distance uncertainty
Switching between Airbnb and google maps
These insights were essential in shaping the redesign of the booking flow and guiding early decisions about the information architecture, especially around filtering. From there, I began brainstorming solutions to address the key pain points.
How might we
HMW redesign the filters and map so people don’t have to jump to Google Maps?
HMW make filters match what people actually care about when choosing a place?
Persona
Evelyn is 35 years old, and she is planning her trip to the Albany Book Festival for next weekend. She needs to find shared accommodations close to the bus stop, a speakeasy and the festival venue.
Scenario
Evelyn is a 35-year-old writer and photographer who lives in Rochester, NY. She is planning a visit to Albany to check out the Albany Book Festival, and is hoping to check out some local bookstores, and maybe network with some literary agents while she’s in town. She plans to travel to Albany by bus, and will need shared accommodations close to transportation and the festival venue, as well as within walking distance of after-hours food and cocktails in a speakeasy-like atmosphere.
Frustrations
Digital Dominance: She’s wary of the digital age overshadowing the beauty of physical books.
Lack of Bookstores: Evelyn dislikes cities where independent bookshops are scarce.
Crowded Spaces: She prefers intimate gatherings over large crowds.
Goals
Discover Hidden Gems: Evelyn hopes to stumble upon lesser-known titles and hidden literary treasures.
Attend Author Panels: She wants to attend engaging discussions and hear her favourite authors speak.
Feel the Pulse of Literature: Evelyn aims to immerse herself in the festival’s vibrant literary atmosphere.
Evelyn has a lot of plans for the weekend, so I decided to identify each need, write them down separately and organize them by priority to support her needs through information architecture.
Journey map
Here are Evelyn’s steps for booking her trip to Albany, from searching for festival tickets to arriving in Albany. Through this process, I gained insight into how Evelyn, who is travelling alone, might experience anxiety about distance and safety, especially when it involves walking by herself.
Taxonomy map
Using Evelyn’s priorities and preferences, I designed a tailored information hierarchy that reflects her goals and needs while also incorporating conventional booking search filters. To make the app more inclusive, I also considered the other two personas (not shown here) and began developing a set of filters that could work for everyone.
User flow
This was the project’s turning point. I began with a standard accommodation filter flow, but realized Evelyn could save time by filtering her key needs first. That insight led me to split the user flow into two paths for users with different goals.
Insights
After completing the UX research and design process for Evelyn’s case,
My key takeaways were:
Distance anxiety is an information gap
New flows must be introduced
Evelyn needs are women travelers needs
Distance anxiety is an information gap; users need a clearer, more actionable distance context.
Most people default to conventional booking filters, so new flows must be clearly introduced.
Evelyn’s needs reflect common needs among many women travellers, especially around safety and confidence when moving alone.
Users express goals in plain language, so the app should use the same human, user-centred wording in its filters.
Low-fidelity
I started with low-fidelity sketches to explore different layout options. After sketching the first concept, I gathered feedback from my peers and iterated on the wireframes based on their critique. The biggest change was breaking the filters into multiple steps to make the flow feel simpler and less overwhelming.
Before and after
I also redesigned the entry screen to first explain how the app works, then guide users to search by city or country. From there, the app provides an overview of what’s happening in that city, and users can apply more detailed filters if they don’t immediately find the event or concert they’re looking for.
Mid-difelity
During the CalArts Animation Intensive, I learned that testing compositions in black and white—and even slightly blurred helps validate hierarchy and layout. It makes it easier to confirm that the user’s eyes are drawn to the main calls to action.
High-fidelity
The final design reflects multiple iterations. I refined the colour palette and updated key UI elements to create a more professional look, resulting in a clearer layout that users found significantly easier to navigate.
walkthrough
Here are the process and iterations from the first low-fidelity to the final high-fidelity phase.
Solution
Through extensive research and user testing, I identified each persona’s needs, priorities, and pain points. By organizing information around user goals and actions rather than categories, I enabled each persona to personalize filters based on their unique priorities. The resulting product combines the intuitive navigation of Google Maps with the accommodation focus of Airbnb, making it easy for users to find exactly what they need, whether that’s activities, destinations or simply a place to sleep.
Challenges
It was a long process to learn about each persona, transform the data and filter it by levels of priority.
Next Steps
I am willing to implement a student mode for the app, where students can search for roommates and college experience. Another future step will be global parking, where parking lots are connected as a membership through the city.
UX/UI designer
Redesigned an Accommodation Booking Flow into a Goal Based Search, Reducing Friction by 70%
While doing user flows for a school project, I realized swapping the steps could let to a more direct goal based web app. This project solved the pain points from my personas, while testing 90% of the people felt engagement in this new approach, showcasing my ability to understand users, how I think out of the box when Its creative problem solving.
70%
Reduced friction.
90%
Engagement
2
Weeks Project
cASE sTUDY
Results
This project began with a brief to design a travel-planning web app for three personas visiting Albany, NY. Each persona had different goals and constraints, which meant the planning experience needed to support multiple priorities within one product. After testing the final prototype, these were the results:
70%
Reduced friction.
90%
Engagement
2
Weeks Project
design
To learn more about the design process, visit my UI Process. I began with low-fidelity sketches, iterated wireframes with peer feedback, and simplified filters into steps. I redesigned the entry screen to explain the app first, then search by city. Used the black and white blur test to improve hierarchy and clarity.
oBJECTIVE
The objective of this research was to understand the pain points and needs users face when booking a place to stay. I looked for usability gaps in existing booking platforms to identify opportunities for my own project.
Research Methods
First, I conducted user interviews and secondary research. The interviews helped me understand users’ needs and gather insights that were later translated into journey maps. Since I only had a week and a half to complete the project, I didn’t have enough time to run a full research process. With more time, I would have incorporated surveys and usability testing to better understand the booking experience.
Insights
Filters don’t match real user needs
Distance uncertainty
Switching between Airbnb and google maps
94% of leisure travellers switch between devices as they plan or book a trip.
(How Micro-Moments Are Reshaping the Travel Customer Journey, 2016)
These insights were essential in shaping the redesign of the booking flow and guiding early decisions about the information architecture, especially around filtering. From there, I began brainstorming solutions to address the key pain points.
How might we
HMW redesign the filters and map so people don’t have to jump to Google Maps?
HMW make filters match what people actually care about when choosing a place?
Persona
Evelyn is 35 years old, and she is planning her trip to the Albany Book Festival for next weekend. She needs to find shared accommodations close to the bus stop, a speakeasy and the festival venue.
Scenario
Evelyn is a 35-year-old writer and photographer who lives in Rochester, NY. She is planning a visit to Albany to check out the Albany Book Festival, and is hoping to check out some local bookstores, and maybe network with some literary agents while she’s in town. She plans to travel to Albany by bus, and will need shared accommodations close to transportation and the festival venue, as well as within walking distance of after-hours food and cocktails in a speakeasy-like atmosphere.
Frustrations
She’s wary of the digital age overshadowing the beauty of physical books. Evelyn dislikes cities where independent bookshops are scarce. She prefers intimate gatherings over large crowds.
Goals
Evelyn hopes to stumble upon lesser-known titles and hidden literary treasures. She wants to attend engaging discussions and hear her favourite authors speak.
Evelyn aims to immerse herself in the festival’s vibrant literary atmosphere.
Evelyn has a lot of plans for the weekend, so I decided to identify each need, write them down separately and organize them by priority to support her needs through information architecture.
Journey map
Here are Evelyn’s steps for booking her trip to Albany, from searching for festival tickets to arriving in Albany. Through this process, I gained insight into how Evelyn, who is travelling alone, might experience anxiety about distance and safety, especially when it involves walking by herself.
Taxonomy map
Using Evelyn’s priorities and preferences, I designed a tailored information hierarchy that reflects her goals and needs while also incorporating conventional booking search filters. To make the app more inclusive, I also considered the other two personas (not shown here) and began developing a set of filters that could work for everyone.
User flow
This was the project’s turning point. I began with a standard accommodation filter flow, but realized Evelyn could save time by filtering her key needs first. That insight led me to split the user flow into two paths for users with different goals.
Insights
After completing the UX research and design process for Evelyn’s case,
My key takeaways were:
Distance anxiety is an information gap
New flows must be introduced
Evelyn needs are women travelers needs
Distance anxiety is an information gap; users need a clearer, more actionable distance context.
Most people default to conventional booking filters, so new flows must be clearly introduced.
Evelyn’s needs reflect common needs among many women travellers, especially around safety and confidence when moving alone.
Users express goals in plain language, so the app should use the same human, user-centred wording in its filters.
Low-fidelity
I started with low-fidelity sketches to explore different layout options. After sketching the first concept, I gathered feedback from my peers and iterated on the wireframes based on their critique. The biggest change was breaking the filters into multiple steps to make the flow feel simpler and less overwhelming.
Before and after
I also redesigned the entry screen to first explain how the app works, then guide users to search by city or country. From there, the app provides an overview of what’s happening in that city, and users can apply more detailed filters if they don’t immediately find the event or concert they’re looking for.
Mid-difelity
During the CalArts Animation Intensive, I learned that testing compositions in black and white—and even slightly blurred helps validate hierarchy and layout. It makes it easier to confirm that the user’s eyes are drawn to the main calls to action.
High-fidelity
The final design reflects multiple iterations. I refined the colour palette and updated key UI elements to create a more professional look, resulting in a clearer layout that users found significantly easier to navigate.
walkthrough
Here are the process and iterations from the first low-fidelity to the final high-fidelity phase.
Solution
Through extensive research and user testing, I identified each persona’s needs, priorities, and pain points. By organizing information around user goals and actions rather than categories, I enabled each persona to personalize filters based on their unique priorities. The resulting product combines the intuitive navigation of Google Maps with the accommodation focus of Airbnb, making it easy for users to find exactly what they need, whether that’s activities, destinations or simply a place to sleep.
Challenges
It was a long process to learn about each persona, transform the data and filter it by levels of priority.
Next Steps
I am willing to implement a student mode for the app, where students can search for roommates and college experience. Another future step will be global parking, where parking lots are connected as a membership through the city.
Redesigned an Accommodation Booking Flow into a Goal Based Search, Reducing Friction by 70%
Thank for your interest in my work!
Thank for your interest in my work!
made while eating anchovies. @2025 Monserrat Cardenas.