Browsing was enjoyable, but progressing was not. The MVP had a broken continuity between inspiration, planning and booking.
AI travel product · V2 redesign
Yond
Turning travel inspiration into a bookable trip, with a coherent mobile journey, clearer user control and a scalable design foundation.
Product DesignAIDesign System
Project at a glance
My roleSole Product Designer
TeamFounders and developers
EngagementEarly-stage product, V2
ScopeResearch, UX, UI and design system
I reframed the product journey, redesigned the Board and booking flow, tested the direction and created the first shared design system.
One connected path from discovery to booking, with visible inputs, editable recommendations and reusable patterns for future development.
01
A strong idea, but not yet a coherent journey
I joined Yond early as the sole product designer, working directly with the founder and engineering team. The starting point was a simple MVP with fragmented flows and no shared design language. My mandate was to reimagine V2, clarify the product proposition and establish foundations that a small team could build on quickly.
02
The product challenge
Users could discover content, but saving and organising it was unclear. The relationship between inspiration boards and a real trip was weak, automation happened largely out of view, and fragmented interface patterns slowed design and development decisions.
03
Research changed the question
Early users valued speed, inspiration and quick suggestions, but wanted clearer control over preferences and recommendations. The question shifted from “Can AI plan it?” to “Can I shape what it plans?” The design response was to make saved intent, recommendations and editing options visible.
04
Turning the Board into a workspace
The original Board combined search, filters, exploration, editing and trip creation in one dense screen. I simplified the default view and introduced contextual actions only when needed. Users could select which pins should influence a trip, discover related ideas without losing context, and edit the Board with less clutter.
05
A visible path from trip to booking
I redesigned the journey as a sequence of understandable decisions: add trip details, compare rooms, add experiences, check availability, then review and pay. The flow replaced a large automated leap with a step-by-step path where users could see and edit what shaped the result.
06
From complete automation to guided control
The earlier concept prioritised generating a finished trip quickly. Testing showed that speed alone left assumptions hidden and confidence fragile. I made the trade-off explicit: a little more interaction produced greater confidence, clearer ownership and a stronger path to action.
Selected details
07
A foundation for faster iteration
Alongside the first product release, I created a lightweight system for colour, type, spacing, interaction states and reusable components. Accessibility checks and documented rules reduced one-off decisions while keeping the team moving at startup pace.
08
Outcome and next steps
The redesign clarified both the customer journey and the product proposition. The direction was validated through user research and usability testing. The next step would be to measure progression from Board creation to booking, test which explanations build trust, and prototype failure and recovery states earlier.