Ashish Upadhyay

Case Study

Experience Design

The challenge was to identify a well-known SaaS platform and improve key experiences.

About
Booking.com

Booking.com is one of the world’s largest online travel platforms, allowing users to search, compare, and book accommodations across hotels, apartments, and vacation rentals.

Overview

Research

How I started

My first step was to understand the current experience on Booking.com and identify where users struggle the most.  I explored the platform end-to-end, focusing on the search results and property detail pages, and analyzed user reviews and forum discussions to uncover recurring pain points around clutter, filters, and decision-making.

My Role

Reduced friction, solved key usability challenges, and redesigned critical interfaces.

My Team

Team - Ashish (Designer), Daniel (Mentor)

Problem Identification

"The filter on the category page creates confusion."

"The booking process felt stressful due to overwhelming information"

"The category information felt unstructured"

"Some feedback was unclear and hard to understand."

Validated through user interviews and quantitative research

Product Pain Points

Category Page - Most users struggle to scan results due to poor hierarchy, hard-to-find filters, and dense content.
Property Detail Page - Critical information is visually unstructured, making booking decisions slow; During interviews, users took 4 - 5 minutes to feel confident

Category Page - Most users struggle to scan results due to poor hierarchy, hard-to-find filters, and dense content.
Property Detail Page - Critical information is visually unstructured, making booking decisions slow; During interviews, users took 4 - 5 minutes to feel confident

Research Overview

Interview

Conducted 7+ interviews during the research phase to understand user pain points.

Survey

Conducted 21+ surveys to validate the design, and improve the overall experience

Mentor Call

Had the opportunity to review and improve the design with my mentor.

Timeline

The timeline for this product delivery was 2 months and 15 days.

Project goal

Project Goal

The goal of this project was to redesign key parts of the Booking.com experience by reducing cognitive overload and improving information hierarchy. The focus was on making search results, filters, and property details clearer and easier to scan so users can make faster and more confident booking decisions.

Design Insight

User Insight

User feedback from interviews and forums highlighted frustration with dense information, buried key details, and slow decision-making. The redesign translates these insights into a clearer, more scannable experience.

Based on Mentor guidelines

Design Principles Applied

Cognitive Load Reduction
Clear Visual Hierarchy
Progressive Disclosure
Consistency & Familiarity
Trust & Clarity

Cognitive Load Reduction
Clear Visual Hierarchy
Progressive Disclosure
Consistency & Familiarity
Trust & Clarity

Solution

Category Page

Content was restructured and visually prioritised.
Users can now scan results efficiently, identifying key information like price, ratings, and amenities without confusion.
Filters and badges were reorganised to reduce cognitive load and eliminate unnecessary visual noise.

Content was restructured and visually prioritised.
Users can now scan results efficiently, identifying key information like price, ratings, and amenities without confusion.
Filters and badges were reorganised to reduce cognitive load and eliminate unnecessary visual noise.

Product Page

Critical information was prioritized and clearly distinguished from secondary details.
Design improvements allow users to scan quickly, build trust, and make confident booking decisions.
Real user feedback is integrated into the layout, ensuring content feels authentic and actionable.

Critical information was prioritized and clearly distinguished from secondary details.
Design improvements allow users to scan quickly, build trust, and make confident booking decisions.
Real user feedback is integrated into the layout, ensuring content feels authentic and actionable.

Review Section

Showcasing the real user’s face and name helps build trust among other users.
Displaying the total number of reviews received by a place makes it stand out and appear more credible.
Providing a clear structure and strong visual hierarchy helps users quickly scan and understand the feedback.

Showcasing the real user’s face and name helps build trust among other users.
Displaying the total number of reviews received by a place makes it stand out and appear more credible.
Providing a clear structure and strong visual hierarchy helps users quickly scan and understand the feedback.

Screens Prototype

Category & Product

Here you can see the prototype screens of the category and product pages designed after the final usability testing.

Filter Solution

Filter Option

For the filter solution - Several options were tested including sidebar filters and progressive disclosure. Placing the filter on the hero image was suggested by multiple users and validated with a 21-person survey.

Learning

Key Takeaways

From 7 interviews and 4–5 forums, I noticed that users often struggled with dense information and buried key details.—some even took 4–5 minutes just to feel confident booking a property.
By applying visual hierarchy, contrast, and clear cues, I was able to highlight the most important information, simplify the booking flow, and reduce mental effort for users.
I then ran a survey with 21 participants to validate the filter placement on the hero image, and the majority preferred it. Feedback from users and my mentor confirmed that the redesign effectively addressed frustrations and also highlighted areas for future improvement.

From 7 interviews and 4–5 forums, I noticed that users often struggled with dense information and buried key details.—some even took 4–5 minutes just to feel confident booking a property.
By applying visual hierarchy, contrast, and clear cues, I was able to highlight the most important information, simplify the booking flow, and reduce mental effort for users.
I then ran a survey with 21 participants to validate the filter placement on the hero image, and the majority preferred it. Feedback from users and my mentor confirmed that the redesign effectively addressed frustrations and also highlighted areas for future improvement.