Please note: this is a fictitious case.
After analyzing the Help Portal of a leading European airline, I noticed inconsistencies not only in the design, but also in the tonality and look & feel of the site. So I decided to restructure it and give users a better orientation on the site.
Overview
“Help & Contact” is a place where users can find support when they have a problem or question. In this context, passengers seek help before, during or after their flight. Why is this important? Passengers should be able to resolve their problems and/or questions as quickly as possible. This makes the flight experience better for everyone and allows the airline to offer better customer service, which greatly increases passenger satisfaction.
Process and time gaps
Summary: Problem statement
Of course there’s not always time for every stage of the human centered design process. Sometimes I don’t have time to create an affinity map but maybe there is a little bit of time for a persona to really empathize with my target group and who I am designing for.
The Help & Contact experience revealed structural and usability gaps affecting user trust and self-service efficiency.
1. Fragmented Navigation
Critical support information was buried across multiple entry points. Users lacked a clear pathway to resolve issues independently.
→ Strategic need: Establish a unified navigation model that integrates help touchpoints across the ecosystem.
2. Inconsistent Design Conventions
UI patterns for assistance (icons, chatbot triggers, page hierarchy) diverged from the global design system, creating confusion and unnecessary support calls.
→ Strategic need: Reinforce design governance and cross-team alignment to ensure recognisable interaction patterns.
3. Limited Responsive Optimisation
Mobile users encountered long scrolling and dense content blocks, leading to high abandonment rates.
→ Strategic need: Apply modular design principles and information prioritisation to optimise content for small screens.
