Kulula Boarding Pass
Client
Role
Tool
Kulula
Product Designer
Figma
Context
Time Frame
Deliverable(s)
Hypothetical Case Study - Individual Project
Spring 2021
High-Fidelity Mockup
Redesign of flight company Kulula's physical boarding pass with an emphasis on a user-friendly information hierarchy and unique, visually pleasing aesthetic.
Overview —
Airline company Kulula is in need of a new physical plane ticket design! A flight boarding pass, which is often a small rectangular piece of paper, contains a tremendous amount of information essential to a busy traveler. How can we create a boarding pass that enables a busy traveler that is hectically navigating the airport to easily gain their essential flight information from just a glance? How can we avoid information overload? How can we make their journey smoother?
My goal is to design a boarding pass that 1) follows an informtion hiearchy that is user-friendly and highlights information most important to passengers, 2) a visually pleasing aesthetic, 2) reflects Kulula's distinct brand identity.
Ideation ​—
Flying can be incredibly stressful. The busy airport, running from check out to your gate, trying not to get lost, trying to keep all your belongings together...the list just keeps going. In order to better understand the user journey, I created a high-level hierarchical and cognitive task analysis of when the user first gets to the airport to when they board the plane.
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A boarding pass contains a lot of important information within a limited real estate and every inch of the paper matters. When users first look at their plane ticket, they will verify that the information accurately aligns with their trip details - is the arrival location correct? Does the departure and arrival time align with my expectations? I determined that departure and arrival information should be prioritized. Additionally, the worse potential thing about flying is missing your flight - it's a fear we all have. Boarding information, including gate and time, should have priority as well.
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During the ideation process, many rough design iterations of the Kulula boarding pass were created. Each iteration played with various font sizes, colors, the placement of essential flight information, puns (Kulula has a humourous and approaching brand identity!) and imagery.
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Final High-Fidelity Mockup ​—
The redesigned Kulula ticket splits the paper up using angled, horizontal thirds. In addition to black and white, the color palette purposefully consists of an apple green and a bright blue, both of which are integral to Kulula’s branding. Flight information, which passengers will periodically refer to at different points of their flight process, is sectioned off in blue with dashed lines. Other important information, such as boarding time and departing/arrival city, is bolded for visibility. In addition, there is adequate white (and green) space, consistent typography, and clean lines for legibility. Passengers will want to access their flight information quickly—this unique organization creates an informational hierarchy that is organized in a clear and easily scannable manner. Moreover, in order to reflect Kulula’s humorous and friendly brand identity, I have integrated a small “delight factor” for the user into the design: a short and sweet pun. Overall, this design strikes a balance of being informational, playfully friendly, and modern—all of which are representative of Kulula’s brand identity and ideal for Kulula’s redesigned airline ticket.
