Anda Guesthouse

Elevating the traveler's digital experience with Inner Mongolia's guesthouse.

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Overview

The Problem

Anda Guesthouse is one of the only two international hostels in Inner Mongolia to offer authentic nomadic experiences. However, travelers interested in visiting Inner Mongolia do not trust staying at Anda Guesthouse because the website is outdated and contains very little information about the hostel.

The Solution

In order to build credibility and trust with potential guests, I redesigned Anda Guesthouse’s website to include detailed information about its accommodations and tour offerings as well as a booking form. The redesign provides a user-friendly web experience for users, while evoking an inspiring sense of adventure.

Category

Web redesign, logo design

My Role

UX Designer, Visual Designer, Logo Designer

Tools

Sketch, InVision, Illustrator, Photoshop

01

Research

  • Heuristic Evaluation
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Competitive Analysis

02

Rebrand

  • Logo Design
  • Style Guide

03

Web

  • Wireframes
  • Web Redesign
Jump to final design

Research

Evaluation of Original Website

Prior to redesigning the website, I conducted a heuristic evaluation of its current interface in order to identify the issues to focus on.

Impressions of the website

  • No call to actions
  • No tour information and prices
  • No booking feature for rooms/tours
  • Travelers do not trust it upon entering the site
  • It doesn’t follow standard web conventions
  • Navigation is confusing and inconsistent
  • User flow is unclear and not intuitive
  • Lack of style guide and inconsistent brand

SWOT Analysis

I started the project by conducting a SWOT analysis of Anda Guesthouse in order to uncover areas for design. The analysis revealed that Anda provided a lot of the basic needs that travelers expect during their stay, but there was a lot of opportunity in the digital space to elevate the experience for new customers, including creating a solid brand and redesigning the website.

Competitive Analysis

I looked into the current competition to see how Anda Guesthouse could be improved against them.

I found that:
  • Anda Guesthouse is one of the only two international hostels available in Inner Mongolia. Lemongo Hostel is its direct competition.
  • International travelers have very limited hostel options that do not provide them with detailed information about rooms and tours; travelers may not feel confident booking with these hostels.
  • Anda is the only competitor that has a website, but the website hurts their credibility.

Design

Brand Redesign

Part of elevating the traveler’s digital experience was to enhance Anda’s brand with a better logo and a consistent style guide for its website.

The logo redesign was inspired by Chinese and Mongolian scriptures, while the color palette and style guide was influenced by Inner Mongolia’s nomadic lifestyle.

Wireframes

Two elements that hurt the credibility of Anda Guesthouse are inaccessible information and lack of web structure.

During the wireframe process,
  • I included real content about the rooms, facilities, and tours that Anda Guesthouse offered (the information was obtained via email with their staff).
  • I incorporated common website patterns, such as a consistent menu, a distinctive footer, and clear buttons, to improve web usability.
  • I added a booking feature for guests to book directly on the website.

Final Design

Project Learnings

Strong branding builds trust

The biggest issue with the original website was the lack of trust it built with site visitors. Creating a strong brand and establishing a visual language can change users’ perspectives about the guesthouse, making it more likely for them to book with Anda.