Collette

A global tour operator that by modernizing their digital experience to increase online bookings by 21% and reduce reliance on customer support.

A MacBook Pro displaying a travel website with the slogan "Travel Happy" and an image of a smiling elderly couple in front of an Arctic landscape with northern lights.

 

Overview

Collette is a family-owned tour operator offering over 160 guided tours across all seven continents. Despite strong customer satisfaction with their tours, their website experience lagged behind competitors. To remain competitive, the company needed to modernize its digital experience and build user confidence in booking online.

Problem

Customers trusted the travel experience but not the website.

  • 27% of users relied on customer support to complete bookings, indicating low confidence in the online experience.

  • Users found the site confusing, disorganized, and difficult to navigate

  • The brand was perceived as “business-like and cold” by users

This created friction in the booking journey and increased operational costs.

The Challenge

To understand the problem space, I conducted:

  • User interviews

  • Contextual interviews with customer service

  • Competitive analysis

I analyzed:

  • 14 direct competitors

  • 10 indirect competitors

  • 10 e-commerce experiences

Key Insight:
Competitors succeeded by combining strong brand identity, intuitive navigation, and consistent design systems. These were areas where Collette was falling short.

Set of companies compared with Collette for a comparative analysis.

Key User Pain Points

  • Lack of clear brand identity led to low trust

  • Confusing homepage created difficulty understanding offerings

  • Poor navigation left users struggled to find tours

  • Inconsistent UI patterns reduced usability and confidence

“I don’t understand what they offer, it feels too sales-y”
— User testing participant
User testing data sample set used to uncover patterns.
User testing data sample set used to uncover patterns.

Design Strategy

To address key usability and trust issues, I focused on three core areas:

Clarify brand experience

  • Create a cohesive and approachable identity

  • Build trust through transparent content and unbiased reviews

  • Set clear expectations about the tour experience

Simplify navigation and pathways

  • Audit language used across the site for clarity

  • Evaluate and restructure the site’s information architecture

  • Redesign the sitemap to align with user goals

Establish consistent design system

  • Create a source of truth for cross-functional teams

  • Audit existing digital and print assets

  • Develop a scalable component library

Homepage Redesign

The homepage was the highest-impact opportunity. It sets the stage for expectations and value.

Key improvements

  • Removed carousel:
    Eliminated a major usability issue reported by 90% of users

  • Introduced structured content sections:
    Clearly communicated value and offerings

  • Simplified primary actions:
    Reduced multiple competing CTAs into one clear path

  • Integrated tours directly into navigation:
    Reduced friction when browsing destinations

  • Introduced vertical tour cards:
    Made tours more scannable and engaging

Design System Development

  • Built a scalable typography system using rem units

  • Created a shared component library in Adobe XD

  • Audited and standardized iconography

  • Ensured consistency across web and print experiences

Wireframing & Prototyping

  • Created 30+ wireframes across:

    • Homepage

    • Product page

    • Search results

  • Iterated from low to high fidelity

  • Developed interactive prototypes for testing and stakeholder alignment

Low-Fidelity wireframes of collettes redesigned homepage for the website
Hi-fidelity wireframes of collettes homepage
Hi-fidelity wireframes of collettes homepage

User Testing Outcome

Post-launch testing included 35 additional user tests (moderated + unmoderated).

Results:

  • 21% Increase in online bookings

  • Reduced reliance on customer service calls

  • Improved clarity and trust in the product pages

  • Stronger brand perception

Next Steps:

  • Expand improvements to tour styles and destination pages

  • Conduct card sorting to further refine navigation

  • Continue scaling the design system across the platform