reisetopia ✦ 2023

leading a cross-channel UX research initiative for reisetopia

ROLE
Senior Product Designer

RESPONSIBILITIES
UI/UX Deign • Research Synthesis • UX Strategy • Prototyping • Branding • Visual Design

TEAM
1 UX/Product designer (me), 1 marketing lead, 1 content lead

TIMELINE
Q4/3 months

Context

Before we began the spearheading the redesign of reisetopia.de, I led a UX research initiative to uncover how users experience our platform, e.g. what works, what doesn’t, and what opportunities we were missing. With a mix of quantitative and qualitative data, I aimed to inform our redesign with real user needs, rather than assumptions.

Problem

Our platform had grown rapidly over time, but its structure and usability hadn’t scaled alongside it. We were seeing high bounce rates, inconsistent engagement, and feedback that our homepage and articles felt cluttered or confusing.

We needed to better understand:

  • Who our users are and how they describe their needs

  • Where people struggle to find content or lose trust

  • What we could improve before redesigning key site components

Heatmaps from homepage (desktop & mobile) + free credit card guide content page

Goals

  1. Identify patterns in how users navigate and describe the site

  2. Pinpoint usability issues that impact trust, clarity, and conversion

  3. Gather insights to inform both small optimizations and larger structural redesigns

  4. Build internal alignment around user needs to guide design and dev priorities

Process

Multi-source Research Strategy

To ensure our findings were well-rounded, I structured the research across three main sources:

  • Surveys
    To gather broad impressions and self-reported feedback; what users liked, disliked, how they perceived the platform.

  • Hotjar Analysis
    Click maps, scroll depth, and ~100 screen recordings from both new and returning users to observe behavior and friction points in real-time.

  • Moderated User Interviews
    Conducted 1:1 sessions with potential users unfamiliar with reisetopia to understand first impressions, search behavior, and blockers to trust.

Key Findings

Surveys

  • Users consistently described the homepage as “unübersichtlich,” “überladen,” and “zu viel los.”

  • Clarity of purpose scored poorly (3.73/5) and visual luxury scored lowest (2.7/5)

  • Most valuable content: Hotel deals, flight deals, and miles guides, but users struggled to find them

  • Users requested more structure, clearer navigation, and better summarization of content

Hotjar

Most users only scrolled a few loads into our infinite scroll

  • Many defaulted to using the search bar rather than the homepage or navigation to find content

  • Articles were often skimmed quickly, especially on mobile. Key CTAs and ToCs went unnoticed or underutilized

  • Tables and images got the most engagement, infographics were suggested as a way to clarify dense content

Interviews

Users expressed confusion and skepticism when landing on the homepage

  • 2 interviewees failed to find hotel reviews via the reisetopia Hotels tab and stated they would not return

  • Trust was lost when users encountered paywalls or were asked to create accounts before understanding the offer

  • Participants wanted a faster path to understand what reisetopia does, and why they should care

UX Research Project Presentation: Findings & Strategy

Outcomes

Synthesis & Recommendations:

I presented my findings to stakeholders in a live strategy session, resulting in:

  • A new hypothesis-driven roadmap for the “Redesign Light”

  • Clear priorities: navigation restructure, homepage hero, CTA hierarchy, article layout optimization

  • Strategic placement of key elements (e.g. hotel search, credit card comparisons) based on click data

  • Emphasis on clarity, trust, and navigability, especially for first-time users

Next Proposed Steps:

Clarify homepage purpose above the fold

  • Rebuild navigation based on actual user queries and mental models

  • Break up article content with better visual hierarchy and summaries

  • Make valuable tools (like the credit card comparison) more discoverable

  • Redesign ads to feel less intrusive and more integrated

Reflection

This project helped align our redesign around actual user pain points rather than internal assumptions. It also strengthened the case for balancing editorial goals with product usability. Presenting the research helped get buy-in across teams and set the tone for how we think about iterative improvement.

If I did it again, I’d push for even more early testing of prototype ideas in tandem with this research. Still, this process proved how much clarity strong research can bring and how small design shifts, grounded in user needs, can create lasting impact.