Within the initial design of Voyage Vista, the major problem that I’ve come to notice was the over-reliance of including imagery across the pages. This is a prevalent problem that can greatly affect the experience Users can have with an app or website where one’s ability to process vital pieces of information is challenged by a risk of visual overload, only serving with even further risks that might create frustration and confusion for Users who might wish to navigate Voyage Vista. However, my goal was to create a new sense of design for the layout of Voyage Vista’s to provide easier visual communication that would allow Users an easier time to process smaller pieces of information about the website’s services while avoiding visual clutter. In order to accomplish this, I needed to take methodical steps towards achieving conclusions that would ultimately lead to the hopes of ensuring both a functional and enjoyable experience for Users of Voyage Vista, new and old alike.

In terms of Demographics, the first major User Group was the Explorer, someone who gets the most out of what life has to offer while trying new things. These people would come to rely on Voyage Vista for the sake of finding good recommendations of places they could visit in the world, along with finding enjoyment with being able to experiment with anything that’s in front of them such as the app’s layout. The second major User Group was the Everyman, an average person who wants to have a good sense of comfort and belonging, even in unfamiliar places. These people would also come to rely on Voyage Vista with the expectation of an app that provides an overall experience they can easily navigate without struggle. Overall, the ideal type of layout that would fit into the needs of both these Groups would be an app layout that holds clear communication without risks of sensual overload along with relying on the User’s ability to make inputs and decisions to complete a task.

My guiding principle was to only implement imagery when necessary while still maintaining the ideal style of brand for Voyage Vista, ensuring balance between verbal and visual information to create a website structure that newer Users can easily navigate. When utilizing Mood Boards in my design process, any images that weren’t used in the app’s design would still be used to reinforce the specific overall tone that the page was meant to achieve. A select few images that depict people enjoying outdoor places such as cities or beaches were used to help maintain the inviting and adventurous visual tone once the User sees these pictures on the site’s home page. After applying the necessary number of chosen images that fit most with the brand, the resulting solution was a compact yet still simpler home page that separates sections of information into different divisions allow newer Users to more easily decide where they should pay their attention to when navigating the website with little visual overload while still being greeted to a well-rounded amount of organized information.

The types of design choices and brand elements that mainly applied to my goals when designing the new layout for Voyage Vista mainly came down to striving for what would maintain the pleasant experience that the app is designed for. For example, my main choices of color came down to uses of green and blue to symbolize nature, which is often associated with gentle atmospheres that put most Users’ minds to ease. The logos I’ve created also implement the use of Earth to communicate a wide area of exploration for people to indulge in as soon as they begin using the app. Overall, these visual design choices are meant to represent more simple and universal concepts that the User can understand and “feel” when realizing the central theming around Voyage Vista from analyzing these elements, alongside the bright pictures depicting people in more mundane yet relaxing scenarios in new environments.