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The ChallengeSideStep, pioneer in online travel search, needed help to manage it's design initiatives. SideStep had experienced impressive growth in the early years as a "Toobar", but as the oppotunitiy to take the business model to the web became top priority, it was apparent that a serious investment in design leadership was required.The SolutionBoth ZEN principals were involved over the course of several years (2004-2007), providing expert design leadership for day to day execution of design initiatives. This included usability testing and analysis, interaction design, user interface design, advertising creative and business systems, as well as process and reationship development to improve efficiency.Over the course of three years, annual revenue quadrupled as did unique visitors. The net result of which as an increase in SideStep's valuation from $30 million to $198 million when SideStep was acquired by Kayak in December of 2007. Awards InnovationsSmartSort FilterThe first intelligent "smart" filter of it's kind, SideStep's "SmartSort" feature was an instant hit as it helped users narrow down a highly complex set of itinerary results. Such was it's success that it was emulated by Kayak (and others) becoming part of their core offering as well. ZEN was insturmental in developing the overall user experience and interface for this feature, part of it's success coming from rigorous user testing and iteration. Side-by-Side Hotel Comparisons SideStep was the first to market with a side-by-side hotel property comparison, allowing at a glance recognition of a wide array of options to aid in the decision-making process. www.sidestep.com |
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