Jetlag is a fictional international travel bank account designed to cater to well-travelled individuals who frequently spend money abroad. Targeting high earners, particularly those using the account for business purposes while travelling, Jetlag aims to offer a premium financial service with rewards for global spending and savings. Inspired by existing travel banking designs, this project was a personal exploration into creating a high-caliber website that reflects leading design principles and showcases advanced UX/UI skills.
Without specific user pain points to address, the challenge lay in crafting a website that appeared as though it belonged to a prestigious and affluent company. The aim was to create a design that conveyed trust, sophistication, and efficiency while adhering to established design principles. The challenge was not just in the aesthetics but in ensuring the design mimicked a real-world application with a high level of visual consistency and adherence to UX/UI best practices.
The design process for Jetlag focused on several core principles and techniques:
Visual and Structural Design: Emphasised a clean and sophisticated layout, leveraging common design principles such as spacing, hierarchy, and grid systems to ensure consistency and clarity.
UI Laws: Applied complex UI laws such as Hick’s Law and Fitt’s Law to streamline user decisions and interactions, making navigation intuitive and efficient.
Design System: Developed a comprehensive design system incorporating wireframes, contrast checkers, and design guidelines to maintain visual and functional consistency throughout the site.
Imaginary User-Centric Approach: Despite the lack of actual users, the design was influenced by studying similar websites and applying personal restrictions to simulate a real-world scenario. This approach ensured the design was not only aesthetically pleasing but also practical and user-friendly.
This project was instrumental in advancing personal skills and knowledge in UX/UI design:
Skill Enhancement: Provided an opportunity to apply and refine skills learned from courses and practice, particularly in using design tools like Figma.
Design Principles Application: Enabled hands-on experience with advanced design principles and UI laws, leading to a deeper understanding of their application in real-world scenarios.
Personal Development: Significantly contributed to personal growth as a designer, showcasing the ability to create a sophisticated, high-quality design for a fictional company.
While the project had no external constraints, it was a valuable learning experience. The main challenge was to design a website that felt like a genuine product of a high-end company, using imagination and design principles to simulate this. Reflecting on the project, adding a mobile app and conducting user testing would have further enhanced the learning experience. Despite this, the project fulfilled its goal of pushing personal boundaries and applying complex design principles, resulting in a robust and visually compelling design.
