Making travel a rewarding experience. A look into how we designed the Travel section of a superapp ecosystem
MY ROLE
User Research, User Interviews, Journey Mapping, Sketching, Wireframing, Screen Flows, Visual Design, Interaction Design
YEAR
2022 - 2023
PLATFORM
Android, iOS
About TATA Neu
Tata Neu is India’s first super-app, launched by Tata Digital to unify the entire Tata ecosystem - BigBasket, Croma, Air India, Taj Hotels, 1mg, and more, into a single, seamless platform, leveraging 150 million existing customers and 4,800 physical touchpoints to deliver a truly frictionless, omnichannel experience.
To drive retention, Tata introduced NeuCoins, a unified loyalty currency redeemable across brands, so the coins you earn on groceries can book your next flight. This cross-brand rewards system was one of the first of its kind in India.
My Role & Team
We joined the project as an extension of Tata Neu’s internal design team, focusing on the Travel section of the app. This included Tata-owned flight services and hotel chains, later expanding to Holidays, a travel package offering.
I led the Flights design team, working alongside two other designers, while a parallel team handled Hotels. Over the course of one year, I collaborated closely with product managers, researchers, and cross-functional design teams to deliver a cohesive travel experience within the super-app.
The Brief
We were tasked with reimagining how India travels—crafting a Tata-worthy experience for millions of customers by creating a unified and cohesive travel journey within the super-app.
The vision extended beyond simple bookings:
-
Integrated Loyalty – Using NeuPass and NeuCoins to create value at every step.
-
Positioning – Position Tata Neu as a discovery platform for travel ideas, curated packages, and personalized recommendations.
-
End-to-End Travel Ecosystem – Flights, hotels, holidays, and future experiences—all under one roof with a consistent design language.
Research and Analysis
We conducted extensive competitor analysis and secondary research to determine the optimal user flow. Combined with previously acquired data, this research helped us map out the user journey, which was later translated into detailed flows. During this phase, we focused on two key aspects:Providing Value: Identifying where we can deliver the most value to our customers.Optimizing the Flow: Making the flow faster and simpler for an enhanced user experience.
User Research Findings
Having worked on travel platforms before, we had access to previously acquired design challenges. Leveraging this experience, we approached the TATA Digital team with a preliminary set of questions. We engaged in extensive conversations, workshops, and exercises. One recurring question was: "What does travel mean in the Indian context?"While many projects rely on a logical design approach, we were encouraged to also take a more creative route.
Based on our research, we divided the users into three categories:
Mr. & Mrs. Das (Couple Travelers): Representing couples who seek memorable travel experiences together.
Ria Khanna (The Luxury Traveler): Catering to individuals who prefer high-end, luxurious travel experiences.
Sharma’s Family (Family Travelers): Focused on families who travel together and seek family-friendly travel solutions.
User Journey
We created Customer Journey Maps (CJMs) for three key personas, breaking the journey into four primary stages: Pre-Booking, Booking, Post-Booking, and During Travel—each further divided into smaller steps. This exercise helped us deeply understand the customer psyche. Our objective was twofold: first, to identify gaps in the journey of an Indian traveler, and second, to uncover feature opportunities for the Travel section.
User Scenarios & Storyboards
Next, we transformed key ideas from the CJM exercise into storyboards to visualise feature concepts and demonstrate how NeuCoins could integrate into the travel journey.
Some notable ideas included Travel Fund, Calendar with Itinerary, Super Deals, Travel Insurance, Smart Filters, Personalized Recommendations—along with 14 additional concepts aimed at enhancing discovery and engagement.
Wireframes
Once the wireframes were finalized, we used the previously established themes to create moodboards. These moodboards served as the foundation for developing initial UI concepts. We aimed to incorporate design cues that were contextual to travel, ensuring the visual elements resonated with the app's purpose. Through discussions and iterations, we refined our ideas until we achieved the desired result.
Ideation and Theme Development
We conducted workshops where we brainstormed and voted on design themes. The best ideas were selected for further development, translating these themes into features and integrating them into the visual framework of the app.Feature ideas like Travel Gullak, Travel Calendar, and Group Planning were proposed based on these themes. After extensive discussions and iterations, we finalized the user flow and translated these flows into initial wireframes.
Look and Feel
The homepage was crucial for us, as it not only formed the first impression for our customers about the travel section but also served as a culmination of all our ideas.There were three key considerations in designing the flow:Ensuring users could easily search for flights.Highlighting the loyalty program, NeuPass.Showcasing flight and other offers to our users.
Additionally, we had to design the UI in alignment with the TATA Neu design system. The Panda style design system was particularly interesting because it allowed us to highlight and differentiate various sections effectively.
Final Homepage
The final homepage adopted a light theme due to design system constraints, ensuring visual consistency across the super-app. To inspire users and encourage exploration, we integrated a dynamic video background showcasing travel destinations.
Final Homepage
The top navigation bar allows users to seamlessly switch between flights and hotels without leaving the Travel section, supporting itinerary exploration. This element also adapts on scroll for better usability—a decision driven by an insight that 37% of users struggled to interpret icon-based navigation, prompting us to use clear labels and progressive disclosure.
Streamlining Flight Search
We made flight search effortless by dedicating a prominent search bar at the top of the travel homepage. When clicked, it would directly take the user to the search experience, where they could enter their desired destination. The user's current location is automatically captured as the starting point, but it can be easily changed if needed.
Neucoin Discounts
We introduced a Neucoin offer tab on flight search result page. Toggling this button would apply your collected Neucoins to show you discounted ticket prices.
Review Page
One of the things we wanted to do was create a review page that directs the user instead of confusing the user. We created a visually engaging review page to reduce drop rates.
Adding Travellers
We simplified adding travellers to help users for maximum gains. Tata Neu allows users to add other Neu users when travelling in a group and avail discount even when one one of them books the tickets
Price Transparency
We also worked on complete price transparency, informing about the all the charges and price changes along the way. We steered away from dark user patterns.
Simplifying Rest of the Booking Flow
We designed the booking flow with a focus on ease of use while emphasizing NeuCoin and NeuPass as unique selling points, particularly their ability to offer lower prices compared to other operators. We ensured that key screens, such as flight summaries and reviews, were concise and featured a clear visual hierarchy, making it easy for users to find and understand essential information. Importantly, we avoided dark UX patterns, prioritizing transparency and user-friendliness throughout the process.
