The designs in this section were done years ago and are stylistically out-dated now, desktop-focused, and will not display well if you are viewing this site on a mobile phone. The business and design strategy is the interesting and relevant part of this work. For this reason, the case study is written up with a product and business focus to showcase the business logic, monetization and partnership side of my skill set along with team leadership and product design work with SVP/VP stakeholders.
B2B & B2C
In 2008 I headed up the design for a new business-facing initiative at Google that sought to connect businesses with qualified consumers in a wide range of verticals. This project was backed by Susan Wojcicki (Ads SVP), Sridhar Ramaswamy (Ads Eng VP), and Nick Fox (Ads Product VP) and focused initially on leadgen for mortgages before expanding to insurance, credit cards, mobile phones, automobiles and global manufacturing companies.
1. LEADGEN
Leadgen stands for lead generation. Leads are valued based on their qualification. The more information a company gets about a lead, the easier it is to value that lead. The goal is to gather as much information as possible about a consumer without alienating them and causing drop-off. Similar to shopping carts in e-commerce, the conversion happens in the contact form where consumers reach out and contact different companies. We found substantially different dispositions, expectations and tolerances from one country to the next.
MY ROLE
As the design lead for this project, I was closely involved with the partnership discussions, formulation and presentation of product value, and on-boarding experiences for a wide range of companies in different verticals. I lead the design of the business-facing experience for all of these products and took over the consumer experience for insurance, mobile phones, and autos.
LAUNCHES & IMPACT
We launched products in the US, Germany, Europe, the UK and initiated partnerships in Japan where I got first-hand experience with Japanese business culture, meetings, and etiquette. The credit card product was launched in the US and UK with multiple business partners following demos and hand-holding to get companies online. Insurance and mobile phone solutions were developed for the US market, piloted and folded into broader Google ads efforts. Google Autos was launched as a separate initiative, piloted in the SF bay area before being rolled into Google's main advertising products for auto manufacturers involving both franchises and OEMs.
2. B2B SUPPLIER DIRECTORY
Businesses wanted to use Google to reach other businesses to sell products at scale. The current banner and mobile ad model for Google Search was not working for this scenario (most consumer do not want to by 10,000 light bulbs). The Google Supplier Directory was piloted as a a way for global businesses (primarily in the US, Germany, and China) to reach other businesses for B2B sales.
MY ROLE & IMPACT
I was the design and research lead for this project from concept to launch. I worked with the lead PM on pitch decks to get SVP approval for the project, bring on suppliers, and scale it from concept to launch. The initiative was the first major project for Google's China offices following the corporate servers for search move to Hong Kong in 2010. Allocation: 25 engineers, 2 PMs, 2 biz devs, along with sales, support and marketing. Launched with manufacturers from US, China, Germany, Europe. This project was eventually rolled into the main ads offerings at Google.
3. TRAVEL: FLIGHTS & HOTELS
I lead a cross product team to define and map out the UX strategy for Google Travel during its early stage leading up to the ITA acquisition. I was responsible for hotel pricing and availability appearing on Google Maps as well as the foundational work for Google Flights (including the accordion UI model, flights map, exploration modes, etc). I came up with foundational ideas for that are now part of G+ Stories (automatically assembled trips from Google resources (photos, maps, etc) and Google Trips (shared itineraries).
4. PICSART BRAND CHALLENGES
Coming soon...
In 2008 I headed up the design for a new business-facing initiative at Google that sought to connect businesses with qualified consumers in a wide range of verticals. This project was backed by Susan Wojcicki (Ads SVP), Sridhar Ramaswamy (Ads Eng VP), and Nick Fox (Ads Product VP) and focused initially on leadgen for mortgages before expanding to insurance, credit cards, mobile phones, automobiles and global manufacturing companies.
1. LEADGEN
Leadgen stands for lead generation. Leads are valued based on their qualification. The more information a company gets about a lead, the easier it is to value that lead. The goal is to gather as much information as possible about a consumer without alienating them and causing drop-off. Similar to shopping carts in e-commerce, the conversion happens in the contact form where consumers reach out and contact different companies. We found substantially different dispositions, expectations and tolerances from one country to the next.
MY ROLE
As the design lead for this project, I was closely involved with the partnership discussions, formulation and presentation of product value, and on-boarding experiences for a wide range of companies in different verticals. I lead the design of the business-facing experience for all of these products and took over the consumer experience for insurance, mobile phones, and autos.
LAUNCHES & IMPACT
We launched products in the US, Germany, Europe, the UK and initiated partnerships in Japan where I got first-hand experience with Japanese business culture, meetings, and etiquette. The credit card product was launched in the US and UK with multiple business partners following demos and hand-holding to get companies online. Insurance and mobile phone solutions were developed for the US market, piloted and folded into broader Google ads efforts. Google Autos was launched as a separate initiative, piloted in the SF bay area before being rolled into Google's main advertising products for auto manufacturers involving both franchises and OEMs.
2. B2B SUPPLIER DIRECTORY
Businesses wanted to use Google to reach other businesses to sell products at scale. The current banner and mobile ad model for Google Search was not working for this scenario (most consumer do not want to by 10,000 light bulbs). The Google Supplier Directory was piloted as a a way for global businesses (primarily in the US, Germany, and China) to reach other businesses for B2B sales.
MY ROLE & IMPACT
I was the design and research lead for this project from concept to launch. I worked with the lead PM on pitch decks to get SVP approval for the project, bring on suppliers, and scale it from concept to launch. The initiative was the first major project for Google's China offices following the corporate servers for search move to Hong Kong in 2010. Allocation: 25 engineers, 2 PMs, 2 biz devs, along with sales, support and marketing. Launched with manufacturers from US, China, Germany, Europe. This project was eventually rolled into the main ads offerings at Google.
3. TRAVEL: FLIGHTS & HOTELS
I lead a cross product team to define and map out the UX strategy for Google Travel during its early stage leading up to the ITA acquisition. I was responsible for hotel pricing and availability appearing on Google Maps as well as the foundational work for Google Flights (including the accordion UI model, flights map, exploration modes, etc). I came up with foundational ideas for that are now part of G+ Stories (automatically assembled trips from Google resources (photos, maps, etc) and Google Trips (shared itineraries).
4. PICSART BRAND CHALLENGES
Coming soon...
Details Behind The Product Design
PICSART BRAND CHALLENGES
Coming soon...
PICSART BRAND CHALLENGES
Coming soon...
B2C: GOOGLE COMPARE
In 2008 I headed up the design for a new business-facing initiative at Google that sought to connect businesses with qualified consumers in a wide range of verticals. This project was backed by Susan Wojcicki (Ads SVP), Sridhar Ramaswamy (Ads Eng VP), and Nick Fox (Ads Product VP) and focused initially on mortgages before expanding to insurance, credit cards, mobile phones, automobiles and global manufacturing companies. The project was called AdConnect then Comparison Ads and finally Google Compare being being rolled into the core ads products.
MY ROLE
I was the business-facing lead for the UX team working on leadgen at Google from concept to launch for mortgages, credit cards, and a suite of broader finance verticals. As the design lead for this project, I was closely involved with the partnership discussions, formulation and presentation of product value to partners, and on-boarding experiences for a wide range of companies in different verticals. I took over and lead the consumer experience for insurance, mobile phones, and autos.
I joked that this was my Google MBA because of the hands-on partnership work and deep-dives into the technical and product aspects of each of these verticals. In addition to conducting extensive user testing to understand how consumers thought about each of these verticals, I got in-depth experience working with companies and brands to leverage their knowledge from years of building expertise in this space in the design of the product.
INSIGHTS & VALUE
If you have ever filled out an online form for a mortgage or credit card, you will be familiar with the experience of rapidly being barraged with phone calls. Typically the first couple companies to reach you are the ones you will most likely have a relationship with. They are not necessarily the best. Google took the unique position of putting the power back into the hands of the consumer and enabling consumers to hide their identity if they wanted to so they could evaluate offers and respond to the best ones anonymously before revealing their contact information. Most people appreciated this value proposition but it was hard to convey effectively. Interestingly, in some countries having a company call the man of household about some purchase was seen as increasing his stature. In most western countries, it was an annoyance.
LAUNCHES & IMPACT
We launched products in the US, Germany, Europe, the UK and initiated partnerships in Japan where I got first-hand experience with Japanese business culture, meetings, and etiquette. The product was initially profitable in the mortgage space primarily because the mortgage companies valued highly-qualified leads. They set up complex lead routing systems and targeting rules to present different ads and messaging to different users. The system we designed supported this level of granularity and I lead the patent filing combining technical and UX innovations. The companies had a highly refined system for messaging users at specific points over the two weeks following the inquiry that optimized the likelihood of conversion. Defining and analyzing these touch points is a skill I tap on every project I work on now.
CREDIT CARDS
There are always two sides to advertising and leadgen: the consumer and the businesses. I spent an extensive amount of time understanding the commonality and differences between these two groups. I traveled with Marianne Berkovich, the UX research lead, to London to meet with the financial institutions and credit card companies and to pilot test solutions with users.
In 2008 I headed up the design for a new business-facing initiative at Google that sought to connect businesses with qualified consumers in a wide range of verticals. This project was backed by Susan Wojcicki (Ads SVP), Sridhar Ramaswamy (Ads Eng VP), and Nick Fox (Ads Product VP) and focused initially on mortgages before expanding to insurance, credit cards, mobile phones, automobiles and global manufacturing companies. The project was called AdConnect then Comparison Ads and finally Google Compare being being rolled into the core ads products.
MY ROLE
I was the business-facing lead for the UX team working on leadgen at Google from concept to launch for mortgages, credit cards, and a suite of broader finance verticals. As the design lead for this project, I was closely involved with the partnership discussions, formulation and presentation of product value to partners, and on-boarding experiences for a wide range of companies in different verticals. I took over and lead the consumer experience for insurance, mobile phones, and autos.
I joked that this was my Google MBA because of the hands-on partnership work and deep-dives into the technical and product aspects of each of these verticals. In addition to conducting extensive user testing to understand how consumers thought about each of these verticals, I got in-depth experience working with companies and brands to leverage their knowledge from years of building expertise in this space in the design of the product.
INSIGHTS & VALUE
If you have ever filled out an online form for a mortgage or credit card, you will be familiar with the experience of rapidly being barraged with phone calls. Typically the first couple companies to reach you are the ones you will most likely have a relationship with. They are not necessarily the best. Google took the unique position of putting the power back into the hands of the consumer and enabling consumers to hide their identity if they wanted to so they could evaluate offers and respond to the best ones anonymously before revealing their contact information. Most people appreciated this value proposition but it was hard to convey effectively. Interestingly, in some countries having a company call the man of household about some purchase was seen as increasing his stature. In most western countries, it was an annoyance.
LAUNCHES & IMPACT
We launched products in the US, Germany, Europe, the UK and initiated partnerships in Japan where I got first-hand experience with Japanese business culture, meetings, and etiquette. The product was initially profitable in the mortgage space primarily because the mortgage companies valued highly-qualified leads. They set up complex lead routing systems and targeting rules to present different ads and messaging to different users. The system we designed supported this level of granularity and I lead the patent filing combining technical and UX innovations. The companies had a highly refined system for messaging users at specific points over the two weeks following the inquiry that optimized the likelihood of conversion. Defining and analyzing these touch points is a skill I tap on every project I work on now.
CREDIT CARDS
There are always two sides to advertising and leadgen: the consumer and the businesses. I spent an extensive amount of time understanding the commonality and differences between these two groups. I traveled with Marianne Berkovich, the UX research lead, to London to meet with the financial institutions and credit card companies and to pilot test solutions with users.
Credit card experiences were launched in the US and UK with multiple business partners. The solution above was launched for the US market.
London & the UK: The differences between the US and UK were substantial (see this video for an example advert from the UK). In the UK, the entire idea of points and miles for credit card purchases was basically unknown to consumers. Balance transfers (called BTs) was the dominant model of engagement with consumers trying to reduce fees. One 80-year old said he never planned on paying off his balance and would transfer from one card to another (the credit card partner called these people "card tarts"). Even the leadgen questions and forms were substantially different with UK consumers willing to fill out long forms (this was true for mortgages as well). We designed and launched country-specific versions of the consumer and advertiser experiences.
Japanese credit card companies and financial institutions are completely different in the way they conduct business, engage in partnerships, and view consumers. Japan was (and in many ways still is) a cash-based economy based on in-person transactions. This pattern is changing with credit card purchases happening more frequently in convenience stores like FamilyMart. At the time, online applications for credit cards tended to be lower quality leads with poor credit ratings. Based on these findings, the product team decided not to launch a solution in the Japanese market.
INSURANCE
The insurance market had a few dominant players and these typically offered packages with different trade-offs depending on the type of package. The consumer experience needed to be different to enable comparison of different offers. Since the exact pricing was contingent on too wide a variety of inputs, we provided baseline prices to enable comparison between different companies:
London & the UK: The differences between the US and UK were substantial (see this video for an example advert from the UK). In the UK, the entire idea of points and miles for credit card purchases was basically unknown to consumers. Balance transfers (called BTs) was the dominant model of engagement with consumers trying to reduce fees. One 80-year old said he never planned on paying off his balance and would transfer from one card to another (the credit card partner called these people "card tarts"). Even the leadgen questions and forms were substantially different with UK consumers willing to fill out long forms (this was true for mortgages as well). We designed and launched country-specific versions of the consumer and advertiser experiences.
Japanese credit card companies and financial institutions are completely different in the way they conduct business, engage in partnerships, and view consumers. Japan was (and in many ways still is) a cash-based economy based on in-person transactions. This pattern is changing with credit card purchases happening more frequently in convenience stores like FamilyMart. At the time, online applications for credit cards tended to be lower quality leads with poor credit ratings. Based on these findings, the product team decided not to launch a solution in the Japanese market.
INSURANCE
The insurance market had a few dominant players and these typically offered packages with different trade-offs depending on the type of package. The consumer experience needed to be different to enable comparison of different offers. Since the exact pricing was contingent on too wide a variety of inputs, we provided baseline prices to enable comparison between different companies:
The important design and product work involved aligning the company packages with the ways consumers thought about coverage. Future work in this area was planned to compare offers against the consumers' current insurance plans.
MOBILE PHONES
The mobile phone market is tied closely to OEMs and carriers who are able to fulfill purchase and contract requests. There were obvious categories for locked vs. unlocked phones and for specific carriers. The initial attempt to differentiate the Google product was based on showing consumers the total cost of ownership of the phone. Many companies offered discounts for the phone but the fees and monthly charges then made the phone more expensive than other similar options.
This approach totally failed in user testing. It turns out users don't really want to know the total cost of the phone and in most cases aren't comparison shopping for the best deal for certain types of features. Instead they have a specific phone in mind and they want to visually locate that phone.
Once we understood that the most valuable visual cue was the phone itself we made that image the most prominent. Second in the hierarchy is the initial cost of the phone (i.e., whether it is free or costs something).
The mobile phone market is tied closely to OEMs and carriers who are able to fulfill purchase and contract requests. There were obvious categories for locked vs. unlocked phones and for specific carriers. The initial attempt to differentiate the Google product was based on showing consumers the total cost of ownership of the phone. Many companies offered discounts for the phone but the fees and monthly charges then made the phone more expensive than other similar options.
This approach totally failed in user testing. It turns out users don't really want to know the total cost of the phone and in most cases aren't comparison shopping for the best deal for certain types of features. Instead they have a specific phone in mind and they want to visually locate that phone.
Once we understood that the most valuable visual cue was the phone itself we made that image the most prominent. Second in the hierarchy is the initial cost of the phone (i.e., whether it is free or costs something).
There are other subcategories of interest in mobile phone buyers reflected in the filter choices. Understanding the hierarchy of user needs enabled us to design an experience that support those different needs and their primacy.
GOOGLE AUTOS
Google Autos was launched as a separate initiative, piloted in the SF bay area before being rolled into Google's main advertising products for autos involving both franchises and OEMs. I lead the design of the business-facing experience for all of these products and took over the consumer experience for insurance, mobile phones, and autos. I participated in pitches to the OEMs and the local franchises.
Fair pricing
One of the differentiators of the Google Autos product was integrating data from across dealerships to determine the range of regional prices and an indicator of how different prices compared with the regional average (green callout below):
Google Autos was launched as a separate initiative, piloted in the SF bay area before being rolled into Google's main advertising products for autos involving both franchises and OEMs. I lead the design of the business-facing experience for all of these products and took over the consumer experience for insurance, mobile phones, and autos. I participated in pitches to the OEMs and the local franchises.
Fair pricing
One of the differentiators of the Google Autos product was integrating data from across dealerships to determine the range of regional prices and an indicator of how different prices compared with the regional average (green callout below):
This proved to be extremely valuable to users because car buyers hate nothing more than thinking they aren't getting a good deal. The VIN number also provided critical to indicate that this was an actual specific car versus a generic ad. The contact form at the bottom contacts a specific dealer about a specific car. The Contact dealers widget at the top right contacted a set of dealers carrying this type of vehicle.
Fluid Inventory
One of the initial value propositions and differentiators of the Google Autos product was the idea of being able to order a car with all the features you wanted. This proposal was built from the insight that dealers could order cars as well as move cars around between dealerships. One of the listings in the results for a specific type of car with a set of features or packages was the fluid inventory listing below:
Fluid Inventory
One of the initial value propositions and differentiators of the Google Autos product was the idea of being able to order a car with all the features you wanted. This proposal was built from the insight that dealers could order cars as well as move cars around between dealerships. One of the listings in the results for a specific type of car with a set of features or packages was the fluid inventory listing below:
User Insights
We had uncovered several interesting insights from user research. First, people had very strong preferences and affinities for and against car makes. People said things like "I am a BMW person and that is the only type of car I will drive" and "I will never drive a Honda." The car companies had been highly successful at brand advertising. Car buyers also had very strong opinions about the features they wanted: "I must have a car with heated seats." However, when they got into dealerships we observed that they would buy cars without those features if there was a good deal on a vehicle and package that didn't include them.
The fluid inventory model proved to be problematic with many users. They did not understand that dealers could move cars or get them the car they wanted. A more positive response and higher conversion for contacting dealers came when they believed they were looking at a specific vehicle. Scott Silver, the engineering director (not VP at Amazon), insisted on showing the VIN number. This looked terrible in the UI but it did succeed at convincing buyers they were looking at an actual vehicle which led to higher conversion for contacts.
We had uncovered several interesting insights from user research. First, people had very strong preferences and affinities for and against car makes. People said things like "I am a BMW person and that is the only type of car I will drive" and "I will never drive a Honda." The car companies had been highly successful at brand advertising. Car buyers also had very strong opinions about the features they wanted: "I must have a car with heated seats." However, when they got into dealerships we observed that they would buy cars without those features if there was a good deal on a vehicle and package that didn't include them.
The fluid inventory model proved to be problematic with many users. They did not understand that dealers could move cars or get them the car they wanted. A more positive response and higher conversion for contacting dealers came when they believed they were looking at a specific vehicle. Scott Silver, the engineering director (not VP at Amazon), insisted on showing the VIN number. This looked terrible in the UI but it did succeed at convincing buyers they were looking at an actual vehicle which led to higher conversion for contacts.
MORTGAGES
The mortgage vertical is technically one of the most complex. The engineering team had to rebuild the pricing engines required using industry models for matching user profiles with different loan types and rates. These algorithms and custom settings generated by the mortgage companies determined the routing for calls to different loan departments and even specific agents. We ran extensive AB tests to optimize conversion for the contact forms and follow-up touch points. From a business perspective, this vertical was also the most financially successful because of the value of converting highly-qualified candidates.
IMPACT
I developed the user experience and lead the patent filing for a rule-based system that enabled mortgage companies to customize the user experience from the messaging, branding, and ad units to the contact dialogs. Solutions were launched in the US and UK making the entire project across all verticals cash positive.
INNOVATION
Google is a data-driven company and this extends to the information it provides to consumers. One of the hardest choices for consumers is the type of loan but also the points. This graph helped users visualize the relationship between the amount paid for points up front and the total cost of the loan.
The mortgage vertical is technically one of the most complex. The engineering team had to rebuild the pricing engines required using industry models for matching user profiles with different loan types and rates. These algorithms and custom settings generated by the mortgage companies determined the routing for calls to different loan departments and even specific agents. We ran extensive AB tests to optimize conversion for the contact forms and follow-up touch points. From a business perspective, this vertical was also the most financially successful because of the value of converting highly-qualified candidates.
IMPACT
I developed the user experience and lead the patent filing for a rule-based system that enabled mortgage companies to customize the user experience from the messaging, branding, and ad units to the contact dialogs. Solutions were launched in the US and UK making the entire project across all verticals cash positive.
INNOVATION
Google is a data-driven company and this extends to the information it provides to consumers. One of the hardest choices for consumers is the type of loan but also the points. This graph helped users visualize the relationship between the amount paid for points up front and the total cost of the loan.
Typically the more data we added to the detail page for loans, especially visual information like the graph above, the higher conversion rate we got for the contact form to reach lenders. The reverse was true for the initial offer page.
The contact form for leadgen is like the shopping cart for eCommerce: it's the critical touch point where users either move forward or drop-off. The mortgage contact form went through multiple iterations and AB tests to reach a balance of critical information and simplicity.
The contact form for leadgen is like the shopping cart for eCommerce: it's the critical touch point where users either move forward or drop-off. The mortgage contact form went through multiple iterations and AB tests to reach a balance of critical information and simplicity.
The contact form sends the loan criteria to the lender. Showing this criteria made the form too complicated for users and led to drop-off. The expandable Loan criteria section shows this information and the text "Your loan criteria will be included in your message to the lender" placed above the comment box was the most discoverable location for users. The value proposition that Google doesn't masks your phone number and routes calls through proxy numbers was hard to convey. Text saying "Google protects your privacy" resulted in users saying "Oh, I should be worried about privacy?" We arrived at "Google protects your from unwanted calls" with the ability to learn more. On the contact forms, every element contributes to drop-off or conversion. A combination of analytics and user testing is required to reach an optimal solution.
B2B: GOOGLE SUPPLIER DIRECTORY
I worked extremely closely with the PMs on all of these advertising projects. The Group PM Mel Guyman and I noticed that businesses wanted to use Google to reach other businesses to sell products at scale. The current banner and mobile ad model for Google Search was not working for this scenario. I put together a deck envisioning a completely different experience. We pitched and got approval to explore new advertising experiences in the B2B space shortly before Mel left to become an SVP at Yahoo. The Google Supplier Directory was piloted in the US as a a way for global businesses (primarily in the US, Germany, and China) to reach other businesses for B2B sales. I worked with the lead PM (Clayton Jones) to get SVP approval for this project and scale it from concept to launch. The initiative was the first major project for Google's China offices following the corporate servers for search move to Hong Kong in 2010.
MY ROLE & IMPACT
Received VP approval to staff and launch a new B2B platform out of our of Shanghai office.
Allocation: 25 engineers, 2 PMs, 2 biz devs, along with sales, support and marketing.
Launched with manufacturers from US, China, Germany, Europe.
Lead the design of business-facing portal and the Google search experience spending extensive time in Google's Shanghai office to understand the B2B space and work with a wide range of manufacturing companies to understand the certification requirements and processes for export from China to Europe, the US, and other parts of the world. This project was eventually rolled into the main ads offerings at Google.
MATCHING BUYERS & SUPPLIERS
Understanding the workflows and needs of buyers and suppliers. Analogous to dating model. Phased engagement (do they have the product and specifications I need). Previous companies focused on inventory of specifications for parts. Insight: purchase experience is not just buying a product but forming a relationship with a company.
Google Search entry point - how to differentiate from ads for consumers
Trust. Certifications as a differentiator. Export rules for toys, etc. into Europe. Developed a style guide for this entire property.
GOOGLE TRAVEL
I lead a cross product team to define and map out the UX strategy for Google Travel during its early stage. We were asked to envision the type of experience Google should offer in response to a general query like "warm places in June."
I lead a cross product team to define and map out the UX strategy for Google Travel during its early stage. We were asked to envision the type of experience Google should offer in response to a general query like "warm places in June."
Design Challenge
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MY ROLE
I assembled some of the best designers at Google and we developed and iteratively refined a set of ideas over several weeks. I served as both the design and research lead - unusual at Google which typically slotted people into one or the other roles. I was officially a senior UX designer but because this was an early stage strategic initiative and I had a background in research, I designed and ran many of the studies.
The final pitch deck included a travel bot, a mobile app for all the travel touch points (flights, hotels, restaurants, transportation, activities), auto-generated playable itineraries similar to musical playlists, shared trip planning tools and, based on recent acquisitions in printing, kiosks in airports and train stations for printing on-demand, personalized travel itineraries and guide books.
User interviews revealed that flights and hotels were the anchors for the trip planning process. Trip planning took 4.7 weeks on average. Users repeated the same trip every 2.4 years for leisure, more frequently for business, less frequently for package travel. The most common planning pattern was 1) scope out possible destinations by looking at flights and hotels, 2) research and plan basic elements of the trip and then 3) near the end of the planning phase booked the flights and hotels.
IMPACT
These findings lead to two important developments: 1) the acquisition of ITA as the anchor for Google Flights, 2) prioritization of hotel booking as a strategic initiative.
I worked directly with the Maps team in NYC to have hotel pricing and availability appear on Google Maps. Below left is my initial mid-fidelity sketch from 2009. Below right is the live version today in 2017.
I assembled some of the best designers at Google and we developed and iteratively refined a set of ideas over several weeks. I served as both the design and research lead - unusual at Google which typically slotted people into one or the other roles. I was officially a senior UX designer but because this was an early stage strategic initiative and I had a background in research, I designed and ran many of the studies.
The final pitch deck included a travel bot, a mobile app for all the travel touch points (flights, hotels, restaurants, transportation, activities), auto-generated playable itineraries similar to musical playlists, shared trip planning tools and, based on recent acquisitions in printing, kiosks in airports and train stations for printing on-demand, personalized travel itineraries and guide books.
User interviews revealed that flights and hotels were the anchors for the trip planning process. Trip planning took 4.7 weeks on average. Users repeated the same trip every 2.4 years for leisure, more frequently for business, less frequently for package travel. The most common planning pattern was 1) scope out possible destinations by looking at flights and hotels, 2) research and plan basic elements of the trip and then 3) near the end of the planning phase booked the flights and hotels.
IMPACT
These findings lead to two important developments: 1) the acquisition of ITA as the anchor for Google Flights, 2) prioritization of hotel booking as a strategic initiative.
I worked directly with the Maps team in NYC to have hotel pricing and availability appear on Google Maps. Below left is my initial mid-fidelity sketch from 2009. Below right is the live version today in 2017.
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The ability to book hotels on Google Maps was the first step towards monetization of maps and the development of the Google Hotels product which is now integrated directly into search and maps.
In parallel I worked with the product lead Andrew Silverman to come up with a unique solution for Google Flights. User research revealed that the important dimensions for evaluating flights were 1) cheapest, 2) shortest, 3) pain (a combination of cost, duration, departure/arrival times, and stop-overs). The dominant model at the time was to show a complete listing of all available flights. We developed a model called "Flights in a nutshell" that showed you just the most relevant flights based on the these three criteria with the ability to drill down and see more results within a specific cluster.
IMPACT
This feature is now a central part of the Google Flights experience. A substantial number of people start by going directly to Google flights (not even Google search).
"One in 10 frequent flyers on average in North America start their airfare shopping on Google Flights, according to a survey of nearly 2,500 frequent travelers by airline data firm OAG. But frequent travelers between ages 18 and 32 years old are more than twice (21 percent) as likely as the average traveler to start their search process with Google Flights, says OAG’s research." (Google Flights gains popularity among millennials...)
IP
I filed a provisional patent for the "Flights in a Nutshell" UX innovation including the accordion style expansion and combination of cost+duration+stop-overs as a single filter. One year later Hipmunk launched using this same interaction pattern receiving the Webby Award in 2013 and a citation in the Mobile Design Pattern Gallery (O'Reilly) in part for these innovations (which were invented first at Google, but not publicized). By that time, travel leadership at Google had shifted from Mountain View to Zurich and Google decided not to pursue an official filing of the patent (Google files patents defensively).
In parallel I worked with the product lead Andrew Silverman to come up with a unique solution for Google Flights. User research revealed that the important dimensions for evaluating flights were 1) cheapest, 2) shortest, 3) pain (a combination of cost, duration, departure/arrival times, and stop-overs). The dominant model at the time was to show a complete listing of all available flights. We developed a model called "Flights in a nutshell" that showed you just the most relevant flights based on the these three criteria with the ability to drill down and see more results within a specific cluster.
IMPACT
This feature is now a central part of the Google Flights experience. A substantial number of people start by going directly to Google flights (not even Google search).
"One in 10 frequent flyers on average in North America start their airfare shopping on Google Flights, according to a survey of nearly 2,500 frequent travelers by airline data firm OAG. But frequent travelers between ages 18 and 32 years old are more than twice (21 percent) as likely as the average traveler to start their search process with Google Flights, says OAG’s research." (Google Flights gains popularity among millennials...)
IP
I filed a provisional patent for the "Flights in a Nutshell" UX innovation including the accordion style expansion and combination of cost+duration+stop-overs as a single filter. One year later Hipmunk launched using this same interaction pattern receiving the Webby Award in 2013 and a citation in the Mobile Design Pattern Gallery (O'Reilly) in part for these innovations (which were invented first at Google, but not publicized). By that time, travel leadership at Google had shifted from Mountain View to Zurich and Google decided not to pursue an official filing of the patent (Google files patents defensively).
PLAYABLE ITINERARIES
Innovation often comes from shifting context, amplifying some element, and reapplying the result to a new situation. The insight I had was that sharing travel experiences was similar in many ways to music and specifically playlists. If you liked one song from someone else's playlist, you were likely to like other songs on the list. What if you could put together a story about your trip and share it with other people? How might we make it easy to create these itineraries, share them, and discover ones you like?
The result was a pitch to automatically generating a playable itinerary from all the pieces of your trip combined with all the information Google had about those places.
These ideas circulated through the travel, hotel, and flights teams for several years and emerged as G+ Stories: "The tool relies on Google's Auto Awesome and landmark detection tools, as well as a user's location history and the geotags of individual photos."
The diagram below left (from my initial concept deck) includes B2C monetization through promotion of suggested activities. Below right is one of the early examples of the auto-generated stories showing the trip on the map and photos from the journey (live version 2014 - built by a future team).
Innovation often comes from shifting context, amplifying some element, and reapplying the result to a new situation. The insight I had was that sharing travel experiences was similar in many ways to music and specifically playlists. If you liked one song from someone else's playlist, you were likely to like other songs on the list. What if you could put together a story about your trip and share it with other people? How might we make it easy to create these itineraries, share them, and discover ones you like?
The result was a pitch to automatically generating a playable itinerary from all the pieces of your trip combined with all the information Google had about those places.
These ideas circulated through the travel, hotel, and flights teams for several years and emerged as G+ Stories: "The tool relies on Google's Auto Awesome and landmark detection tools, as well as a user's location history and the geotags of individual photos."
The diagram below left (from my initial concept deck) includes B2C monetization through promotion of suggested activities. Below right is one of the early examples of the auto-generated stories showing the trip on the map and photos from the journey (live version 2014 - built by a future team).
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These itineraries where meant to be shared publicly and become part of crowd-sourced travel content where you could find ideas and suggestions based on AI-driven personalized content. The current Google focus on auto-assembling content for you to share with friends/family has only limited potential for engagement impact.
SHARED ITINERARIES
Most trips are planned with other people. The most common categories are: business travel, package travel, family travel, and travel with friends. Many of these trips require coordination with the activities (meals, etc) requiring the most consensus. The idea I developed was to have shared itineraries where not just activities but all elements of the trip were collected and shared making it easier not just to coordinate but also plan.
This work foreshadowed efforts from NileGuide and other sites to provide recommendations from locals and TripIt to support sharing trip itineraries for flights (and planning with the subscription-based Pro version). AirBnb recently launched Experiences and is trying to tap into this potential for monetizing activities as a pivot from the core elements of travel: flights and lodging.
IMPACT
Google eventually incorporated elements of these designs in Google Trips making it possible to share trips with other users. TripIt and other sites/apps have also incorporated similar functionality.
Most trips are planned with other people. The most common categories are: business travel, package travel, family travel, and travel with friends. Many of these trips require coordination with the activities (meals, etc) requiring the most consensus. The idea I developed was to have shared itineraries where not just activities but all elements of the trip were collected and shared making it easier not just to coordinate but also plan.
This work foreshadowed efforts from NileGuide and other sites to provide recommendations from locals and TripIt to support sharing trip itineraries for flights (and planning with the subscription-based Pro version). AirBnb recently launched Experiences and is trying to tap into this potential for monetizing activities as a pivot from the core elements of travel: flights and lodging.
IMPACT
Google eventually incorporated elements of these designs in Google Trips making it possible to share trips with other users. TripIt and other sites/apps have also incorporated similar functionality.
Google Travel: Shared Itineraries (concept)
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Google Trips (current)
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LONELY PLANET & TRAVEL APPS
I put together a team of designers and engineers at Google from these travel initiatives to build and launch an open source app named Trippy as a 20% time project. The idea was to take the shared and playable itinerary proposals and build them into a product since it was going to take several years to get all the hotel and flight data.
MY ROLE
I took over as the PM for this project and managed the design, engineering, and partnerships from concept through Google open source review to launch. I set up a partnership with Lonely Planet to open an API that would give us information from Lonely Planet guides to combine with Google image search and other travel planning assets.
IMPACT
We launched the travel app as an open source app to encourage development of a travel ecosystem with rich shared itineraries. This was the first time Lonely Planet agreed to partner with Google on live data exchange. Since then numerous companies have entered this space and slowly moved closer towards the promise of this initial vision of user generated content driving personalized recommendations.
I put together a team of designers and engineers at Google from these travel initiatives to build and launch an open source app named Trippy as a 20% time project. The idea was to take the shared and playable itinerary proposals and build them into a product since it was going to take several years to get all the hotel and flight data.
MY ROLE
I took over as the PM for this project and managed the design, engineering, and partnerships from concept through Google open source review to launch. I set up a partnership with Lonely Planet to open an API that would give us information from Lonely Planet guides to combine with Google image search and other travel planning assets.
IMPACT
We launched the travel app as an open source app to encourage development of a travel ecosystem with rich shared itineraries. This was the first time Lonely Planet agreed to partner with Google on live data exchange. Since then numerous companies have entered this space and slowly moved closer towards the promise of this initial vision of user generated content driving personalized recommendations.
- Top of the funnel influence
Captured ~24% U.S. desktop travel‑search share in H1’22 and drove hundreds of millions of visits (674M U.S. visits in 2019 for Flights+Hotels). - Revenue adjacency
Flights feeds high‑intent inventory into Google’s travel ad ecosystem (travel advertisers ~$8.9B on Google in 2022). - Category scale comps
Standalone flight/metasearch leaders operate at 100M+ MAUs (Skyscanner) and multi‑$B valuations (Hopper $5–10B), implying substantial standalone value if Google Flights were carved out.