Istanbul Airport Mobile App Redesign

IGA Istanbul Airport is one of the largest and most significant aviation hubs in the world, connecting continents with its strategic location, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and capacity to serve over 90 million passengers annually.

Client: Istanbul Airport

Year: 2022

Products: Mobile App Design

What I Did: UX/UI & User Research, Information Architecture, Key UX/UI Design, Design Directions

When we collaborated with Istanbul Airport team, their goal was clear: making every passenger's travel experience smoother and more enjoyable. The journey of transforming Istanbul Airport mobile application has been a collaborative dance. The project was a big challenge in many ways. My team and I structured the IGA mobile app project in two phases. In the first phase, we redesigned the app by focusing on key functions prioritized within the digital passenger journey and integrated several new features. In the second phase, we continued to enhance the app by gradually integrating planned features on a monthly basis.

Research & Design Process As a first step, we conducted a kickoff meeting with the Istanbul Airport team, during which they shared a comprehensive overview of the project requirements. This session enabled us to define key focus areas, establish clear priorities, and outline a solid roadmap before officially initiating the project. We mapped out and aligned these perspectives into a structured roadmap, which led to the creation of a prioritized feature matrix to steer the design and development process. Then we put together a project team with various skill sets to research, brainstorm, create, iterate and execute with the goal of creating a model website in the industry.

Ensuring ease of use for users across all age groups by designing intuitive interactions and accessible layouts.

Providing a smooth learning curve to support effortless discovery of features and content.

Designing a scalable system that accommodates future content expansions and allows seamless adaptation for the websites of the other three brands, using a unified design framework.

Creating a competitive and modern interface that aligns with industry-leading digital experiences

Drawing from what I learned during the workshops, I began the research and global benchmarking phase. I conducted a comprehensive analysis of the websites of major players in the bedding & home textile industry, outlining their feature sets, information architecture, UX/UI practices, and visual styles.

Based on these findings, I compiled a detailed benchmarking report, providing the Yataş team with valuable insights for informed design decisions moving forward. Here are some design approaches that served as the foundation for the whole system redesign.

My team and I structured the IGA mobile app project in two phases. In the first phase, we redesigned the app by focusing on key functions prioritized within the digital passenger journey and integrated several new features. In the second phase, we continued to enhance the app by gradually integrating planned features on a monthly basis.

The Istanbul airport mobile application was launched on schedule and the first user and stakeholder feedbacks are above expectations.

“A stress-free experience for passengers” was the starting point of our project. The challenge was to create a digital realm that resonates with iGA’s vision. Every brainstorming session, every part of user flows, and every part of design iteration was a testament to the significant effort of our team. Through extensive research and analysis, we’ve gained valuable insights to craft our mobile application. As both the designer and a user of this app, it has been a pleasant experience and has made my travels much easier. In this context, we have achieved significant milestones↓ 📌 Refreshed and upgraded over 400 screens within the app. 📌 Crafted new features including Flight Information and Updates, Digital Journey Steps, Track My Loved Ones, Personalized Travel Profiles, Travel Checklist, and much more. 📌 Pioneered the inclusion of 7 distinct language options, making us the world's first airport app to offer this feature. 📌Crowned this performance with prestigious awards.

New Experiences & Learnings As the UX Directior and Designer, I was responsible for the overall UX/UI design process — from research and information architecture (IA) to wireframes of all core pages and and prototype testing. In this process, I did hands-on designing of the key pages and user flows. I created high-fidelity wireframes and prototypes, and served as one of the lead presenters of the project to all stakeholders and development teams. The entire process was an invaluable learning experience. I had the opportunity to manage the design process of a large-scale, live digital product, where phased features were continuously being designed and integrated into the live mobile application simultaneously.