One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned since jumping into the start-up world two years ago is getting from Point A to Point B often involves a series of zig-zags as opposed to a linear path.
It makes for an interesting, educational and, in the end, satisfying ride as everyone works together to build something valuable and useful that resonates with customers.
Case in point is PlanetEye’s new design, which launched today after a lot of work over the past few months. Rather than simply being a “new coat of paint”, the re-design includes new features and some major improvements in PlanetEye’s user-friendliness.
The new design really bolsters PlanetEye’s stature as one of the leading within “Travel 2.0″ as the business moves beyond simply making a booking on the Web. Today, consumers want more insight and information about where they want to go and what they want to do, and PlanetEye is well-positioned in a segment now featuring vibrant competition.
The redesign was supported by Happy Cog, one of the leading Web design consulting firms whose portfolio includes WordPress 2.5. Having not gone through a major design project, it was a fascinating experience because you’re not only exploring a new look but, in the process, putting the spotlight on your mandate and how you’re meeting the needs of customers.
In many respects, you need to re-think your strategic approach, the competitive landscape and whether the product/service you have is meeting and serving real needs.
For PlanetEye, we were lucky because our discussions internally and with Happy Cog confirmed that online travel planning is a fertile opportunity and that we had many of the right assets and features. The challenge was highlighting our strengths, making PlanetEye more intuitive, user-friendly and a valuable and useful service for travellers.
There was was a lot of hard work involved, plenty of great discussions and amazing teamwork to make the redesign successful. In the end, it is really great to see how far PlanetEye has come over the past few months.
A redesign is a challenging and time-consuming process but it can lead to wonderful things, including things you had never thought about. We’re really excited about the new PlanetEye, and encourage you to take a look and tell us what you think.
More: Here’s our press release (and the social media version powered by pitchengine.com) and blog post from our CEO, Butch Langlois
Technorati Tags: happy cog, planeteye, travel, travel 2.0
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