Spirit Mobile-First Redesign
Optimizing Spirit Airline's flight booking flow + reimagining their branding.
Year:
2022
Timeframe:
4 weeks
Tools:
Figma
Category:
UX/UI, Branding
01 • Overview
Context
Spirit Airlines is a U.S. low-cost airline serving travelers across domestic and international destinations. Its customer base includes many budget-conscious travelers, including young adults seeking affordable options for leisure and personal travel. This four-week study draws on real business problems and research but was not a live client engagement. It was completed as part of a UX/UI academic program with 1:1 mentorship from a senior product designer.
The Challenge
The challenge was to redesign Spirit Airlines’ mobile app experience, with a focus on the flight browsing and checkout flows. Mobile booking presents a unique design challenge: users have limited screen real estate, yet booking a flight requires access to a significant amount of information, decisions, and functionality. The existing experience spans eight screens from flight selection through checkout, creating opportunities to simplify the journey without compromising the details travelers need to make informed decisions.
How might we make critical flight and booking details accessible at the right moments while creating a seamless, efficient mobile booking experience?
02 • Approach
Research + Insights
To understand users’ perceptions of Spirit Airlines and identify opportunities to improve its mobile booking experience, I conducted remote, moderated usability testing with six participants who had booked a flight within the past two years. I synthesized the findings through affinity mapping, identifying recurring behaviors, frustrations, and needs. The most significant issue was confusion around fare packages and membership offerings, while unclear progression, lengthy flows, inconsistent spacing, and weak visual hierarchy contributed to frustration and a perception that the experience lacked trustworthiness.
Ideation + Iteration
I then explored concepts to improve both the user experience and interface, beginning with a user flow that reduced the checkout journey from eight steps to three. The primary challenge was simplifying the experience without sacrificing important details, including add-ons, bundles, and seat selection. I also explored the information hierarchy of flight listing cards, considering how much users need at a glance and how grouping, color, and scale could guide attention to the most critical information.
03 • Validation
Testing + Feedback
I validated the final iterations with five participants through usability testing, focusing on whether users could navigate the redesigned booking flow, understand key information, and confidently complete their purchase. I mapped participant feedback and observed behaviors to identify patterns, prioritize usability issues, and determine where the design still created friction. Results were largely positive: all participants completed the assigned task without abandoning the flow, providing confidence that the core experience was clear and usable. The findings also surfaced several opportunities for refinement. I separated departure and return date selection into two calendars to reduce cognitive load, clarified instructions on the seat selection screen to make the next step more apparent, and added a price confirmation card above the final “Confirm Payment” CTA to reinforce cost transparency and give users a final opportunity to verify their purchase before completing checkout.
04 • Reflection
Key Outcomes
The redesign transformed a complex, data-dense booking experience into a more structured and approachable mobile journey. By simplifying the information hierarchy and creating a reusable component system, I established a stronger foundation for presenting complex flight and package information without overwhelming users. The work demonstrated how thoughtful information architecture and visual hierarchy can make a high-stakes, detail-heavy transaction feel more intuitive and trustworthy.
10
SCREENS
designed
40
COMPONENTS
created
✨
OPTIMIZED
a data-dense workflow
Next Steps
Returning to Spirit’s broader business goals, I would measure whether the redesign leads to stronger booking performance, including an increase in flight bookings and mobile-originated bookings. I would also gather feedback from Spirit Rewards members to understand how the new experience affects their perception of the brand and membership offerings. Finally, I would use A/B testing to evaluate different approaches to flight listing and package presentation, using booking behavior and conversion data to refine the experience over time.
