UX, illustration and content design for a global enterprise travel platform
The challenge
American Express Global Business Travel had a conversion problem. Thousands of corporate accounts were signing up to their travel programme but not activating, not using the tools and services that generate revenue. The Travel Info Hub, the central resource for their customers, was the obvious place to start. It was cluttered, hard to navigate and failing to connect with the distinct needs of its two core audiences: travellers and travel managers. A complete redesign was needed, covering structure, user experience, visual language and tone of voice.
My role
Head of Design
Oversaw UX and design direction across the Travel Hub project
Led the development of the illustration style and visual identity for the platform
Worked closely with UK and US client stakeholders across the full project lifecycle
Managed hands-on design alongside motion and digital production teams
Maintained brand consistency across a wide portfolio of AmexGBT campaign and communications work
Led the development of the illustration style and visual identity for the platform
Worked closely with UK and US client stakeholders across the full project lifecycle
Managed hands-on design alongside motion and digital production teams
Maintained brand consistency across a wide portfolio of AmexGBT campaign and communications work
The Work
The redesign started with audience research, interviews and focus groups to build distinct user personas for travellers and travel managers. That insight shaped everything: separate user journeys for each persona, a clear information architecture that eliminated dead ends and unnecessary steps, and a new illustration style that replaced generic stock photography with something ownable and distinctive. Tone of voice was updated across the platform to feel genuinely helpful rather than corporate. The result was a
Travel Hub that felt personalised and frictionless for each type of user.
The visual system created for the project, the illustration style, the dual-audience structure and the navigation logic, was built to extend across the broader AmexGBT ecosystem, supporting campaign work, email communications, event materials and product updates across both the UK and US.
The visual system created for the project, the illustration style, the dual-audience structure and the navigation logic, was built to extend across the broader AmexGBT ecosystem, supporting campaign work, email communications, event materials and product updates across both the UK and US.
OUTCOME
The redesigned Travel Hub delivered measurable commercial impact. Onboarded accounts became three times more likely to activate after the refresh. Email open rates hit 38% against an industry benchmark of 20%. Customer profile completion reached 94% during onboarding. Customer satisfaction with the new Welcome Programme experience reached 100%.
The work won Bronze at the B2B Marketing Awards 2023 in the Best Limited-Budget Campaign category, recognised for driving a 143% year-on-year revenue increase for the client.
