Project: UX Design
Role: Research/Design
Year: 2019
I redesigned Southwest's physical boarding pass. Even though Southwest offers a digital boarding pass within their app, many users still rely on the physical pass.
The current pass has no hierarchy and is full of information that does not pertain to the user.
The pass does not align with the Southwest Airline's Brand, which creates a disconnect between the user and Southwest.
The pass can not fit in a wallet, nor can it fit in a pocket. This forces people to fold and crumble it, which risks damaging the pass.
The pass has been stripped away of any information that is not relevant to the user. This makes it much easier to understand.
The information on the boarding pass is split up into three color groups: airport, airplane, and time. The colors match up with signage in the airport that covers the same subject.
Yellow is used for navigating the airport. The physical departure gate is yellow so users can easily make the connection from their pass to the gate.
Blue is used for navigating inside the airplane. It covers the passenger's seat number and zone. The signage for the seat numbers uses the same blue as the boarding pass.
Red is used for time. It covers the date of the flight and its time of departure. Red is used for clocks and signage that are concerned with departure.
Even though the new boarding pass uses color, it can still be thermally printed. The pass is pre-printed with color. The passenger's information is then printed within the designated zones.
The color system also extends to the mobile boarding pass. This creates a cohesive experience no matter what form of pass the user uses.
