Kristjan Kristjansson, user interface consultant / art director for the IBM Center for Solution Innovation in Hamburg and Dr. Jens Heuer also from IBM.

They explained in extensive details a project they worked on 3 years ago: the website of travel agency STA Travel. The company sells travels to a young audience but at the time their website presence didn’t reflect that. Their IT system was obsolete.

Very long strategy phase for this project. STA Travels has headquarters in 30 countries, each of them have customers which have their own needs and requirements. Therefore the website had to be a unified structure of flows of information as well as a very flexible platform suitable for each country. The outside aspect of the website stays identical whatever the country, all the flexibility is inside.

Users access the website not only for booking but also to get information about their destination, to create and form a community of travellers with like-minded interests and who will profit from each other’s experiences. They made a mash-up of several information providers that they integrated in the platform as one. Along with the booking machine, some content elements are provided by Lonely Planet travel guide publishers and by What’s On When (particular events in town at the exact time of your travel).

They also provided the agencies with a style guide that allows them to develop their own content.