Wilderness

Wilderness is a luxury safari and conservation company with over 60 camps across Africa. They sought to shift from a B2B to a direct-to-consumer model and initiated a complete digital transformation to better reflect its commitment to conservation and adventure. I contributed during the design sprints phase, later stepping into the role of lead practitioner during the retainer phase to optimise conversion, navigation and propose improvements on various key journeys.

Date
2021 - 2023
Client
Wilderness
Role
UX Designer
Key Skills
UX Design
01

The Challenge

After the launch of the redesigned Wilderness website, the focus shifted to optimising key user journeys based on insights from the live site. During the retainer phase, I led improvements to the enquiry builder—a crucial conversion point that experienced high drop-off rates at the initial step. I also refined the interactive map for destination discovery and streamlined the site navigation for a more intuitive experience.

02

Optimising Conversion

Mobile-First Optimisation

Post-launch insights revealed usability issues on mobile, including unclear button affordance and UI elements falling out of view. To address this, we prioritised mobile-first design, enhancing button visibility, optimising touch targets, and collaborating with the UI designer to ensure accessibility and ease of interaction.

Reducing Initial Drop-Off

Recognising high drop-off rates at the first step, we simplified the entry point with a clear and straightforward question: “Do you know where you’d like to travel?”. This lowered the barrier to entry, making it easier for users to engage without feeling overwhelmed.

Progress Bar Implementation

To reduce cognitive load and maintain user momentum, we replaced step indicators with a progress bar. This approach leverages the goal-gradient effect, subtly motivating users to complete the flow by visually representing their progress.

Wireframe - key screens

Designed screens - full flow

03

Enhancing Interactive Map

Mobile-First Optimisation

At launch, the site lacked a destination map solution for mobile, creating a fragmented experience across devices. To address this, we adopted a mobile-first approach, prioritising usability and integrating familiar navigation patterns like a drawer menu for revealing more details seamlessly.

Camp Discovery Focus

Initially, the map tried to serve multiple purposes—displaying information at the country, region, and camp level—resulting in a cluttered and complex user journey. With data from the live site, we learned that most customers that entered the conversion flow did so off from a camp page, which indicated that there was a need to optimise camp discovery. The revised design of the map simplifies the experience by prioritising this, creating a more intuitive discovery journey.

Wireframe examples

04

Results

The proposed enhancements were well received by the client, with improvements being gradually rolled out. Matter Of Form continues to maintain a retainer relationship with Wilderness, supporting ongoing optimisation and refinement of the digital experience.

Project credits:

Louie Stewart-poynter, Drew Florence