Collaborative Discussion
Report on Ryanair and Easyjet Websites: Units 2-4
Based on Ryanair and EasyJet websites this discussion involved writing a omparative report in a table format, describing the attributes, data representation (marks and channels), colour schema, limitations and strengths of the sites and summarising with a personal view of the visualisations used.
Initial Post
| Category | Ryanair | EasyJet |
|---|---|---|
| Attributes | Departure airport Arrival airport / destination Passengers Dates Type of trip Time of travel Trip duration Cost |
Country Key cities Key roads Airports |
| Tasks viewer undertaking | Searching destinations based on departure airport, available flights, holiday type, dates, or cost Comparing costs across destination, time, and dates |
Searching destinations based on departure airport Searching which airports serve a destination |
| Marks and Channels | Marks • Points, lines, and text Channels • Position – indicating geographical location • Shape – indicating departure versus arrival airports |
Marks • Points, lines, area, text Channels • Position • Colour • Size (e.g. major/minor roads) • Zoom-dependent detail |
| Colour Schema | Blue, white, and black | Orange, blue, white, and black Multicolour with zoom |
| Limitations | Can only visualise details of a single route at a time, making comparison difficult May not represent all potential destinations from a departure airport, as only routes meeting selected criteria are shown No representation indicating how destinations correlate with multiple holiday types Cannot identify departure airports for a specified destination |
By showing all airports, roads, and cities the visualisation appears cluttered, and details may overlap Not customisable No additional information beyond available routes Pop-up destination information is obscured by map details |
| Strengths | Easy visualisation of available destinations Highly customisable (dates, passengers, times, holiday type) Map and route options are clear and uncluttered |
Underlying map detail provides useful contextual information about surrounding areas Quick selection of alternative departure airports via simple interaction |
Personal Views
The Ryan Air site has clear visualisation and customisation options that would be considered beneficial for most users when searching for flight options. The EasyJet approach enables the user to conduct a search based on a region or nearby city, since the zoom feature loads additional map detail, however the EasyJet site appears cluttered with poorly designed pop-ups which appear under the map details and are therefore unreadable. Destination airports are highlighted by lines rather than simple points, and for busy airport hubs such as BHX (Birmingham) this results in a suboptimal output where details are obscured.
Summary Post and Reflections
My initial post compared the data visualisations used to present flight route options on the EasyJet and the Ryanair websites. A noticeably differing approach was taken by each airline company, Ryanair utilised multiple dropdown menus to enable users to filter and reveal relevant data, whilst EasyJet had limited dropdown menus and instead prioritised displaying broader options with advanced geographical information overlays.
From peer responses and discussions, it became clear that a user’s experience of such interactive visualisations may significantly differ depending on the user device, and that visual appeal can be subjective. However, as Chantelle noted, the visual strategies employed can influence user trust and confidence in the company, and potentially the probaibility of completing a transaction.
Peer inputs and reflection on this task highlighted the importance of establishing clear goals and understanding the customers primary objectives when designing a data visualisation. The process may be further complicated by the use of differing end user devices and the need to balance information completeness without leading to visual overload. As demonstrated by the EasyJet website, excess detail can distract from the core purpose and negatively impact a user’s perspective, potentially resulting in customer loss to alternative simpler solutions.
As highlighted by Monique and Chantelle, the utilisation of appropriate visual channels and elements such as line transparency, line thickness, colour highlights, anchored information panels and dropdown menus are useful tools which offer customisation to optimise this balance