Projects of Natalie Zawadzki

Role:Lead Research Designer

Scope:Research & Design

Team:2 Designers, Director

Time:8 weeks

Ownership:

Lead internal and onsite research.

Lead research synthesis on outcomes and insights.

Delievered complete Innovation research repository.

Facilitated a full-day ideation workshop at YVR Innovation Summit to C-level leadership.

Impact:

Equipped YVR’s Innovation program and leaders with actionable passenger insights.

How might we better understand the motivations, activities, and desires of connecting passengers?

The innovation team at YYX airport sought to enhance the experience for connecting passengers—a group whose needs were not fully understood but were essential for the airport’s growth. The goal was to uncover the motivations, behaviors, and requirements of these passengers to help the team develop more user-focused solutions.

Seeking the extensive expertise of our TEAGUE team as an innovation partner, we conducted qualitative research with YVR passengers, synthesized findings into comprehensive knowledgebase, then demonstrated the application of our insights through an interactive design workshop.

Project goals

Bringing innovative products and services to life in an Innovation Playbook

The first step in this process was to conduct research and capture findings and insights about the passenger experience as the foundation of a knowledgebase. This knowledgebase would serve as a living, breathing research repository of valuable insights. These insights would cover the motivations of people, business drivers, and opportunities for technological advancements for the YVR Innovation Program.

Immersion & Stakeholder Research

To leverage the internal knowldge of YVR stakeholders, our work began with an in-depth review of existing research and ongoing studies. We then conducted 20 stakeholders interviews across the organization with people influencing the passenger experience in the their everyday job responsibilities.

These conversations highlighted a key opportunity:the connecting passenger experience was both the least understood and the most promising for innovation. With this focus in mind, we developed a research strategy to uncover insights that would inform persona development and serve as the foundation for the broader Innovation Playbook.

Onsite Research Planning

Next, we created a detailed research plan that would allow us to gather insights both broadly and deeply.

Our reserach plan included 2 days onsite at Vancouver International Airport conducting structured interviews with passengers to capture and observe the experiences of a diverse range of travelers. Our goal was to understand the passenger journey, focusing specifically on connecting passengers—a group that had been underserved in previous research but was essential to YVR’s future growth.

Onsite research

In-Depth Field Interviews for Deeper Insights

Over two days at YVR airport, we engaged in 40 passenger interviews and observational studies, specifically including travelers with diverse needs: people with reduced mobility, families, non-native English speakers, high-value travelers, and business and leisure passengers. This approach allowed us to identify common patterns, pain points, and nuances in the connecting passenger experience, establishing a solid foundation for deeper analysis.

Following our onsite visit, we conducted an additional 20 one-on-one, in-depth interviews over the course of two weeks. This iterative phase allowed us to validate emerging themes and explore new insights, resulting in a comprehensive understanding of the connecting passenger experience.

These deeper interviews became instrumental in shaping the personas and insights that would drive YVR's innovation strategy.

Synthesis & Findings

A user-first approach to synthesis: focusing on real passenger attitudes and behaviors rather than traditional demographics

We took a user-first approach to synthesis, focusing on real passenger attitudes and behaviors rather than traditional demographics. By grouping shared experiences and concerns, we turned raw observations into meaningful insights that shaped our personas. This helped us move beyond surface-level assumptions and create relatable, inclusive profiles that reflect the true diversity of airport users.

Interestingly, we found overlap in the needs of different groups—like travelers with reduced mobility and families with young children—who shared similar anxieties and strategies for navigating the airport. By comparing personas side by side, we uncovered common themes that made them flexible and relevant across various use cases.

This method grounded our work in empathy and ensured that our design solutions genuinely support all types of travelers throughout their airport journey.

Insights

Personas & Passenger Journeys

Through our research, we identified six distinct personas that capture the diverse needs, mindsets, and behaviors of YVR’s passengers. These personas reflect the real-world complexity of travel and offer YVR a practical framework for understanding and addressing specific pain points and opportunities. Each one serves as a tool to help design more seamless, personalized, and enjoyable experiences for every traveler passing through the airport.

Romantics

Create a memorable experience.

I see the journey as part of my destination.

Overcomers

Survive the agony of travel.

I control what I can at the airport to keep crises at bay.

Utilitarians

Make the trip productive.

I see the journey as part of my destination.

Intuitives

Allow for spontaneity.

I'll see how I feel and figure it out once I'm at the airport.

Doubters

Feel reassured that everything is okay.

Airports are full of uncertainties so I have to stay alert.

Ritualists

Find space to conserve energy.

The airport is where I relax and recharge.

Journey maps

Mapping the journeys of passenger personas: showing pain points and highlights

Mapping each persona's journey required that we closely anaylze their interactions with airport staff, systems, and procedures, revealing key moments that shape how passengers feel and navigate the airport. By identifying these touchpoints, we uncovered opportunities to design focused improvements that enhance both the emotional and operational sides of the travel experience.

Behavior Insights

Increased persona actionability: showing behaviour comparisons and transformation.

Furthermore, we extended the functionality of the personas by exposing subtle attitudes and behaviors and comparing key traits to spot common patterns and differences. This analysis not only highlighted the unique lens each persona brings to their journey, but also revealed overlaps and gaps across the spectrum.

Motivation vs. Activity

How do personas compare in their reason and intention behind activity or behavior and the engagement in pursuits that require mobility?

Anxiety vs. Confidence

How do personas compare in their trust in self and nervousness and unease of an outcome and their trust in self?

Similar

Who does this persona type have the most in common with and in what ways?

For example, The Ritualist is most like the Romantic. Similarities include an optimistic, idealistic attitude toward the airport. Differences are familiarity and routine, which the Romantic does not have.

Opposite

Who does this persona type have the least in common with and in what ways?

For example, The Ritualist is least like the Utilitarians. They have low anxiety when traveling and aren't as annoyed by sudden changes to their flight schedule.

Transformation

What external or internal factors could transform this persona into another one?

For example, The Ritualist is most like the Romantic. Similarities include an optimistic, idealistic attitude toward the airport. Differences are familiarity and routine, which the Romantic does not have.

An Insight Repository

The Knowledgebase brought together all research insights, personas, journey maps, and more—creating a single source of truth for the YVR organization. Designed with clarity and usability in mind, it made critical information easily accessible across teams, empowering the innovation team to collaborate more effectively, share knowledge seamlessly, and make informed, strategic decisions. Furthermore, the Knowledgebase was built to scale, allowing future insights and research to be added with ease—ensuring it remains a living, evolving resource that continues to support innovation over time.

Outcomes

Design Thinking Workshop with the Innovation Team & Executives

We stress-tested the mechanics of workshop activities by running an internal workshop with the TEAGUE team.

In attendance were YVR innovation CEOs, leadership, and adjacent memebers from the wider YVR organization.

To launch the new Knowledgebase and research repository, our team was invited to facilitate a full-day ideation workshop at YVR Innovation Summit.

The workshop had two key goals:
To immerse participants in hands-on activities that introduced the personas and repository
To show how design thinking can drive innovation in an airport setting.

Our team created 3 workshop activities, each building upon the outputs of the previous activity. The activities incorporated personas, persona journeys, and "forcing multipliers" that encouraged YVR participants to think about technology-partnerships.

The workshop brought our insights to life, helping the organization connect with the personas in a more human, relatable way. It sparked fresh ideas and aligned the team around the real people behind the research. To close out the project,the outputs of the workshop were synthesized and share back to the YVR innovation team as a testimony to how the Knowledgebase artifacts could be used for future innovation programs. This project left a lasting mark, not just for YVR, but as a powerful example of how thoughtful research can inspire meaningful, customer-centered change.

YVR: Passenger Research Insights & Repository