Taha Gasht — booking site redesign

01Context

A thirty-year-old agency with three kinds of trip

Taha Gasht is a Tehran travel agency that has sold trips for three decades: domestic and foreign flights, hotels in Iran and abroad, group tours with a Persian-speaking guide, and visas. Its website is the booking system for all of it, with a panel for partner agencies behind it.

Sina worked on it part-time as product designer and strategist. The Figma file states the brief on its cover: the changes to Taha Gasht’s main site. The work covered the public site from the first search to the traveller’s account, and a concept for what could come next.

02Problem

A quick purchase and a long decision on one site

A domestic flight is bought in minutes, on price and time. A tour to Japan is weighed for weeks: the dates, the hotels, the documents, the guide and often a call with a consultant. The same site has to serve both.

The site also shares its flights and hotels with booking sites that sell them too. What an agency can add is judgement: which flight has a guaranteed seat, which hotel is well placed, which tour is worth the money. The redesign had to put that judgement next to the price.

A price list says what a trip costs. An agency can also say what to choose.

03Research

Twelve booking sites, captured side by side

Before drawing, Sina captured the full pages of twelve booking sites on the same day, next to Taha Gasht’s own: five Iranian sites that sell the same flights (Alibaba, Flytoday, MrBilit, Flightio and SafarMarket) and seven international ones (Booking.com, Expedia, Kayak, Skyscanner, Google Flights, Cheapflights and Wego).

Flight-booking app kits went into the same file as references for mobile flows, and later, for the social concept, the travel-experience pages of an Iranian booking site and Tripadvisor. None of that material is shown here: it is other people’s work.

From a benchmark to a live site

01
BenchmarkTwelve booking sites and Taha Gasht’s own, captured side by side
02
Information architectureEvery module of the flight, hotel and tour journeys, each marked as kept or new

04Approach

The whole journey as a map before any screen

The first board maps the flight and hotel journeys module by module: the search page, the result list, the single flight or hotel, and the landing pages that search engines find. On the flight side, each module is tagged by where it comes from: Taha Gasht’s current structure, or a new idea.

Some new ideas are small, like buttons for the previous and next day, or a price calendar that marks public holidays. Others change what the site can do:

A price alert that can book the flight: the traveller saves passenger details and tops up the wallet by 20 to 30 percent over the fare, and the flight is booked when the price changes.
Sold-out flights stay in the list.
Hotels on a list and on a map share one filter, with the same results in both, and hovering a hotel in the list shows it on the map.
Reviews come from a third-party source at first, with the site’s own review system beside them.
Landing pages for routes and hotels show price trends once at least twelve months of data exist.

Every module has a source: kept from the current site, or a new idea.

FigJam board — the information map of flights and hotels: search page, list view, single flight and hotel pages, landing pages and static pages, joined by connectors — Figure 02The information architecture for flights and hotels: search, list, detail and landing pages, module by module.

05Suggestions

Four ways to suggest a flight

Two opportunity trees ask what the agency can recommend. For flights there are four kinds of suggestion: the cheapest; charter flights, because on a charter the seat is guaranteed; the shortest, on foreign routes; and flights with special amenities for a limited time, set by hand in the back office.

The special-amenity branch is also where the agency can sell more: extra baggage, an upgrade to business, discounts on routes, a CIP lounge, a free hotel at a stopover. For hotels, the picks combine guaranteed rooms, access to the city centre and price. A second board maps the tour page the same way, starting with Japan.

The agency’s pick became a sort tab on the result list, next to cheapest and best.

FigJam board — two opportunity trees: for tickets, cheapest, charter, shortest and special-amenity flights with upsells down to a free hotel at a stopover; for hotels, the agency’s picks by guarantee, location and price — Figure 03Two opportunity trees: ways to suggest a flight, and ways to suggest a hotel.

FigJam board — the Japan tour page as a tree: introduction, competitive advantages, packages, trip cost, reviews, services, documents, extra information, gallery, consultation, FAQ and blog — Figure 04The Japan tour page as a tree, from the introduction to the blog.

06Design language

Three rounds on one card

The flight ticket card carries most of the site. It repeats down every result list, opens into flight, price and refund details, and sets the pattern for hotel and tour cards. So the design language was worked out on it, in three rounds: a first iteration, a third version of the ticket, and final versions that compare shadows, card backgrounds and borders on the same grey page.

The type is Yekan Bakh, set for Persian throughout. Earlier sketches in the file try two price calendars, one for domestic and one for foreign flights, and a ticket that opens in place.

First iteration of the flight ticket card, repeated in a result list with filters beside it — Figure 05The ticket card, from the first iteration to the final versions. Open a page to see it full size.

Final versions of the flight result list, side by side: cards with a shadow, cards on a card background, and cards with a border, all on a grey page — Figure 05The ticket card, from the first iteration to the final versions. Open a page to see it full size.

07Solution

Flights: choose by price, by time or by the agency’s pick

Flight results open with a strip of dates and their lowest fares, so a cheaper day is visible before any scrolling. Three sort tabs sit above the list, cheapest, best and Taha Gasht’s pick, and each shows its price and total time.

The filters follow what matters on these routes: a charter or systemic ticket, the number of stops, whether a stopover needs a visa, the cabin and the baggage. Every card shows the seats left and opens a window with the flight’s details, the price for adults, children and infants, and the refund rules, which list penalties and sales restrictions. A price alert sits in the list.

The search box handles one-way, round-trip and multi-city trips, and the flight version of the home page adds a table of last-minute charters.

A stopover visa gets its own filter: a cheap connection through Europe needs a Schengen visa.

Flight results design, desktop — a strip of dates with their lowest fares, sort tabs for cheapest, best and Taha Gasht’s pick, filters on the side and ticket cards with seats left

Flight details open in a window over the results — each leg with its airports and times, a stopover in Doha, and the total fare

The same window on its price tab — the fare for adults, children and infants, broken down, and the total

08Hotels

Hotels: where it is and what guests said

Hotel results come as a list or on a map, with one set of filters for both: price range, stars, the type of stay (hotel, boutique hotel or hostel) and the city’s districts. A card carries the price per night, the stars and, where it applies, the agency’s pick.

The hotel page breaks the rating into staff, location and cleanliness, lists nearby sights with the time to reach them on foot, by car or by metro, and lets guests add a review with photos. Rooms are compared on the same page, with a request for extra services before booking.

Distances are given in minutes and by mode, the way a traveller plans a day.

Hotel results design — hotel cards with photo, stars, price per night and the agency’s pick badge, filters on the side — Figure 08Hotels as a list, on a map and on their own page. Open a page to see it full size.

Hotel results on a map — hotel pins with one opened, beside the list and the filters — Figure 08Hotels as a list, on a map and on their own page. Open a page to see it full size.

09Tours

Tours: a decision made with a person

Tours are where the agency is strongest, and where a purchase takes longest. The tour list filters by what a traveller wants from the trip: the season or holiday, such as Nowruz or Christmas, the weather, the aim (rest or adventure) and the kind of activity, from nature and history to festivals, food and shopping.

A tour page, drawn first for Japan, answers the questions a consultant usually hears: the packages and their dates, the price by hotel and room with children’s rates, a calculator for the whole group, the plan for each day, the hotels, the services included (a Persian-speaking guide, the visa, insurance, the CIP lounge at Tehran’s airport) and the documents needed. A call-back form, a phone number and WhatsApp stay close throughout.

The page also shows the agency’s record, its years in business, its passengers and their satisfaction, which the tour board had planned as competitive advantages.

A tour is still sold by a consultant. The page prepares the traveller for that call.

Tour list design — tour cards with dates and starting prices, filters for season, weather, aim and activity — Figure 09Choosing a tour, reading its page, then costing a package. Open a page to see it full size.

Japan tour page design — the agency’s record, a gallery, three package cards, the tour at a glance, the services, a call-back and consultation, places to visit and travellers’ stories — Figure 09Choosing a tour, reading its page, then costing a package. Open a page to see it full size.

10Home

A home page for three kinds of trip

The home page opens with one search box and four tabs: hotel, flight, flight and hotel, and tour. Below it, rows change with the season and the traveller: recently viewed trips, a row of trips to the south, last-minute flights and suggested hotels. The page also comes in a version for each product: flights, hotels, flight and hotel, and tours.

Further down, the page makes the case for the agency: its features, how to buy a ticket, passengers’ reviews, a call-back form with the hours it is answered, and a first invitation to the travel planner: “Build your own adventure.” On phones, four full-screen stories introduce the Travel Maker, one step each.

Taha Gasht home page design on a phone — the header, the hotel search box, then recently viewed flights

The first of four stories that introduce the Travel Maker on a phone: choose the destination and the dates

11Account

Checkout and the traveller’s account

Checkout runs in five steps, shown across the top: choose a ticket, enter the passengers, confirm the details, pay, and issue the ticket. Saved passengers can be picked from a list, and new ones are added with their passport details beside a summary of the flight.

After the purchase, the account has eight sections: travels, passengers, wallet, bookmarks, profile, messages, support and sign-out, most drawn with their dialogs and empty states. Travels shows each ticket’s status, opens the e-ticket, tracks the flight and starts a refund by route and passenger. The wallet, called the Taha card, is topped up by a set or a custom amount and pays out to a bank account. Support works as tickets, each with its own thread of replies.

Sign-in works with a password or a one-time code, and a help centre gathers the questions, the buying guide and support.

Checkout design — five steps across the top, the flight summary, passenger details with a button for saved passengers, and contact details — Figure 11Checkout in five steps.

Account, my travels — bookings grouped by month, each with its type, amount, date and status, and buttons for a refund and the ticket

Account, passengers — saved passengers in a table, with edit and delete on each row and a button to add one

12Next step

What could come next: plan a trip, then share it

With the booking site drawn, Sina designed a concept to bring travellers back between trips. The Travel Maker plans a trip in four steps: the plan itself, with the route, the dates, the transport and the stay; the fellow travellers, with their names and phone numbers; the activities, day by day; and how to publish the trip. Activities come as types, such as historic sites, food, shopping, rest or local events, each placed on a map with photos or documents, and new days can be added.

The social layer lets travellers post a tour with its price per person, dates and departure city, share experiences rated on satisfaction, value for money and whether they would recommend the place, and write travelogues that link to a tour or a hotel.

A strategy board came with it. It sets seven goals, from sales and personalised offers to loyalty and brand awareness; eight drivers that would bring people back, from points and badges to referrals; and the risks beside them: slow early engagement, cost and a slow return, moderating content, privacy and negative feedback. A system map places each format (blog, interactive map, post, Reels and travelogue) where travellers would meet it: the feed, explore, the home page, campaigns and inside tour pages.

The strategy board lists the risks beside the goals.

Travel Maker, step 1 on a phone — the plan: the trip’s name, origin and destination with times, transport and stay

Travel Maker, step 2 — fellow travellers: a group trip, how many are going, and each traveller’s name and phone

Social concept on a phone — a traveller’s post suggesting a Bali tour, with the price per person, the dates and the departure city

Social concept — a traveller’s experience rated on satisfaction, value for money and willingness to recommend

FigJam board — seven goals for the social layer, each with its sub-goals, above eight positive drivers and the risks

FigJam board — the social system map: blog, interactive map, post, Reels and travelogue, each with its focus, standout feature, touch points and value

13Result

Live on tahagasht.com

The redesign was built, and it is live on tahagasht.com. The live pages follow the maps. Flight results carry the charter or systemic label and buttons for the previous and next day. The Japan tour page opens with the agency’s record, three decades, 99 percent passenger satisfaction and more than 6,500 travellers, and keeps its consultation blocks and tabs for documents, prices, the best time to travel, cities and sights.

The Travel Maker and the social layer are not on the live site. They remain a designed next step.

The live tahagasht.com home page, captured on 27 September 2026 — the hero, the search box, featured tours, popular flights and hotels

The live flight results for Tehran to Istanbul — charter labels, previous and next day buttons and filters

14Key decisions

Five decisions behind the site

The boards and the pages make these choices visible.

01
Show the agency’s pick next to cheapest and best
Any booking site can sort by price. Taha Gasht can also say which flight it would choose. As a sort tab, that judgement sits where the traveller chooses, and each tab shows its price and time so the trade-off is plain.
Alternatives
One price sort, or a badge on a few cards.
Trade-off
The pick has to be kept up by people: the board marks special-amenity flights as set by an admin or a manager.
Evidence
The Ticket and Hotel opportunity trees; the sort tabs on the result list.
02
Make charter and systemic a label and a filter
On a charter the seat is guaranteed, which is why the opportunity tree suggests it. The difference changes what the traveller is buying, so it sits on every card and in the filters.
Trade-off
One more label on a card that already carries times, stops and seats.
Evidence
The live result list shows the label on every card.
03

15My role

Sina’s part

Sina worked part-time as Taha Gasht’s product designer and strategist. The Figma file and the boards are Sina’s work, apart from the benchmark material and a few frames pasted in from other projects.

Owned

The benchmark of twelve booking sites
The information architecture for flights, hotels and the tour page, and the opportunity trees
The design language, worked out on the flight ticket card
Every page of the booking site: home, flights, hotels, tours, checkout, help and sign-in
The traveller’s account area
The Travel Maker and social concept, and its strategy board

Co-owned

Collaborated

Colleagues at Taha Gasht, who reviewed the boards: one note on the tour map asks for the sights as an infographic
The team that built the live site

Benchmark captures, app kits, community templates and a bought icon set in the file are left out, as are frames pasted in from other projects and a journey map on the opportunity board that belongs to another project.

16Outcomes

What shipped

The redesign is live. The file records the design and holds no traffic or sales figures from after launch, so there are no usage numbers here.

booking sites benchmarked: 12; Five Iranian and seven international, captured beside Taha Gasht’s own site; Delivered output
sections in the traveller’s account: 8; Travels, passengers, wallet, bookmarks, profile, messages, support and sign-out; Delivered output
steps in the Travel Maker: 4; The plan, fellow travellers, activities, publishing; Delivered output
goals on the social strategy board: 7; With eight drivers and the risks beside them; Delivered output

What was delivered

A redesigned home page and search box for flights, hotels and tours
Flight search, results and details, and a five-step checkout
Hotel search with a list and a map, and hotel pages
Tour lists and tour pages, starting with Japan

17What I learned

What I’d change

01
Write down how a flight earns the agency’s pick
Taha Gasht’s pick is the most distinctive idea on the result list, and the file never says how a flight earns it. A short rule, agreed with the sales team, would keep the tab honest and give travellers a reason to trust it.
02
Test the tour page with travellers
The tour page answers the questions consultants hear, but the file holds no test with travellers. A few sessions with people planning a trip would show which answers they look for first, and which they still pick up the phone for.
03
Start the social layer with one format
The concept covers posts, Reels, travelogues, a map and a planner at once. Starting with one format, travelogues linked to a booked tour, would have shown whether travellers post at all before the rest was built.

Language