Data Tells You What, Design Tells You Why

Data will tell you the pattern. Design will tell you the person.

When we looked at the Manage Your Booking page for Qantas, I assumed most people checking their flight details would be at an airport, scrolling on a mobile device. We designed mobile-first by default.

Then the data landed: 70% of traffic was still coming from desktop.

It didn’t make sense at first—until research filled in the gap. People weren’t checking their booking at the airport. They were at home, dreaming, planning, researching their trip before they left. The page wasn’t just a utility; it was part of the anticipation.

The analytics showed us the what. The design research gave us the why. Together, they reshaped the experience to fit the real job the page was doing.

The best products live in that overlap.
Where the what and the why meet.