Overview

Airbnb is a global hospitality platform with a community space that supports hosts through knowledge sharing and peer connection.

The challenge was to restructure the platform as it expanded from a single host type to multiple audiences, improving navigation and making it easier for hosts to find relevant discussions and resources.

I contributed high-fidelity UX designs that simplified the homepage, introduced a global left-hand navigation for community spaces, and streamlined the header navigation to improve clarity and content discovery.

The redesigned structure improved discoverability and established a scalable foundation for future growth, with approved designs implemented on the live platform.

Client
Airbnb
Role
UX Designer (Supporting role)
Focus
Information Architecture, Navigation Design, UX Simplification
Platform
Web - Community Platform
Tools
Adobe XD
View live platform

Challenge

As the community expanded to support multiple host types, its structure and navigation became increasingly complex. The organisation of community spaces and the header navigation both required simplification and restructuring.
Previous homepage design showing community spaces presented as homepage tiles, with brand and account links distributed across multiple header menus.

Structural expansion of community spaces

The community navigation was originally structured around a single host type, with dedicated spaces presented as homepage tiles. As additional host types were introduced, new spaces were added, increasing complexity and reducing clarity. The underlying structure was not designed to support this level of expansion.

Header navigation complexity

Account, brand and resource links were distributed across multiple header menus, creating a fragmented navigation experience that made it harder to find relevant content.

Overall impact

These structural and navigation issues reduced clarity across the experience and made it harder for hosts to locate relevant discussions and resources.

Approach

Understanding the existing experience

Conducted lightweight user interviews to identify pain points in the existing Airbnb community experience, informing design decisions.

Structuring community spaces

Reorganised the community into a more scalable structure to support multiple host types. Introduced a global left-hand navigation to replace homepage tiles, providing consistent access to community spaces. Defined the purpose of each space, with clear separation between public and private areas.

Structuring header and left-hand navigation

Relocated brand and resource links from the header into the left-hand navigation, reducing the header to a single account menu. Grouped and ordered community spaces, brand links, and resource links within the left-hand navigation to create a more predictable navigation experience.

Personalising content by host type

Prioritised community spaces and associated content by host type and login state, creating a more relevant experience.

Working within constraints

Worked within platform and design system constraints, respecting established usage patterns from the primary host group.

Solution

The following screens highlight key updates to the platform, including the redesigned navigation and simplified structure introduced to support multiple host types.

Homepage (Logged out)

Logged-out homepage with a simplified header, user login, hero section, and global left-hand navigation providing access to public community spaces.

Homepage (Logged in)

The logged-in homepage features the header user menu, a simplified hero section, and a global left-hand navigation with access to public and personalised community spaces.

Global left navigation

The global left-hand navigation across different user types, including logged-out users, home hosts, co-hosts, and service hosts.

Community spaces

The board and thread views, with the active community space highlighted in the global left-hand navigation to maintain orientation within conversations.



Mobile views

The mobile views of the logged-out and logged-in homepage, highlighting the responsive global navigation and menu states.





Contributions

Roles & focus

Contributed as a supporting UX designer within the core UX team, focusing on scalable navigation for community spaces and simplifying header navigation.

Collaboration

Collaborated with UX designers, engineers, project managers, and community leads to align design decisions across disciplines.

Design delivery

Produced high-fidelity mockups for key pages and user states, with designs directly influencing the final navigation structure.

Outcome

Implemented on the live platform

The new global left-hand navigation and simplified header navigation were implemented on the live platform, replacing the homepage tile model and multi-menu header. The updated structure improved content discoverability and established a scalable foundation for future host types.

Collaborative outcome

Navigation proposals were reviewed across the UX team, with the final solution combining selected elements from multiple concepts into the navigation structure.
View live platform