• GigaOm, Monday, January 30, 2012 11:59 AM

Letting mobile lead the way, Kayak on Monday debuted a new site very similar to its recently updated iPad and iPhone apps. While remarkable, that the travel service found inspiration in the flourishing world of mobile media and design is hardly surprising. “Normally a Web-based company that decides to make an app wants to translate the look and feel of its site to that app,” writes GigaOm. “But Kayak has been there, done that. And from the design team to the executive team, those within Kayak say it now makes more sense to do the opposite.”

Said Paul English, Kayak co-founder and CTO: “I got to the point where I actually liked iPhone app better than our website, I thought it was aesthetically more beautiful.” The redesign is chiefly a matter of simplicity. Along with a shaded background and streamlined button arrangement, the new site offers fewer filter choices and fewer flights displayed, as GigaOm points out.

“The layout is also much wider, and how Kayak’s developers used that space is strongly influenced by the Kayak iPad app, which, when in landscape mode, is also a wide-screen device.” Added English: “The overall goal in making the site look more like a mobile app is to shed unnecessary details and simplify.”

Read the whole story at GigaOm »