---
id: travel-skyscanner-design-en
service: Skyscanner
website: https://www.skyscanner.com
category: travel
document: DESIGN.MD
source_prompt: travel-skyscanner-representative-en
language: en
generated: 2026-07-18
---

# Skyscanner DESIGN.MD

> Use this DESIGN.MD as the persistent design standard before building a Travel site or app. It can be given directly to designers, frontend engineers, AI builders, and coding agents. Skyscanner is an information-architecture reference only.

## Purpose

- Skyscanner: https://www.skyscanner.com
- Travel: destination discovery and booking
- itineraries, stays, and reservations
- dates, prices, and cancellation terms
- travel

## Design brief

Create an original product that supports destination discovery and booking. Make itineraries, stays, and reservations easy to scan, compare, and act on. Treat dates, prices, and cancellation terms as a primary design constraint. Starting direction: discovery and comparison flow · clear and confident · medium information density · criteria -> discovery cards -> price and policy comparison -> booking or order · #0770E3 · Skyscanner.

## Public interface design analysis

- Reference basis: These are recurring visual and structural patterns from public landing screens and representative task flows. Verify the current live capture because services change over time.
- Interface archetype: discovery and comparison flow
- Tone and manner: clear and confident
- Information density: medium
- Color strategy: restrained brand accents on neutral surfaces (#0770E3)
- Navigation model: lightweight top navigation
- Structural sequence: criteria -> discovery cards -> price and policy comparison -> booking or order
- Reusable patterns: hero search, date control, comparison card, price policy, sticky action
- Independent application rule: Use the order and decision principles only. Do not reproduce logos, copy, imagery, icons, or proprietary screen composition.

## Screen architecture

- Global navigation with clear current location and account state
- Overview that exposes the next important action for itineraries, stays, and reservations
- Search, filter, sort, or segmented views only where they reduce decision cost
- Detail view that keeps context, status, evidence, and the primary action together
- Persistent help, recovery, privacy, and safety access for dates, prices, and cancellation terms

## Design tokens

```css
:root {
  --color-primary: #0770E3;
  --color-ink: #17201D;
  --color-canvas: #F6F8F7;
  --color-surface: #FFFFFF;
  --color-tint: #0770E322;
  --color-danger: #DC2626;
  --radius-control: 6px;
  --radius-card: 8px;
  --space-1: 4px; --space-2: 8px; --space-3: 12px;
  --space-4: 16px; --space-6: 24px; --space-8: 32px;
  --content-reading: 720px;
  --content-wide: 1280px;
}
```

## Component specifications

- Navigation: active, hover, focus, disabled, and collapsed states
- Cards and rows: stable dimensions, realistic content, metadata hierarchy, and complete click targets
- Forms: labels, descriptions, validation, error summary, progress, and recovery
- Actions: one clear primary action per region; icon buttons require accessible names and tooltips
- Feedback: inline status, toast, banner, skeleton, progress, confirmation, and destructive-action dialog

## State design

For every data-driven region, define loading, empty, partial-data, stale, error, offline, permission-denied, disabled, saving, and success states. Keep layout dimensions stable so state changes do not shift surrounding content.

## Responsive rules

- 360px: one primary column, no horizontal page scroll, 44px touch targets
- 768px: preserve context with two panes only when each pane remains readable
- 1280px and above: constrain reading width and use extra space for comparison or persistent context
- Never scale type with viewport width; wrap long labels and localize for text expansion

## Accessibility requirements

- Semantic landmarks and heading order
- Complete keyboard operation with visible focus
- WCAG AA contrast in all states
- Programmatic labels, descriptions, errors, and live regions
- 200% zoom, reduced motion, forced colors, and screen-reader verification

## Design instruction for AI builders

```text
Design an original Travel interface for [Product name]. Its goal is destination discovery and booking; its core objects are itineraries, stays, and reservations; its critical risk is dates, prices, and cancellation terms. Use the token system and screen rules in this document. Specify realistic content, component contracts, all data states, responsive behavior, accessibility, and acceptance criteria. Do not copy Skyscanner's logo, proprietary copy, images, or exact layout.
```

## Completion checklist

- [ ] The critical path for destination discovery and booking is obvious without explanation
- [ ] itineraries, stays, and reservations have clear hierarchy, status, and actions
- [ ] dates, prices, and cancellation terms has prevention and recovery
- [ ] Mobile, tablet, desktop, keyboard, screen reader, zoom, and reduced motion are verified
- [ ] Loading, empty, error, offline, partial, permission, and success states are complete
- [ ] No protected brand asset or pixel-level layout from Skyscanner is reproduced