🎮 The Concept - Exploring Travel and Booking Mechanics
As I built out the site, I realized: why not have fun with it?
So I turned the prototype into a LOTR-themed travel experience. Imagine yourself booking a stay in Rivendell, taking a weekend in the Shire, or fighting orcs in Mordor — all wrapped in beautiful imagery, witty lore-based copy, and modern UX systems.
The build became a mix of:
🧝 Cosplay & Character Design: users book as characters within the mythos.
🗺️ Travel Site Mechanics: destinations, experiences, upsells, and point systems.
🤖 AI-powered chat integration: the “Wizard” / “Treebeard” assistant guiding you through.
🎨 UX System Exploration: toggles, views, sticky elements, variable inputs, notification styles, and Figma-ready IA design
Test AI’s responsiveness to detailed prompts (Lovable vs GPT-5).
Prototype shorter booking processes and smarter upsell flows.
Experiment with sticky headers/footers, gamified points, and whimsical tone.
Explore world-building through interface copy and narrative structure.
Challenge assumptions about what makes a travel site feel alive.
🏞️ Large immersive imagery reshaped the booking feel; it felt more like a game than a checkout.
🌲 Treebeard’s Floating Widget added humor and character — proof that charm can drive engagement.
🧩 Sticky footer navigation worked surprisingly well — decluttered the header and kept CTAs visible.
🔊 Audio integration (though overkill) proved valuable as an emotional layer.
📖 Thematic typography & lore styling created full immersion — users forgot they were “booking,” not questing.
🗂️ Destination IA (Information Architecture) turned out strong enough to white-label for real-world use.
🌐 Language selector buried in burger menu reduced clutter and felt smarter when paired with IP geo-location.
🚫 Guest booking freedom felt modern — no forced login friction.
📢 Banner placement below header created a fresh upsell zone often ignored in enterprise travel design.
landing page - testing sticky headers/footers
card layouts, microanimations, sticky footer
category layouts, minimal info overload
notification treatments, messaging
resort description layout, card, actions
Travel booking doesn’t have to feel transactional — it can feel like a journey.
Humor, lore, and strong narrative voice can disarm friction in the UX.
Visual storytelling and IA clarity can coexist beautifully.
AI tools (Lovable + GPT-5) can push design thinking into playful, experimental territory where creativity and functionality overlap.
Treebeard Travel is still evolving — a living prototype for testing interaction, emotion, and AI integration in UX.
Future ideas include:“Support the Fellowship” donations (Venmo QR)
LOTR newsletter signups and fan database
Etsy & Amazon affiliate shop (“Middle-earth Market”)
Interactive world map and visitor tracking
Cross-linking to my YouTube channel and LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes content
Treebeard Travel is a love letter to experimentation and storytelling in UX — a reminder that even the smallest creative spark can turn a booking flow into an adventure.
It’s also a living testbed for how AI design tools are changing the way we prototype, prompt, and play.
“Little by little, one travels far.” — J.R.R. Tolkien