Project Overview

Client

Our hypothetical client was “The Chicago Creativity Center” an invented public arts & culture venue. The assignment was to design a microsite for their grand opening event, a weekend-long festival. This site also needed to address real-world problems endemic to similar events that my partner and I discovered through research.

Research

Secondary Research & Competitive Feature Analysis

My partner and I collaborated on a list of events that were similar, or appealed to a similar audience as our own. Our goal was to determine what we might learn about the norms and user expectations for events like these, what features were held in common, and which were non-essential. We created a chart to point out potential areas where our product could innovate, and noted which features would be essential to compete.

User Survey

My classmate and I conducted a survey to determine what types of cultural events potential users enjoyed, what frustrated them, and where they learned about local events. Some of the insights from our survey included:

100% of respondents find out about cultural events via social media

66% find out about events via word-of-mouth

66% attend ticketed events like club nights and parties

33% say parking is the most frustrating part of the experience for them

User Interviews

Surveys are useful for collecting information about what users do, but to determine how they think and feel, my partner and I also conducted interviews with users about other cultural events they had attended. Statements like the ones below provide important insight into the inner lives of potential customers.

"I love being in the crowd of these other like-minded people who love the artist."

"Going alone to concerts isn't as exciting, I want other people there to fuel my fire."

"Once I leave, I want to have a different perspective of life and art than when I first got there."

"Streamed events are fun but they're not the same as in-person shows. Performing for a livestream instead of a crowd of people isn’t as satisfying.”

Affinity Map

We used this tool to gather and sort the insights we had during the research process.

User Persona

A user persona is a tool used to prioritize the needs of a user in a given design. My partner and I employed this tool to create our user journey map, and to have a specific type of person in mind when we were generating ideas later in the process. Our character, Sophie, is a conglomeration of the most common traits of the people we interviewed and surveyed.

User Journey Map

A user journey map is a tool that describes the process a user goes through when using a product. In this case, we imagined our user persona going through the necessary steps to attend our event. By describing what our user might be thinking and feeling while they go through the steps of using the product, we are able to identify possible problems to solve.

Design

Ideation

My partner and I asked ourselves how we might solve the problems we had identified earlier in the process, and brainstormed solutions to each.

Feature Prioritization

We used a MoSCoW (Must, Should, Could, and Won’t) method chart to determine which ideas we’d include in our design for the product. We considered what would be the most feasible, and the most essential to solving the problems we identified.

Minimum Viable Product

After determining what features we should prioritize, we knew what we absolutely had to include to address the problems we identified. We made this working description of the product we would go on to prototype:

A website with a detailed schedule, event descriptions, and a map of the venue.

Eased entry with valet parking included in the cost, digital ticketing, and a permanent taxi stand.

Amenities at the event:

Audio tours

Wheelchair access

Sign language Interpreters

Ample bathrooms and seating

A gift shop

Wide variety of food and drink

Value Proposition Statement

Our event microsite helps patrons of the arts who want to enjoy live performances and art installations by reducing confusion and friction related to planning and ticketing, and increasing interest and awareness of the event.

Interaction Design & Information Architecture

Before we began prototyping the site, my partner and I planned out the hierarchy and flow of the site using a site map. This step was an essential part of designing a cogent, usable product.

User Interface

Lo-Fi Prototype

This version was made to establish a layout and hierarchy that would be iterated on in later designs. Created on paper, a clickable prototype was made on Figma.

Mid-Fi Prototype

Working within time constraints, this version ended up being very similar to the final. It was tested amongst a small group of users, who were seemingly confused by a lack of real-looking information in this version.

Mood Board & Style Tile

My partner and I created these artifacts to guide the visual design of our prototype. We were attempting to create a brand image that was both fun and friendly, as well as contemporary and intelligent. We conducted surveys with potential users in regards to both the mood board and style tile, asking them what attributes they might associate with each image. The initial indication of this desirability testing was that we had successfully managed to get these qualities across.

Microinteractions

The Hi-Fi prototype includes Hover states, drop down menus, and buttons that shift from gray to yellow to indicate whether they are currently active.

Hi-Fi Prototype

Our microsite provides adequate, clear information about logistics necessary to attend and enjoy the event. It details various amenities and accessibility features of the event, and allows users to plan their visits to the hour, with detailed schedules. Developing this version of the prototype was the single longest step in the progress of the sprint.

Success Metrics

• Uptick in daily active user in days prior to event

• Minimal time-on-task

• Ticket sell-outs, high attendance

• Vendors at event report high sales

• Good sales on merch, food, and beverages