My Role
UX Design, User Research, UI Design
Problem
As a company that frequently hosts and sponsors social events, we have identified a significant issue in the event industry. We have noticed that individuals often face difficulty in finding a reliable event app that consistently provides them with relevant and exciting events. To address this issue, our team endeavored to create a social app that would effectively drive traffic to events and alleviate the struggles faced by event-goers.
Empathize
To gather comprehensive data for our research, we utilized two distinct research methods - contextual inquiry and surveys. Initially, we hosted multiple social events to observe how users interacted with various event apps and to determine the methods they employed to discover events. Following this, we conducted a survey involving over 200 college-aged individuals from across the country. Our primary assumption was that individuals currently rely on event and social media apps to discover events, and we sought to confirm this assumption through our research.
Personas
Contextual inquiry summary
- People prefer to buy tickets online over paying with cash at the door
- People get very upset when information on the flyer is wrong
- People like to show up 1-2 hours after the start time of events
- The top social interactions during events was story posting and live streaming
- Users used Twitter to find ticket discounts for the events and the event host would honor the discounts
- Users like to look for discounts to get friends in for free
- Networking happens when the event is over
- The first group of attendees uses social media heavily to encourage more people to come to the event
Research Results
Before conducting our research, we believed that our main competitors were other event apps and that there was a clear need for a new event app that could cater to a wide range of interests. However, we were uncertain about our primary users and how users were currently solving this problem.
After conducting our research, we discovered that users do not typically use other event apps, and they are more likely to promote events when incentivized. We also learned that the two most popular methods for discovering events were text messaging and word-of-mouth recommendations. Furthermore, our primary user base is college students, who expressed a desire to know the girl/guy ratio for events. We also found that there is a need for a highly targeted social event app that provides meaningful content to our user base.
Our research has helped us to better understand our users and their needs, as well as the current methods they employ to discover events. We can now focus on creating a highly targeted event app that caters to the preferences of our primary user base and incentivizes them to promote events to their peers.
How Might We
- HMW: Provide a great experience so that our users come back more than once and will be comfortable using Hype on aTuesday night?
- HMW: Speak to our young user base in a unique way?
- HMW: Provide content that is meaningful to our users
Ideation
To ensure that our event app would resonate with our primary user base of college-aged individuals, we invested considerable effort in designing an interface that would effectively capture their attention and address their needs. We began the design process by drafting several rounds of sketches, which allowed us to explore a wide range of design options and consider different approaches to creating a visually compelling user experience.
Our team then analyzed each design carefully, assessing their strengths and weaknesses in terms of their ability to appeal to our young user base. We paid particular attention to the usability and accessibility of each design, as we recognized that these factors would be critical to ensuring the success of our app.
During our initial testing phase, we received negative feedback from users regarding our first wireframe prototypes. They were dissatisfied with the appearance and functionality of the app, citing that it resembled every other event app available and they were unlikely to use it. Users expressed a desire for a more engaging and interesting experience that would be worth their time, including additional social features and meaningful content. Recognizing the need to address these concerns, we went back to the drawing board to iterate on our past designs, striving to create a more dynamic and user-centric app that would resonate with our target audience.
Content Design
Upon conducting research, we found that users were primarily interested in only six types of events. To address this, we incorporated this data into our new design to ensure that users were able to easily find and access the events they cared about most. Our users expressed dissatisfaction with the idea of a massive public event app, as they sought an exclusive social experience that would differentiate itself from apps like Facebook Events. Taking this feedback into account, we aimed to create a more personalized and intimate event app that would cater specifically to our users' needs and preferences.
- On-Campus events was one of the top 3 responses to "What type of events do you attend the most?"
- 40% of responses to our survey said one of their biggest troubles they face when looking for events is they don't have friends to go with.
- 51% of responses to our survey said one of their biggest troubles they face when looking for events is they are not sure if they know anybody who is going to the event already.
Leveraging the insights gained from our research, we developed the Campus Page, an innovative social feed exclusively tailored to the needs of our users. By limiting content to events occurring on or near a user's campus and connecting them with like-minded individuals in their campus community, we aimed to solve the problems identified by users in our research. Our assumption was that by providing a platform that connected users with events and people in their immediate vicinity, they would be more likely to attend events and engage with others on their campus. This approach was also driven by the popularity of on-campus events among our users, making it an ideal solution to promote engagement and foster a sense of community. Overall, the Campus Page was designed to offer a more personalized, relevant, and engaging social experience that would help our users connect with others and enjoy the events that mattered most to them.
Usability Testing
Our research showed that the majority of event app users spend less than one day per week using the app. We found that users were generally dissatisfied with the standard event app experience, which typically involves filtering events based on location and interests and receiving a generic list of events. In response to this feedback, we developed a feature called "Perks" which leverages the incentives offered by event promoters on social media to create a more engaging experience for attendees. By giving this experience a name and designing it within the Hype app, we provided users with a new reason to use the app and engage with events. With Perks, attendees now had a tangible incentive to interact with events on the app and Hype was no longer just a list of events but an experience that offered more than just event listings.
Feedback
- Users said they think the new update is much more engaging
- Users like the perks feature and multiple users said this was their favorite part of the experience
- Most users agreed when asked if the update provides a unique experience designed around their needs, problems, and preferences.
