This is a user-generated data app that features venue information, showtimes, cast/member information, reviews, ticket purchases, and even shows restaurants nearby your venue. This was a school project that turned my love of design into a direction for my career. Though rough around the edges, this project combined pre-planning, research, wire-framing and design. It fueled my design to pursue User Interface and User Experience as a focus.
The idea of creating an app was very new to me. Given the parameters that the app was to be used in the entertainment capacity, I asked myself, “hey self, what would I want (as a consumer) from an app that directs a tourist in NYC?” Then I went silent for a bit to think... “Eureka! I’ve got it!!” (Okay, so maybe I didn’t say that at all) Though I did start to write a list of all the things I wished it could do... my laundry, breakfast in bed, marathon Netflix without me having to reassure it that, YES, it’s been over 4 hours and YES, I’m still watching ST:Voyager, PLAY THE NEXT EPISODE. But I digress.
The client will need to be able to easily navigate a variety of uses while sorting through information that is categorized by interests. The main goal of the app is to direct users to the best venue for their specific needs. The application will also be able to inform the user of venues or shows they might not have previously known about. A go-to solution for those seeking entertainment, this app will able to assist people who are familiar with the New York area as well as those who are not.
The Venue will be marketed toward two different targets. One will be white women with college degrees between the ages of 35 and 50. The other is Asian males, also college educated, between the ages of 21 and 30. The two markets are varied due to the activities involved. Since the two are so different it is important to make usability and clarity high priorities.
The client will need to have a variety of uses easily navigable and lots of information broken up into different interests. The main goal of the app is primarily to direct users to the best venue for their specific needs. The application will also address the issues that may arise from not knowing a venue or a show. It will be a go to solution for most entertainment.
Since the application is a hub for all major venues in Manhattan it is important to have all locations and as many venues as possible. The application will allow the user to:
Organizing is probably the most satisfying part of design because it allows the design to serve its purpose. Making the screens also cleared up any gaps in my initial plans. It was one of the most time consuming parts of the entire project. I spent considerable time downloading apps of all sorts to research navigation, search functions, how items are organized, and screen orientations. When running through the screens, it was essential that the wireframes showed depth, clarity, and intuitiveness. The screens shown are primary screens in the user’s process.
My biggest fear of the entire project was offering the app to my target market and having the design inhibit their ability to maneuver through each part of the app with ease. At the outset of testing, I told participants that this app doesn’t truly function as the screens are just pictures and not all buttons work.
The test was to see if the users could successfully find Alex Sharp’s awards. I told them he was in a popular show on Broadway. This was the proper route to find the information.
The participants did surprisingly well. Two of the participants wanted to do a search, which I explained wouldn’t actually work since it’s a picture, but I loved that they had immediately forgotten it wasn’t a real application. Overall, the participants found it with little extraneous clicking.
In this test, I found that the app hotspots were a little small and there were a few animations that were inconsistent. I switched from a flip to a push left for the inner screens which seemed to please the users after additional testing.
The test was to see if the users could easily find the band Brand New and add them to the favorite the user’s favorites. This can be done in two ways:
OR
The test was to see if the users could successfully find Alex Sharp’s awards. I told them he was in a popular show on Broadway. This was the proper route to find the information.
This test didn’t go as well as I had wanted. Users couldn’t find the band as easily because it was under the featured spotlight venue and testers didn’t scroll down far enough to find the venue. Each user eventually found the band after a bit of searching (good thing the app isn’t too lengthy) and “liking” the band seemed simple.
As a result, I built out the search function and and allowed the user to find it off of the name. Since it is built of images instead of code, I simply added it to the “Trending Searches”.
I tested this functionality of the new screens and the users were able to find the much more easily and the “favoriting” was as swift as before. The screens on the right show the path as tested by users.
