TEAM
4 Product Designers
TOOLS
Miro, Figma
512unes
ROLE
Product Designer
CONTEXT
In my “Introduction to UX Design” course, we were tasked with designing a mobile application that solves a problem. With such a broad prompt, we were able to be creative and target issues that are important to us. We designed 512unes which is a mobile app that serves as a centralized service to help live music enthusiasts in Austin find, prepare for, and discuss live events in the city.
TIMELINE
Sep 2022 - Nov 2022
Centralizing the Search for Live Events in Austin
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A short description here blah blah blah.
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4.3k members
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4.3k members
A short description here blah blah blah.
#general
4.3k members
A short description here blah blah blah.
#general
4.3k members
A short description here blah blah blah.
#general
4.3k members
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Meet fellow live music lovers.
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Attendee Reviews
4.8 out of 5
27 global ratings
5 star
80%
4 star
10%
3 star
5%
2 star
5%
1 star
0%
Kristin Watson
I loved it so much...
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Nov 09, 2022
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South By Southwest
Mar 10-19
Austin Convention Center
South By Southwest
Mar 10-19
Austin Convention Center
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Similar Events
Based on 5 Reviews
4.0
Reviews
View Reviews
$10 - $30
Price
View Tickets
Cedar Street Courtyard
1234 Street Dr Austin, TX 78744
Location
View Details
Sat, Dec 12, 2022 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Date and Time
Pop up concert featuring 3 local bands, free drinks provided. Organized by Hypnosis... Read More
Pop up Concert
Hypnosis Live
Crafted with 🤍 by Anoosha Valliani ✨
ⓒ 2024
INTRODUCTION
What do you mean I’m already a sophomore in college...?
The COVID-19 pandemic began during the latter part of my senior year in high school, and suddenly, I found myself starting college at UT Austin as a sophomore. I was thrust into a new city with little chance to socialize during the previous year, and I felt completely unprepared. I wasn’t alone in this feeling; many of my new college friends shared similar experiences. The pandemic not only disrupted our ability to connect with others but also impacted the institutions that bring people together. Music and live events have always been a unifying force, but local venues like Barracuda in Austin were forced to close their doors. As the live music capital of the world and one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., Austin needed a way to bring people together through its greatest strength: entertainment. That’s where 512unes comes in.
SOLUTION & KEY FEATURES
Increasing accessibility and emphasizing community
512unes was made as a service to bring people together by showcasing upcoming live events and emphasizing the community aspect of it. 4 main features ensure that users will be able to connect and has their needs met.
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CHATS
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Community Board & Forum
Feature where users are able to make posts in specific community boards or general boards, as well as create group chats and send direct messages
Recommendation & Search System
A personalized recommendation system based on the user’s interests and music tastes, as well as a search system that filters events based on specifications.
South By Southwest
Mar 10-19
Austin Convention Center
South By Southwest
Mar 10-19
Austin Convention Center
View All
Similar Events
Based on 5 Reviews
4.0
Reviews
View Reviews
$10 - $30
Price
View Tickets
Cedar Street Courtyard
1234 Street Dr Austin, TX 78744
Location
View Details
Sat, Dec 12, 2022 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Date and Time
Pop up concert featuring 3 local bands, free drinks provided. Organized by Hypnosis... Read More
Pop up Concert
Hypnosis Live
Attendee Reviews
4.8 out of 5
27 global ratings
5 star
80%
4 star
10%
3 star
5%
2 star
5%
1 star
0%
Kristin Watson
I loved it so much...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Helpful ?
Yes (2)
NO (0)
Nov 09, 2022
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Review System
Venue reviews and ratings so attendees know what they’re getting themselves into.
Interactive Map
Map that displays nearby parking, as well as venue layout information like number of bathrooms, exits, etc.
Restrooms
Exits
Vending Machines
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Community
Profile
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Community
Venue
Venue
Search...
Internal Map
1
2
Restroom 1 xx ft
BUSY
Restroom 2 xx ft
BUSY
USER RESEARCH
IDEATION & WIREFRAMING
TESTING
FINAL PROTOTYPE & TAKEAWAYS
Is this a viable plan?
What exactly do we want in our final product?
Observing our lo-fi wireframes being used
Bringing it all together and reflecting
We had to bring this idea to real life so our first step was validating if this is something that is an actual issue that needs to be solved. We conducted user interviews with 8 of our peers at UT Austin. We devised a plan with 10 open-ended questions about their live music event experiences, their music preferences, and how they connect with others at these events. After gathering our data, it was time to organize our findings through various methods. We began with an affinity diagram where we used category-level labeling to cluster sticky notes that contained similar thoughts or concepts and placed a category name for each cluster. We then synthesized these clusters into themes using theme-level labeling. The key themes we derived were:
Time to start putting these ideas onto some paper! We started with individual ideation which included each member to draw up 20 storyboards. Then together, as a group, we adopted Walt Disney’s creative strategy to rationalize our creative ideas and see what’s feasible. This was done on figjam and included various stages, including:
Using our Lo-Fi wireframes, we moved on to usability testing. During this stage, we ideated 5 tasks for a user to attempt to do. We watch users completing these tasks and here their feedback. We created a script to follow for a uniform experience for our interviewees. These are the tasks:
Using our feedback from the usability study we then created our final prototype. We started this process by creating a uniform style guide for consistency then reiterating on our previous mockups until reaching our ideal product.
This was a class project so, obviously, resources were very limited and we didn’t actually launch this product. I’m very proud of mine and my group’s work but I would love to put this app into action and market it across the UT campus and genuinely solve the initial problem we derived. It was great experience because it was one of my first UX projects EVER! I learned so much about UX principals and was able to apply that to these designs and present it to my class and teacher. I would love to go back and reiterate on the designs to match with my current UX expertise.
After the group ideation, we chose the most necessary features that are suited to our personas. To recap, these were: a recommendation & search system, a review system, an interactive map, and a community board/forum. Then we made user flows for each one and then used those flows to aid our wire-framing.
After recognizing themes in our responses, we had to understand who our users are better. We created a stakeholder map and two personas to personify and condense the feedback from our user interviews. Our two personas are Stephanie and Kevin.
Finally, now that we understand the needs of our users and who our users are, we created a competitive analysis to recognize other efforts on the market and to understand how can we differentiate ourselves and make sure to solve this issue in a manner other platforms are not already doing. We identified 10 potential existing systems that addressed issues similar to the ones we aim to address found that limitations of these existing systems are:
Users connect deeply with their favorite music and musicians, and they appreciate when a live music experience enhances this connection.
The best part of live music, according to users, is the “live” aspect of it, being able to watch a performance in person.
Users find community through Austin as a live music capital.
The location and space of a live music event are believed by users to determine how enjoyable the experience will be.
Users value being able to find out about new and upcoming live music events in Austin.
Users find that preparing for a live event can make it difficult to attend.
Live Music Enthusiast
Age: 22
Location: Austin, Texas
Stephanie Grant
Recent Graduate, Project Manager
“I love seeing my favorite artists when they come on tour, but it’s so expensive!”
“I want to know more about what’s going on in Austin every night.”
About Stephanie
Stephanie loves music as a social conductor. She moved here recently from Philadelphia and has been eager to find fun, inexpensive ways to explore the city. She liked seeing live music when she was in college, and a part of the reason she moved to Austin is that she heard the live music scene is really cool. She’s very friendly and social but hasn’t made a ton of friends in the city yet.
Behavioral Considerations
Doesn’t like to attend events by herself
Prefers buying tickets day of/at the door rather than far in advance
Interested in a variety of different genres but doesn’t have a lot of knowledge about specific artists in each genre
Unless she’s seeing a big. touring artist, she prefers smaller venues with ample seating
Frustrations
Has a hard time finding out about smaller shows and concerts around town
Doesn’t know a lot of people in Austin to go to shows with
Goals
Wants to find friends with similar musical interests to attend shows with
Wants to find new musicians she likes through attending live shows
Wants to familiarize herself with local venues and artists so she can attend more local shows and find community
Tasks
Receive personalized suggestions/recommendations about events near her
Filter shows by cost/venue size to find the best fit for her
Connect with others in the area interested in similar events
Live Music Enthusiast
Age: 20
Location: Austin, Texas
Kevin Stacy
3rd-year Student
“I connect deeply with my favorite music and musicians, and like it when a live music experience enhances this connection.”
About Kevin
Behavioral Considerations
Needs information on wheelchair access during live events.
Being a college student, he prefers to know pricing amongst different ticket sellers to get the best deal.
Frustrations
It’s hard to know if an event will be accessible to be based on information posted.
Lots of his friends don’t like the same music as him.
Goals
Wants to feel comfortable and self-sufficient at events.
Wants to meet new people at concerts who he can enjoy music toogether with.
Wants to get the best deals on live music events.
Tasks
Include details about accessibility for people with physical disabilities.
Price comparison amongst different ticket selling sites.
Find concert friends who enjoy the same music.
Kevin is a Junior attending The University of Texas at Austin. A live-music fanatic, he has attended many concerts and festivals during his time in college. Unfortunately, at the beginning of this year, Kevin broke his leg during a skateboarding incident and now requires more wheelchair access when attending these events. Despite this event, his love more music still goes on!
“I think that preparing for a live event can make it difficult to attend.”
Lack of Representation
Limited representation for smaller artists/venues
Inapplicable Information
Not enough personalization in event suggestions
Missing Information
Not thorough enough, missing parking info or age limitation.
Unreliable
Not able to live update
Lacks Connections
Users unable to interact
The Dreamer
Generates as many ideas as possible and doesn’t think about the obstacles
Ex. Venue reviews and ratings so attendees know what they’re getting themselves into.
The Realist
Converts a vague idea into a step-by-step plan and find necessary resources
Ex. Review system available after attending concert to rate the venues on different scales like ambience, lighting, etc.
The Critic
Analyses risks and cares about the safety of proposed solutions
Ex. People who didn’t attend the event can rate it poorly and ruin the brand image without valid reasoning.
#1 Unable to navigate to another page when an event is bookmarked
Although all testers were able to successfully find and press the bookmark button on a specific event page, some were not able to conduct the next prompt to go to the Map page since the navigation bar did not respond to their clicks. When the bookmark was toggled off, they were able to use the navigation bar again.
Solutions:
Don’t make the bookmark toggle an overlay, since that prevents anything else on the screen to be interactive until the overlay is closed. Instead, make the button swap through icons as it is toggled on and off.
Alternatively, don’t make the bookmark button a toggle, but instead a button that would bring up a pop up with a close button that tells the users that the event was added to their favorites.
View All
Similar Events
Based on 5 Reviews
4.0
View Reviews
Reviews
See Tickets
Price Range
View Details
Venue Address
Venue
Date and Time
Event Name
Organizer
Event Description, describing the event here, the event is described here....
Map
Reviews
Profile
Explore
Community
#2 Unable to search/filter through reviews
We found during user testing that each of our users were confused by the arrangement of reviews. Though they were able to view the reviews and the images alongside them, they expressed confusion at the lack of clarity in terms of what these reviews were for and the lack of organization that would allow them to search/filter through reviews for specific events/venues. Clicking around on the page did not alleviate any confusion for users.
Solutions:
Eliminate the “Reviews” tab on the bottom bar and instead only link to reviews through specific event pages.
Alternatively, have the “Reviews” tab take users to a homepage that lists various events, allowing users to view reviews according to each event they are interested in as well as search/filter through events.
Reviews
5.0
See all images
FirstName LastName
5.0
I loved it so much...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
FirstName LastName
5.0
I loved it so much...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Community
Reviews
Explore
Profile
#3 Function of search bar and buttons on interactive map are unclear
All users commented that they found the buttons and other interactive elements on the Interactive Map page confusing. The functions of the top bar of buttons wasn’t clear since nothing would happen when they were clicked, and the caret icon suggested that it might be a dropdown instead. The search bar also provided no feedback, which made them wonder what it could be used for.
Solutions:
When the “Parking,” “Restaurants,” or “Transit” buttons are clicked, special location pins could show up on the map to indicate their nearby locations. The buttons should also have no caret icon and should change to a “down” state to indicate it is being applied to the map.
The search bar should show suggestions of locations as users “type” into it. Alternatively, it could be removed because it is redundant with the Explore search function, and instead the main Map page could show up when users want to filter an event search by location.
Venue
Venue
Venue Address
Directions
Share
Save
Restaurants
Transit
Hotels
Community
Map
Reviews
Explore
Profile
#4 Onboarding process lacks authentication
Users expressed concern for their own personal identity when they saw there was no authentication of registration. There is no field to enter their email address, so it would be challenging to gain access to their account if they were to forget their password.
Solutions:
Adding a field to enter their email on the sign-up page so the service is able to send them the authentication link.
Adding a step following the sign-up page that directed users to check their email and confirm their identity.
First Name
Last Name
Username
Password
Confirm Password
Sign Up
Create New Account
#5 Map and reviews pages are accessible through two ways, which causes confusion
Users would navigate to the Reviews or Map page through one method when they were prompted to find it during testing. Later, they would discover the other method and get confused if this was intentional or not. Some thought that the Reviews page should be visually different for each method, since it wasn’t very clear what the reviews page was for if it wasn’t accessed through an event specific page.
Solutions:
Make clearer “home” pages for the interactive map and reviews pages, which would show up when they are accessed through the navigation bar. Meanwhile, when maps and reviews are accessed through the event pages, they would indicate more clearly that they are specific to that event.
Alternatively, remove the map and review pages from the navigation bar and make them only accessible for specific events. This would remove the confusion and make their functions clearer.
Community
Map
Reviews
Explore
Profile
View Details
Venue Address
Venue