This assignment included wireframes and notes to build upon. (Click for more)

Here’s the scenario: a startup has launched a product that helps people meet new friends via social events. The goal of the product is to create a user experience that will get people to connect in person (outside of the context of a pandemic, naturally). The business team discovers a problem: the number of people who say they are going to an event is significantly higher than the actual number of people who attend.

The objective of my assignment was to build out a product that would offer a better registration-to-attendance ratio. As an event planner, I was quite excited to delve into this problem space and really see what motivates people to be social (or not) these days. This end-to-end design project would prove to give good insight into how I approach and present my own event concepts in the future.

My work on this project fit into four branches:

UX Research: Finding out what target users want and need, and why
Branding: Developing an effective brand name, voice, style, and aesthetic
UI Design: Creating a full interface based on the wireframe provided
Content Design: Using the best copy, labels, and presentation to incentivize attendees

Full disclosure: there was no actual product to iterate on—only a wireflow for inspiration. There was no real-world way to test the effectiveness of the final product, either, so I focused heavily on gaining cognitive buy-in from real people that fit the target user base.

After defining my full project plan, research plan and timeline, I was ready to begin designing what might be the coolest event-based social app the world has never seen.

The Problem Space

The startup’s main objective was to get more registered guests to actually show up to the events they registered for. Before I began my research, I developed a set of questions that would help me visualize the user, company, and event planner perspectives. Keeping stakeholders and audience needs in mind would undoubtedly steer this product toward success.

I explored real products in this space to see what they offer, what they may be missing, and what to keep in mind for my product based on those insights. I took my own experiences planning and attending events and studied industry leaders (Facebook, MeetUp, and Eventbrite) to help inform what to include and offer within my product design.

An example report from my industry study. (Click to see all three studies)

From this study, I developed the key question for this project: “How might I develop a digital product that helps people better connect with others within the social event space?” I knew then what I was looking for, and this would help me pinpoint the right information as I learned the needs of real people.

Primary Research

After studying the industry, I found that leaders send various forms of notifications and reminders prior to each event. They offer “save to calendar” options and positive, welcoming language for when people successfully register.

Survey Says…

I surveyed more than 30 target users and asked qualitative, short-answer questions. The objective was to discover user pain points and preferences around attending and accepting invites to events. I took the results and created an affinity map to help sort the main needs.

Major Insights

The biggest takeaways from the survey results are based about why people register and why people miss events. Many “register” to show support of an event or host, not necessarily to attend. Registering keeps them informed about the event and gives them the freedom to attend or not. This finding directly relates to the company’s problem with their registration-to-attendance ratio. Knowing this, I would recommend adding other ways for people to support and show their interest. This would lower registration numbers but raise the attendance ratio as needed.

Another major find was that some people miss events because they have no one to go with, or they simply forget. Based on this, I made sure my product offered reminder options based on personal needs and ways for people to share events, make plans, and see who else is going (especially in their network).

I took what I know of events, what industry leaders do, and what real people say and developed a product, brand, and UI that would create space for social beings to be social and support one another.

Solving the Problem

I couldn’t test the full scope of the user’s journey—exploring events, registering, inviting friends and making plans, getting reminders days before, and actually attending said event. Instead, I focused on gaining cognitive buy-in from event-goers, relying on the product’s presentation, voice, aesthetic, and functionality.

Branding: ‘LINK about it’

For this brand and UI, I made sure to use a conversational voice and inviting aesthetic. I landed on “LINK about it” as the brand name. Not only is it a play on “think about it” (which is what we want all product users to do), it is also a definitive call-to-action that says users should “link up” (or get together, but in a cooler way).

Since this assignment was meant to be for an existing product, I embellished the original wireframes to make the interface more appealing instead of starting over completely. I didn’t want to turn off or confuse existing users too much, so I kept many of the elements from the original wireframes.

My priorities for creating this brand and interface were to:

Develop branding that fits the social event industry and company needs
Design an interface that is intuitive, inviting, and pleasing to the eye
Use low-pressure but definitive copy and labeling
Include features the target users need the most, and keep their wants in mind

After developing the brand name and look, it was time to lay out what this product’s users want and need.

The User Journey

For the scope of this project, I decided to build out the most important user flow: the journey of finding, exploring, and registering for events. This would include all necessary content and feature touchpoints, where cognitive buy-in would occur most.

LINK about it’s main user journey map, from exploring events to registering, and ways to support. (Click for full file)

I made sure to include ways to explore events, customize reminders, and show support without actually signing up for the event. Research showed that users feel that “register” is more of a commitment than a “signup” or “invite”, so I chose to go with “register” for those actually planning to attend. For those interested, on the fence, or wanting to show support, I included a “favorite” option so they could keep up with the event, “follow” option to keep up with the host, and “donate” and “share” options for supporters.

Once the branding and interface were complete, it was time to revisit real people and test out the look, ease-of-use, functionality of LINK about it.

Testing, Testing

The first test was a moderated usability test, conducted using low-fidelity wireframes with five target users. Before building out the full product, I chose to test the concept, layout, and features first. This helped me catch insights, recommendations, and UX/UI problems early on.

Early wireframes used for moderated testing. (click for larger image)

Early Findings

Though many of the features were appreciated, the journey didn’t flow as well as it could have. Many of the buttons—namely ‘Support’ and ‘Link about it’—had unclear functions. The lack of branding created some confusion as well, which should be resolved with the high-fidelity prototype.

As predicted, test participants understood and appreciated the reminder controls, whether they preferred emails, alerts, or nothing at all. Host information was applauded, as it gave the user a new layer of detail, personability, and trust. Most of the issues for this round will be fixed with better labeling and CTA planning. Some buttons may work better as icons, too.

Hi-fi Results

Click to see full user flow for this 1st iteration.

With this initial feedback and recommendations in pocket, I developed the high-fidelity mockup. I added the LINK about it branding and UI inspiration to tie the final product together. I took this hi-fi product and ran tests again—this time with the cognitive walkthrough method. My main benchmark for design success was cognitive buy-in or incentive/acceptance. Since I couldn’t send real reminder emails or push notifications, this method would give the most in-depth feedback about what users see, do, feel, need, and expect when handling this product.

This group of testers appreciated the opportunities to learn about, follow, and donate to the event hosts. Knowing the host and having access to them added trust and more genuine interest. Testers liked the abundance of ways to stay informed, too. They could set reminders by channel (email, text, in-app) and frequency (day-of, week-of), as well as add events to their calendars, share with friends, and favorite the event to get updates.

Most of the UI was intuitive. Testers clicked and swiped where interactions would work in a full prototype, and their expectations within the event exploration and registration process were spot-on. The “Host” photo was understood to be a button, as was the LINK icon next to other social media icons.

Final Recommendations

One major requested feature that was left out of the mockup was the ability to know more about the other attendees—who in their network is going and how popular the event may be. Another major request was the ability to share and donate on the “Event Details” page instead of later on. The final must-have that most users overlooked—but would be helpful for the actual product—is the ability to search events based on location. This would help people decide where to go, learn more about their city, and plan their outing fully and confidently.

A Successful Solution

This assignment was definitely a challenge. Building and testing a theoretical solution for a very tangible problem was difficult to approach and execute, but I do believe that I was successful in tackling the issue.

LINK about it’s final "Explore & Register’ flow. (Click for larger version)

“How might I develop a digital product that helps people better connect with others within the social event space?”

I believe I did this by creating a product idea that promotes trust, excitement, and freedom in those who would like to be social or support social beings in their respective communities. LINK about it included all the features and resources that most event-goers and culture supporters appreciate. The intuitive format and welcoming aesthetic humanized the digital space in a way that promotes interaction.

I learned how to pivot my research methods for times when real interaction can’t be tracked or studied. People know everything; it is our job as UX Designers (and Researchers) to ask the right questions in order to learn everything we may need to serve them the best.

If this were a real company, I think the business team would be more than satisfied. I would have loved to redesign a real-world social product like this and see how people respond in reality. Designing and testing content for email/text alerts, landing pages, and social media would have been an even greater learning experience. I will definitely take what I’ve learned from this, however, and incorporate it into how I plan and design my events and digital presence in the future.

UX Case Study: Product Design for Social Beings