Harmonizing Chaos: A UX Odyssey in Live Entertainment Design
Navigating Challenges, Learning from Mistakes, and Shaping the Future of Booking Experiences,
TLDR Overview
Objective:
Craft a streamlined platform for live entertainment, catering to emerging bands and booking managers.
Key Contributions:
Pivoted Approach: Prioritized venue owners, addressing challenges in participant sourcing.
Focused Design: Limited features for depth, emphasizing quality over quantity.
Magic Duo Solutions: Introduced a comprehensive booking form and integrated Booking Calendar.
Efficient Management: Implemented archive, in-app calendar, and automated show cards for talent bookers.
User-Centered Design: Considered emotional resonance, resulting in clear communication and transparency.
Learnings:
Prioritization: Recognized the importance of prioritizing unique features over quantity.
Resource Awareness: Acknowledged the need for more time and resources for comprehensive testing.
Results:
Differentiation: Competitive analysis led to a strategic focus, potentially filling a market gap.
User Testing: Iterative improvements based on feedback from bands and booking managers.
Observations: Initial user excitement validates functionality, with ongoing enhancements for a balanced solution.
Conclusion:
Successfully navigated challenges, delivering a streamlined platform. Ongoing refinements aim to enhance user experience and usability.
Streamlining the Booking Experience
In the vibrant realm of live entertainment design, I embarked on a mission to revolutionize the booking process. My goal was twofold: simplify the journey for new bands while optimizing workflow for booking managers. The outcome was a platform designed to demystify the booking experience for both artists and talent bookers.
What I did and how I did it.
Role: UX Researcher, UX/UI Designer
Tools: Figma, Sketch, Zoom, Notion, Google Docs, Google, ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly
Methods: Competitive Analysis, User Interviews, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Desirability Interviews, User Flows, Information Architecture.
Navigating Overwhelm: Designing for Emotional Resonance:
Understanding the emotions of new bands, feeling overwhelmed by booking complexities, and the frustrations of talent buyers lacking efficient tools guided the design process. Conversations with users emphasized the importance of clear communication and transparency.
“I’ve found that venues really want you to do most of the work.”
“I wish artists were aware of and understood radius clauses.”
“I just can’t get any venues to respond to me. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
Crafting Cost-Effective Solutions and Design Focus
Competitive Analysis Key Insights:
All platforms share core functionalities: event creation, ticket sales, payment processing, and event promotion.
Data analytics is common across all platforms, aiding event organizers.
Discovering My Niche:
Created a Booking Form, Booking Calendar, and Venue Manager Portal.
Addressed artist and talent booker pain points, aligning with live entertainment needs.
Strategically differentiated the platform, potentially filling a vital market gap.
Emphasized user-friendly design, industry-specific enhancements, and purposeful solutions.
Explanation of Design Focus: Booking Form, Calendar, and Venue Manager Portal:
Core Functionalities: Streamlined user experience for performing artists.
Targeted Industry Needs: Enhanced booking process, boosting artist confidence.
Efficiency and Visibility: Implemented Booking Calendar for immediate date visibility.
Venue Manager Control: Inspired by Bandsintown, centralized hub for efficient management.
User Journey Considerations:
To understand the dynamics between artists and talent bookers, I crafted dual journey maps to identify commonalities. Simultaneously, I mapped out user flows for both parties, ensuring a comprehensive overview.
This approach allowed me to visualize the entire process and pinpoint the crucial elements I needed to build for subsequent testing. The deliberate decisions, such as not mandating bands to create accounts and incorporating a two-way clickable calendar, were made to elevate usability within the platform.
Process photo - Whiteboard ideation for dual user flows.
Process screen capture - Figjam dual user flows.
For Performing Artists: F.A.Q., Form, and Calendar
Navigating the overwhelming landscape of booking, I identified a pivotal need for new bands — a low-mid fidelity booking form. This tool became a linchpin, offering a clear, direct process born from insights gathered from talent buyers and artists alike. The Figma-built Booking Calendar added immediacy, providing artists with vital knowledge about available dates and boosting their confidence in securing bookings.
Mid-fidelity prototype of Booking Form used for testing.
Mid-fidelity prototype of calendar used for testing.
For Talent Bookers: Efficiency is Key
Acknowledging the overload on talent buyers, I introduced an archive for past shows and an in-app calendar focused solely on venue-related information. The magic happened when data from the booking form seamlessly autofilled show cards, ensuring a streamlined workflow and reflecting changes on the public-facing site.
Mid-Fidelity prototype of drag and drop flow used for testing.
Mid-Fidelity prototype of admin calendar used for testing.
Initial Testing and Feedback: Exploring Lo-Fidelity Designs
Informed by competitive research, user interviews, and comprehensive user flows and journey maps, I embarked on the creation of a fictional venue site to validate proposed solutions. The design aimed to streamline the booking process and enhance user experience through intuitive navigation and clear information presentation.
“I love that it tells me about when to expect a response.”
“I love the clickable calendar. It’s so much easier to see what’s available from a quick scan.”
“I do think it could be laid out better.”
Band Insights:
While bands successfully found necessary information, they expressed concerns about information overload and the need for a more streamlined layout.
The calendar feature generated excitement but required clearer instructions on usage, particularly regarding ranking selected dates.
Bookers appreciated the option to drag and rank selections but desired clearer guidance on the process.
Testing and Feedback: Booking Manager Perspective
To gauge the usability and effectiveness of the platform's features from the booking manager's standpoint, I conducted a series of tests focusing on static screens and interactive elements.
“This is awesome! we would use this at our venues for sure!”
“Maybe the drag and drop could have a drop down menu where I can customize or edit dates?”
Static Screens Feedback:
The booking manager provided feedback on mid-fidelity static screens, expressing appreciation for the color palette and expressing interest in future connectivity.
Evaluation of the archive organization indicated general usefulness, though potential improvements in clarity were noted.
Admin Calendar Testing:
The booking manager interacted with the admin calendar, adjusting dates to various statuses (unavailable, on hold, and available).
While appreciating the dual-facing aspect of the calendar, clearer guidance on setting date statuses was desired.
The current process of setting date statuses, based on click frequency, proved confusing and will be refined in future iterations.
Drag and Drop Show Processing:
The booking manager navigated the drag and drop process for processing show requests, moving show cards through different stages.
The goal of simplifying the processing workflow, compared to traditional methods using spreadsheets and emails, was acknowledged.
Feedback included requests for expanded show card details, automated email options, and confirmation prompts for intentional drag and drop actions.
Despite noted improvements, the booking manager expressed genuine excitement about the platform's potential utility across their venues.
Learning from Mistakes: A Transparent Evolution
Ambitious Undertaking:
My initial attempt to cater to both bookers and bands simultaneously spread my focus thin, resulting in design features lacking depth.
Participant Sourcing Challenges:
Difficulty in participant sourcing, particularly on the venue booking side, emphasized the importance of thorough research and understanding diverse user experiences.
Limiting Features for Depth:
Recognizing the need to limit the number of features designed, I learned the significance of prioritizing depth over quantity in design features.
Results, Future Iterations, and Additional Insights:
I observed initial user excitement, validating the platform's functionality, while feedback highlighted necessary improvements in UI and organization.
Future iterations prioritize a seamless experience for artists and talent buyers, informed by broader feedback.
I learned the importance of prioritizing unique features over quantity and aspire to develop an administrative portal for comprehensive testing with more time and resources.
Conclusion:
In the pursuit of harmonizing live entertainment experiences, I navigated through challenges and iterative design processes.
Learning from initial mistakes, I prioritized stakeholder needs, integrating a clear booking form and calendar solution for efficiency.
Crafting cost-effective solutions addressed industry-specific needs, differentiating the platform.
As I refine the platform with user journey considerations and feedback-driven iterations, the focus remains on enhancing usability and functionality for all involved.