TAKEWAYS

Reflections

Being my first digital product design, this was a huuuge learning experience! I have background in secondary research, but this was my first time designing and executing surveys and interviews. It also provided a deep dive into software like Adobe XD and Qualtrics. I watched a lot of Youtube videos to figure out how to finesse the UI. It was immensely helpful to have a subject I'm passionate about to drive all my extracurricular learning. Overall, I'm thrilled with the result, particularly the branding.

Challenges

The nature of creating a hub comes with its own set of obstacles. It was not easy to aggregate so much information in an accessible manner. Incorporating social sharing, artist and venue pages, and event listings was the key to creating a live music headquarters that simplifies the user experience. Employing a guided tour upon sign up would be a great method to help users discover the robust features available.

It was also tricky trying to distill the feeling of local New Orleans nightlife. The beauty of the city is that it is so eclectic, colorful and loud. Translating that into a clean interface while maintaining some funk was no easy feat! I also wanted to stay away from classic tropes of New Orleans culture, and dig a little deeper so users feel delighted when they recognize symbols.

Moving Forward

Because this was a solo conceptual app, it benefitted from being free of real-world constraints. It’s not often you get to design your target audience. Bringing this to market would face the challenge of buy-in from venues and artists needed to make this a robust and up-to-date headquarters for live music. Syncing with existing sites like Facebook would be key to keep content current. If I had another shot, I would conduct deeper user research into what features are most helpful, and further simplify the information architecture.