Case Study

Inclusive Events

Inclusive Events

A mobile-first event planning website specifically catered to the LGBT+ community.

Finding Community:

Problem:

There is an underlying anxiety in the queer community when it comes to attending events about whether spaces will be inclusive and inviting

Solution:

Inclusive Events explores ways to help people in the queer community hoping to plan an event to connect with vendors who are respectful and inclusive when it comes to their identity

Research Goal:

When it comes to LGBT+ event planning, we want to understand current user pain points with existing resources and gain insight into user desires so that we can cultivate a space which eliminates hurdles and creates access to LGBT+ friendly/ inclusive spaces, services, and resources.

User Interviews:

Seven people within the age range of 23-54 were interviewed who identified as either queer or a queer ally and had attended queer friendly events and/or planned their own queer friendly events

Insights- Pain Points:

Interviewees expressed weariness around hiring event staff who were not vetted for inclusivity

Interviewees expressed resentment that there is not a current easy way to browse queer-friendly events coming up near them

Interviewees expressed frustration with a lack of dedicated space for promotion of events to the target audience

Insights- Desires:

Interviewees expressed a desire to support members of their own community and/or members of similarly marginalized communities

Interviewees expressed interest in a database of vetted inclusive resources for event planning

Interviewees expressed the need for a community aspect to the site in order for users to share their experiences with each other

Competitive Analysis:

I analyzed several event hosting websites in order to see what was already out there and where our user base had needs and desires which may go unmet

Personas:

After analyzing data, I created four user personas which represent users with a distinct demand for a queer friendly event planning space

Xander:

A young queer person interested in browsing & attending events near them and hiring help to plan their own events

Chloe:

An event planner and promoter interested in planning events and finding queer friendly vendors & services to hire

Pixie:

An independent contractor interested in networking and booking gigs

Samantha:

A small business owner interested in expanding her client base to include an untapped market in the queer community

Ideation:

How might we…

explore ways to help people in the queer community hoping to plan an event to connect with vendors who are respectful and inclusive when it comes to their identity?

Feature Concept:

With the resources and timeline available it was most feasible to move forward with a main focus on designing the event dashboard with a task flow that would connect to the marketplace.

This interaction addressed the pain points users expressed in interviews as well as provided a solution which encompasses the needs of many stakeholders, including all 4 persona archetypes

It explored how they might use the product to connect with one another to exchange payments, goods, and services as well as to create a community in the process.

Task Flow:

This task flow illustrates the steps Chloe, our event planner persona, would need to take in order to add a potential gig worker for hire (our performer persona named Pixie) to the considerations section for an event in the event dashboard.

Connecting the party planner persona to the gig worker persona:

Wireframes:

Sketches:

Find Events:

One of the main insights from the user interviews was that people wished for a space where they could browse LGBT+ friendly events near them, which gave me the inspiration to plan out how the find events screen might look.

Finding an event became one of the tasks in usability testing.

Event Dashboard:

Another insight from the interviews was that people needed a dedicated space to promote events to their intended audience, which revealed the need for a way to plan and promote events on the website.

Working with the event dashboard was prevalent in one of the tasks in usability testing.

Marketplace:

The need to support other members of the queer community fused with the desire for a directory of LGBT+ friendly vendors was another common theme in interviews, which made me want to figure out a way to connect the various personas through the marketplace.


Connecting the performer persona, Pixie, to the event planner persona, Chloe, was one of the tasks in usability testing.

Low Fidelity:

These are some of the key screens in the task flow of connecting the party planner persona to the performer persona. By moving from sketches to low fidelity I was able to get a better idea of how the photos, text, cards, and UI elements like buttons would work together.

I wanted everything to be organized in a way that flowed from step to step in a logical manner and gave enough visual and context cues to the user to make it obvious about which steps they would need to take in order to complete their task quickly.

Some feedback I received from peers and my mentor during this stage of the process was to:

  • add a footer

  • add a search bar to the entertainment dashboard

  • give things more space to breathe in between text and sections

  • use links for smaller things and CTA buttons for larger, more important things so that there weren’t so many buttons

  • tone down the rainbow dividers

Find Events:

Search Results:

Pixie’s Info Page:

High Fidelity:

These are all of the screens in the task flow of connecting the party planner persona to the performer persona.

I implemented the feedback I had received in the low fidelity stage in order to make the user experience more intuitive and to less visually overwhelm the user.

I wanted to incorporate the rainbow imagery since the site is focused on the LGBT+ community, but I didn’t want it to look too busy, so I toned down the rainbows, incorporating them in more subtle ways.

1. Event Dashboard

2. Search

3. Results

4. Pixie Info Page

5. Success Indicator

6. Pixie Added

Usability Testing:

I conducted in person usability testing with five individuals. They were assigned two tasks:

Task 1:

Add a yoga class to “My Events” page starting from user profile page

Task 2:

Find entertainment for an event starting from event planning page (Add an entertainer to considerations)

Insights - What Worked:

The positive feedback I received during usability testing was that the icons and menus were believed to be easy to use and intuitive:

User Experience:

  • The site was easy to navigate

  • The process was intuitive

User Interface:

  • The white space made the UI Elements stand out

  • The subtle rainbows were appreciated

Insights - What to Change:

Feedback I received during testing pertaining to the improvement of the product was:

User Experience:

  • The wording “reserve a spot” on a button that leads to the event information page was confusing

  • a senior user suggested increasing the text size

User Interface:

Users tried to interact with several elements which were not yet functional in the prototype:

  • hamburger menu

  • “browse all categories” button on search page

Priority Revisions:

Given the time frame and resources available I prioritized two feasible iterations to the design, based on the frequency of user feedback during testing.

Wording:

The wording on the button was changed from “Reserve a Spot” to “More Info” in order to reduce confusion.

Add function:

The expanded hamburger menu was added as an additional navigation option

Conclusion:

Reflection:

I was surprised how many “behind the scenes” aspects there are when it comes to preparing a good foundation for user experience. When I decided to go back to school to become a UX Designer I had the impression the career would be mostly what I’ve come to learn is UI.

I’ve found that I’m drawn to the more “people-centered” aspects of UX and UI Design- conducting research, listening, and emphasizing. I thought since I’m artistic the UI aspect would come naturally to me, but I still have a lot to learn.

How I’ve grown:

I’m now better able to develop and implement effective user research plans in order to understand who our users are, what their needs are, what problems they need solved, and how best to address those needs and problems based on their feedback.

I’ve learned so much when it comes to the process of translating my ideas into the physical realm, but when it comes to UI I would like to get more practice so my skill levels match the ideas I have in my mind in terms of aesthetics.

What I’d like to focus on in the future:

I want to be able to create useful, usable, desirable, and aesthetically pleasing designs which fulfill those needs.

I would like to be able to continue to grow when it comes to UI and to be able to design more sophisticated professional looking UI as opposed to my skill level now.

I’d like to improve my Figma skills, specifically how to do more with the prototype function.