The Dilemma.

For emerging performing artists it is difficult to organize and schedule tour dates which can promote their music, sell their merchandise and begin to grow their fan base. There are relatively few resources for helping aspiring performers to organize national or even international tours, and no standard platform. Furthermore, those resources are not very user friendly, and require finding and contacting a variety of clubs and venues that may or may NOT be trying to schedule and promote touring bands. It is also notable that venues typically aren’t interested in who plays at their venue, but rather if a particular touring act can fill the venue and ultimately bring money in for the club.

Research findings.

First, I developed a research plan to prioritize the most sought out information. I then wanted to determine whether this idea was feasible through secondary research, surveys, and interviews. I completed the following research methods:

Defining the Problem.

Ideating through the design process, I asked, How Might We...?

• Make it more efficient and effective for artists to showcase their talents and raise money?

• Improve communication between venue and agent or artist?

• Make it easier for venues to find and choose stage acts?

• How can we simplify the workload of a manager / agent?

• How might we simplify the process of organizing a tour for independent artists?

Sketching.

From this point, I started sketching the most necessary screens on paper and used the Marvel workspace to get those screens onto my phone for some guerrilla style usability tests. From these tests I was able to better understand how the user might transverse through the app and complete each individualized task.

Information Architecture

I asked myself, “what are the most necessary paths a user needs to navigate this app”? I tried to answer this question by creating a user flow and sitemap. Through the iteration process, I discovered that I could simplify these paths even further. But it was a good start in the right direction.

Visual design.

Next, I started imagining the brand’s look and feel, produced a mood board, and began building out the brand with a style guide.

First iterations.

The user’s profile was intended to mimic trading cards. These digital cards would hold all the user’s information and could be traded just like the physical product (i.e. a baseball card).

Second iterations.

Summary.

After review of the first round of usability tests, I realized that the color scheme was way off, and not representative of the brands characteristics. I wanted to change this, so I used a lighter version of the tan color for the background which really made the brighter colors more interesting. I also iterated on the card design, allowing it to fill the majority of the screen to reduce cognitive load. I also played with the buttons on the log in screen, increased their spacing and centered them. I realize now that this was actually a mistake. The buttons should be closer together and in fact the Login and Sign up buttons should be on the bottom because they most likely have the highest frequency of use.

Learning conclusions.

• It is important to simplify the UI at every corner of the design process. Don’t over complicate paths or processes.   

• Pay attention to cultural, psychological, and physiological responses to animations. Some users may express discomfort with certain tasks. 

• Make tasks flow seamlessly from one screen to another. Don’t assume the user will want to take the same path you intended. 

• Eliminate what is unnecessary, and don’t be afraid to ‘start over’.

Reflections.

This project went through many hours of ideation from conceptualization through to the last MVP prototype. During this project, I gained many insights into designing a product from start to finish. The phrase, simplify, simplify, simplify, will forever be bouncing around my mind.

It was a pleasure making decisions based on user input. I feel that this kind of feedback really helps to make the right design decisions. Although this project did not allow the experience of working on a team, having a mentor who is an experienced designer and reaching out for input from other UX Design students, friends and family really gave me an enriching experience.

What’s more, a designers work is never finished. I already see room for improvement in the visual design of the app and I will be making appropriate changes in time.