Design Outlook
Empowering Users to Attend DO Events
Design Outlook's mission is to connect Australia's design community. Their annual conference inspires collaboration, learning, and celebrates design's impact on the future.Client: Design Outlook(DO)/ Industry: Event planning
Location: Melbourne
Year: 2023/ Category: Website
Timeline: 6 Weeks
Competitive Analysis/SWOT Analysis
The below SWOT analysis is based on our Brand Positioning research (Appendix A), Feature Matrix (Appendix B) and Other Findings (Appendix C).
My Role
Empathise, Define, and Ideate Part 1, weeks 1-4: Collaborating with the entire group to conduct research, gain insights into the problem, and inform the creation of effective digital concepts
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Prototype and Test Part 2, weeks 5-6: Individually developing and refining one of the most promising digital concepts from Part 1. This involved creating wireframes and prototypes, which were presented to the client for feedback.
Project Phases
Clarity and Visibility
Improve event visibility and access to workshop details.
User-Friendly Navigation
Simplify the About page and enhance navigation for a smoother user experience.
User Control
Implement undo and redo features for user control and easier section navigation.
Consistency
Address text visibility issues, particularly on partnership pages, to ensure readability.
Helpful Resources
Expand website information and documentation for comprehensive user support.
Error Prevention
Introduce essential functions for error prevention.
Intuitive Navigation
Provide clearer navigation aids for an intuitive user experience.
Efficiency and Flexibility
Enable convenient access to presenter details via clickable profile images.
Aesthetic Appeal
Maintain the minimalist design with a purple colour theme for aesthetic appeal.
Error Handling
Offer clear and concise error messages with actionable solutions.
In Scope of Heuristic Insights
Issues
Improve event visibility, enhance navigation, and increase readability with better font contrast. Clickable images provide speaker details, and linking to social media boosts event awareness. Highlighting discounts builds trust and accessibility.
Opportunities
Event information is unclear, and navigation lacks intuitiveness. Font colors blend with the background, making text hard to read. There's no access to speaker details, social media links, or ticket discounts.
Survey
A survey with 38 potential users, combined with interviews from individual conversations, was conducted to understand their perspectives and experiences and to gather both quantitative and qualitative research data.
Issues
DO’s mission targets emerging designers but attracts senior professionals. Attendees secure sponsorship by showing DO’s relevance to their work. Purchase decisions are based on speaker value. Interest exists in past speakers, though the site is rarely accessed outside events.
Opportunities
Clarifying DO’s mission will better target its audience. Providing tools and showcasing speaker relevance can help build a business case for attendees. Engaging content on past events may boost site visits beyond event times.
About You
Most participants are senior leaders with 8+ years of experience. Interests: Service and UX/UI design.
Community Insights
Mixed understanding of DO's mission; some see it as community-building. Noted gaps: business understanding and support for newcomers. Suggestions: inclusivity and practical knowledge sharing.
Events Experience
Discovered DO via social media. Attendees often sponsored by work, booking for networking and learning. Key factors: cost, timing, speakers. Requests: better speakers and clear food labeling.
Website Experience
Generally satisfied, but want clearer pricing and more payment options. Attendance often manager-sponsored based on relevance and budget.
Ticket Purchasing
Generally satisfied, but want clearer pricing and more payment options. Attendance often manager-sponsored based on relevance and budget
User Interviews
In interviews with five selected individuals from the already surveyed group, qualitative research was conducted, focusing on asking open-ended questions that explore the "how" and "why." These interviews provided insights into the "how" and "why" based on the responses from the interviewees.
Showcase DO’s diversity through thoughtful website design.
Provide content that highlights the relevance of DO events and speakers to designers in their professional settings.
Emphasize the unique value proposition (UVP) and offer resources to support users in building a strong business case.
Improve navigation and clear pathways to enhance access to event and ticketing information.
Elevator pitch
To deliver a web experience as memorable as the live events and to increase ticket sales and attendance, DO should consider the following.
Issues
Participants need easy access to the event program on the day. They feel the website lacks detailed information on past events and doesn't convey the live event experience well.
opportunities
DO should offer an easily accessible online program for event days and provide a detailed overview of past presentations and sessions to capture the essence of the events.
What the User Needs:
Needs to understand the value the events can bring to his career as a junior designer to help him grow!
How will it make me better at my job?
How will it create value for our organisation and help us achieve our mission?
How does it solve an organisational problem?
User Need: Attendees need an engaging way to gather information to justify attending the event.
User Goal: Attendees aim to build a strong business case for event participation.
What problems can be identified from the
Current Journey Map?
Describe what happens in the 'Discovering an upcoming DO event' stage by addressing three key aspects: What, How, and Why.
Discovering an upcoming DO event
Deciding to go
Attending the event
After Attending the event/Being part of the DO community
WHAT!
During this stage, potential users learn about DO events through platforms like social media (e.g., LinkedIn) or word of mouth. Intrigued, they look for more information on both upcoming and past events, reviewing topics, speakers, and schedules to assess their relevance to their professional needs and whether they merit further consideration. However, the sparse and unclear information leaves them feeling uncertain and hesitant.
WHO!
From this observation, we can pinpoint the pain points that discourage potential users from purchasing and attending DO events. By addressing these issues, we can enhance the user experience by:
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Providing more relevant information about past events, speakers, and presentations that resonate with the user's interests.
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Optimizing the information architecture to ensure it is clearly organized and intuitive, making it easier for users to decide whether to attend an event or purchase a ticket.
WHY!
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Provide clearer and more detailed information about both upcoming and past events.
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Encourage them to build a strong business case and attend the DO event.
Understanding DO Users’ Needs & Goals
After synthesizing the pain points and users' needs & goals from all the research, we created a persona that specifically focuses on the pain points identified in the 'Discovering an upcoming DO event' stage from the current journey map.
High Fidelity Prototype
How it works!
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Empowering Attendees to Build Their Business Case page.
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Shape Your Case; Story Template Selection
you can choose from a variety of story templates, each tailored to specific attendee profiles. -
Story Creation Dashboard; Building Your Case
A dedicated storytelling dashboard guides you through the narrative creation process. -
Preview/Feedback & Revision;
Compose a persuasive narrative that addresses the three questions and convinces your boss to support your conference attendance.
Website Provides Convincing Cases to DOers
Building a Business Case for Themselves
Direct Connection to Their Boss
Platform for Easy Sharing
Conclusion!
Benefit for DO
Gather diverse feedback from managers.
Identify popular topics among users.
Understand different perspectives.
Final Prototype
