AthPass
A mobile app for the dedicated Athens event-goer, college-town explorer, entertainment fiend.
TEAM
Ashera Ly
Jessica Schumaker
Tiffany Yang
TIMELINE
4 Days
Summer 2024
TOOLS
Figma
RESULTS
A mobile app prototype for the Athens Experience, designed and tested for usability
tl/dr:
For this project, my team and I developed and tested a prototype for an event ticket-purchasing app focused on the local entertainment scene in Athens, Georgia. Through a single weekend, we collaborated remotely and utilized Figma to ideate and create the prototype. We also tested its usability with our peers, based on the standard System Usability Scale.
DISCOVERY
As the population of Athens and interest in local entertainment grow, there is an increased need for methods of discovery and exploration for visitors and UGA students in the city.
With the the intended client being the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau, we wanted to consider opportunities for visitors to find interesting experiences unique to Athens itself.
INVESTIGATION
We began an initial search online for digital media related to the entertainment scene in Athens, an idea stemming from personal sentiments.
We’ve seen blogs, pamphlets, and articles telling us where to go and what to see in the city, featuring bars, restaurants, historical sites, and shopping.
Among which, we found some of the most significant sources for Athens activities to be:
Simple search engine phrases,
such as “things to do in athens, ga” etc.
Athens and Georgia-based blog and article sites, such as VisitAthens, Red&Black, and Explore Georgia.
Forums and Social Media platforms like Reddit, Facebook, Instagram etc.
We also found that there’s a vast local music/entertainment scene in the city..
Wuxtry Records -ExploreGeorgia
For decades, Athens has been an anchor for alternative and indie-rock artists.
Over 100 artists perform at AthFest, a 3-day music and arts celebration in Athens each year...
..And counting! with a wide variety of historical venues and the addition of a newly-built arena, more and more student and community artists are making their marks in the Athens music/events industry.
AthFest -ExploreGeorgia
As a team, we intended to create a digital product that would target one of the strongest niches of the Athens community: Local Music and Events, addressing the potential opportunities for solutions:
How can we increase the discoverability of many artists unique to Athens?
How can we make information on Athens’ favorite events more centralized and accessible to visitors and locals alike?
SOLUTION:
With several days to complete the project, we started promptly with ideation on different platforms and features, creating layouts for potential pages in Figma.
BRAINSTORMING
Discussion led to the idea of a mobile platform to organize information and admission material for upcoming concerts, festivals, and events to encourage users to explore the Athens music scene during their time in the city.
We generated our idea for the prototype after observing ticketing apps like Ticketmaster, with the intended client being the Athens Clarke Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Discussion led to the idea of a mobile platform to organize information and admission material for upcoming concerts, festivals, and events to encourage users to explore the Athens music scene during their time in the city.
DESIGN
Through early iterations, we developed the intention to make the app a branded extension of VisitAthens.com, a website that showcases events and articles on Athens itself.
Therefore, we made the app’s visuals consistent with the colors and type on the website.
Discussion led to the idea of a mobile platform to organize information and admission material for upcoming concerts, festivals, and events to encourage users to explore the Athens music scene during their time in the city.
We looked at existing ticket-purchasing apps, such as Ticketmaster, to take advantage of the existing user mental model while customizing it to suit Athens’s needs. By doing this, taking advantage of signifiers, and providing feedback, we were often able to brige Gulfs of Evaluation and Execution
Key Elements in the app include:
Customization
Users can choose their favorite types of music or sports events, which would yield a well-tailored homepage. This allows for more in- depth exploration of the user’s niche and specific interests.
Community
The app also features blog posts, which were pulled from the VisitAthens site, to encourage the user to explore what other users in their community have to say about local events.
All-Access
Some other features include a designated section for purchased tickets with their QR codes, exploration sections on the homepage, and ticket purchasing pages with maps of the venue.
Users also have the option to choose between Venues and Artists when searching. A drop-down menu was made to save space on the search page.
TESTING:
As we finished developing the prototype, we started user-testing with several peers. We wanted to make sure the testers fit the target demographic for the app. We also wanted to make sure the usability principles we had designed with in mind translated to their experience.
The user test was task-based administering two categories of actions:
We also asked the users to provide any other verbal feedback and to complete the System Usability Scale, a system where users rate statements about a product’s usability.
The average S.U.S score was 81.8, which also increased our confidence in the usability of this app, according to the standards of the scaling system.
The second set of tasks yielded a short average amount of seconds per task, implying that navigation around the app was as quick and easy as we intended.
Overall Feedback and Findings:
Users liked that the app is relevant. Sections of the app were dedicated to local Athens sports and performers, and that it felt unique to Athens.
“It featured a lot of events that local people in Athens would want to do and see. Fun events that might not be advertising anywhere else or be hard to find somewhere else other than an app that has them all in one place.”
Users found the app to be straightforward in design and navigation.
“I pressed all the buttons and easily found my way around.”
Room For Improvement:
Lack of content variety and screen repetition led to some users (2/4 or 50%) being confused at times about the navigation of the app.
There was a lack of back buttons. Building a designated back button in the prototype would make a more realistic and seamless experience.
REFLECTION
Keep an eye on details:
Through this project, I learned about the importance of detail-oriented practices, and how I can enhance the experience of a user navigation through small interactions.
The world of user testing:
Overall, it was an eye-opening experience getting to design and test a mobile app. I learned about user testing, and how it can provide insights into the functionality of the product. I hope to learn more about user-testing and how i can leverage results to improve the quality of my designs.
Collaborative Efforts:
I was grateful to have a fun and open-minded to team to bounce ideas off of and work with. Effective collaboration can prove to be important for projects/deadlines that are tighter.
What If...?
We dove deeper with research?
I would have liked to get a deeper perspective of the target audience through survey and/or interview. There would be a greater chance for the app to empathize with local Athens residents and visitors and identify more direct user problems that can be justiced with design.
THANKS FOR READING!