Amusement parks are a bedrock of American summers but what if you don't like the crowds? Or standing in line for hours to ride one ride? What if there was a VR theme park where you could ride any ride in the world with your friends standing/sitting beside you?
Project Goal:
Construct an app for a VR theme park that increases group ticket sales by streamlining and simplifying the checkout process.
My role:
Since this was a personal project for my UX certification course from Google, I was the lead UX/UI designer and researcher.
Target Audience:
Employees tasked with organizing team-building experiences.
People organizing a get-together with friends and family.
Key Challenge:
Most users are nervous when buying group tickets, especially when done for work events, because of the added steps to buy x number of tickets. Many get distracted or frustrated and don’t finish the checkout process.
Research Study Details:
I conducted user interviews with a variety of people from Portland, Oregon, including men, women, and non-binary individuals in a middle-income bracket who regularly attend amusement parks or concerts. I inquired about their ticket buying experiences for such events, including how they decide which events to attend, which methods they prefer for ticket purchasing, and what frustrations they typically encounter.
I then researched other theme park and axe-throwing apps or websites to see what the experience for each was like.
- Home screen should entice the user to make a group booking with great photos and a killer tagline
- Reviews from past visitors should be included
- There should be at least two ways to book from the home page
- Bottom nav bar with access to info about the theme park
- Ability to share tickets with other group members at the end of the purchase
- Test out group rooms instead of individual tickets
- 1Calendar expectedMost people expected a calendar to appear when they click ‘pick date’. This would allow them to choose a date quite far in the future.
- 2Nix the ability to send tickets to friendsMost people don’t find the ‘send to friend’ feature useful. They either expected the ticket buyer to hold the tickets for everyone or they already had the info on their calendar.
- 3Group rooms very popularAll users were able to complete the prototype flow. Most expressed joy at seeing they only had to choose a room that could accommodate their group size, instead of adding multiple individual tickets.
VR still feels a bit new-age and techie to most people so I fully embraced the cyberpunk aesthetics with this branding. The rounded buttons tone down the dystopian feel by making things more approachable and cheerful. I also kept us a bit more human with the Humanist font. Hehe.
I chose a dark mode interface for the app. It was a fun design challenge and I think it really conveys the arcade/game side of VR.
A high-fidelity prototype following the flow of buying group tickets for a specific date can be found here.
Next Steps
- Develop the calendar booking software to ensure time slots cannot be double-booked
- Set a group ticket goal for the app and encourage its uptake
- Add an account creation option so tickets could be found in the app after logging in
What I Learned
I learned that it’s best to follow standards when it comes to things like date pickers and calendars. They’re standard for a reason and are comforting for the user. I also learned how to balance bright colors with neutrals to maintain W3C AAA contrast standards and prevent the app from being too busy. In addition, I discovered that users would also prefer the app to hold their ticket information for them so a barcode or QR code could be scanned on their phone upon entry.
Conclusion
Streamlining group tickets sales can sometimes be as simple as making all ticket slots a group slot. By charging the same price for each size of room, regardless of the number of people who show up, the company would make more money and the ticket buying process would involve fewer steps.