After creating a map of the data included in the Tablelist app while creating the information architecture, I found that there were several other pages that I had not considered before. By organizing pages on their accessibility from any given page, pages can be sorted by top-level navigation which can be clicked from the homepage, and hidden pages that are found under the higher-level categories. Christopher Murphy of Smashing Magazine describes needs in the UX design process including: “the need to understand users’ needs and consider user journeys, the need to design with human behavior in mind, and the need to establish an overall aesthetic”. With this in mind, the natural process of using the Tablelist could have someone click from the discover page after finding venues that piqued their interest, to their favorites after saving several different pages. The discover and favorites pages both act as a gateway to the venue or event pages. In this regard, both pages provide a basic preview of any given venue/event page being displayed including a thumbnail image, title, and important info for the user.
For venues, I decided that ratings are a strong factor in the decision-making process of how someone chooses where to spend their night and included the venue name and ratings for important info. For venues, I decided to include the event title, venue, and dates as relevant information for someone looking to go to an event. Through this process, one of the pain points for users I discovered is having difficulty sorting the different venues and events to find something of interest quickly. It is preferable to spend less time looking for events which are why lists and collections are important by organizing and filtering out irrelevant content. There are several different collection lists on the discover page and I included a “similar venues/events” collection on venue/event pages to keep people searching through the app until they’ve found something they’re interested in.
In regard to the visual design, I kept things more condensed than the original app with a focus on providing users information that they can act while removing clutter. For example, the existing app includes a “pulse” tab that is visible in several places which offer users a look at what other people are doing. The downside of this is that a significant amount of screen real estate is taken up by notifications of “someone bought a ticket” which is unhelpful at best. Similarly, I decided that a simple interface with a heavy focus on images is most helpful for people looking to choose a venue because it provides them with an efficient preview of the experience being offered. Images also help subtlety convey information like the pricing and themes without needed additional tags or descriptions. In addition, the existing app uses a dark UI which I think makes it very difficult to read and may add to the “cheap” feeling that reviews described. I took inspiration from the visual style of the Airbnb app, which manages to keep a neutral presence with a very minimal UI and focuses on letting their locations and experiences shine through. I think this is better than trying to create a nightlife atmosphere because it’s less pretentious and more flexible for a wide variety of venues and events.
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