CLIENT

Oakland Symphony
(Concept Project)

ROLE

SUMMARY

I worked with a team to create a mobile app with a virtual reality element to increase millennial interest in and engagement with the symphony.

UX Designer
Project Manager

TOOLS

Sketch, Adobe XD, Google Docs,
Pen + Paper

TEAM

Jessica Gehring
Jenny Park

DURATION

2 Weeks

PROBLEM

The Oakland Symphony is a regional orchestra that plays an integral role in the Oakland/East Bay community through music education, enrichment, and performance.

However, in recent years, the organization has noticed a great lack of engagement from the younger millennial generation, especially in a changing, increasingly digital landscape.

APPROACH

The solution was to create an app to more effectively showcase the Symphony's offerings and subsequently engage millennials using a virtual reality 360 element. It was significant to retain the fundamental characteristics of the music while changing the context in which it was presented.

Discovery + Research

Understanding Users

We interviewed 6 millennials, all between the ages 25 and 35 to gauge their relationship to music and concert going in general.

USER 001:

"I listen to music everyday, but I only listen to it as accompaniment when I’m doing things."

USER 002:

"There’s a vibrant and organic quality to experiencing music in the live setting that isn’t replicable anywhere else…"

USER 003:

"I can’t imagine my life without music… it really determines my mood."

Conducting these interviews provided the insight that:

Music is a substantial aspect of the lives of millennials
Millennials enjoy attending concerts and have certain expectations tied to them

This led us to ask users more specifically about classical music and their experiences with symphony concerts.

"[Classical music is] a genre of music that isn’t very accessible to me... it feels intellectual and more abstract than regular music."

"[At a classical concert,] there is nearly no interaction with the audience, which is alienating."

Conducting this survey provided the understanding that:

Millennials appreciate classical music but find it to be too intellectual and ultimately inaccessible
Millennials find out about events in their area mainly through social media

Synthesis + Ideation

Personas

Following the user research, we synthesized to develop two personas reflecting our user demographic:

Clara Classical

About: Clara is a 28-year-old software engineer who just moved to Oakland. Despite her job, she is invested in classical music due her musical background.

Pain Points: Clara is new to the area, so she is having trouble learning about what to attend and where to go. She also wants to establish a sense of camaraderie with her colleagues.

Scenario: She would like to attend a symphony concert with her colleagues, but is unsure of which events are available and how to appeal to them.

Ian Influencer

About: Ian is a 24-year-old blogger with a definitive social media presence. He is far more interested in attending Coachella than a symphony concert.

Pain Points: Ian wants to attend other events that he will be able to share on social media. He feels like he's in an event slump and hopes to learn about other experiences.

Scenario: Upon posting a Throwback Thursday post regarding his old piano recital, Ian comes across a related ad for the Oakland Symphony that appeals to him because he enjoys performing arts concerts.

Features to Consider

Our user research proved that millennials access music on-the-go, which caused us to ideate that the solution should be an app. Then, to alter the context in which classical music would be presented, we ideated incorporating a Virtual Reality 360 element into the solution.

We tested the appeal and familiarity of this through a survey with 12 millennials.

We then prioritized the features using the MoSCoW method to gauge feasibility.

Information Architecture

In order to begin the construction of the app, it was important to understand the problems with the existing website's navigation schema.

CURRENT SITE MAP

The Oakland Symphony website offers a wide variety of information that can be overwhelming and uninteresting due to the sheer quantity.

REVISED SITE MAP

Upon conducting further research, we learned that for an app, users wanted minimal and straightforward functions, such as the VR 360 experience and the ticket purchase option.

Design + Testing

Prototyping

The conducted research allowed us to implement the following features in the Paper Prototype:

Hamburger menu for easy navigation

Mission statement on landing page

Call to action buttons for app's two main functions

Description of VR 360 experience and what to expect

Call to action buttons to keep users on app after VR

Social media share options with discount incentive

Concise history about Oakland Symphony

Link to website for more information

Event offerings available on app

Event information and details available

Users provided us with the insight that they would like to be able to purchase and access tickets directly on the app without being redirected to another browser. We took this into consideration and included a complete checkout flow on the app.

Seating chart to select and buy tickets

Information and price regarding selected seats

Event confirmation page

Testing these Paper Prototypes allowed us the insight that:

The app would have to be clear and straightforward about what the VR experience entails
A clear checkout process without redirection to another browser

These insights were consciously taken into account and implemented for our Mid-Fi iteration:

List of options provided on VR experience page

Hamburger menu present on right side to aid navigation

Clear information about VR experience and what to expect

Ability to share on social media to receive discount

Coupon code copied after returning to website from social media

List of event offerings to encourage ticket purchase

Testing these Mid-Fi prototypes allowed us the insight that:

Users have trouble differentiating between the VR Experiences page and the Events page
The title pages of the specific pages and Call-To-Action buttons need to be more accurate and concise

These features were kept in mind and implemented in the Hi-Fi prototype.

Logo Redesign

When asked about the existing logo, users found it to be unappealing and busy, much like the current website.

This caused us to ideate a new logo that would reflect the improved expectations of the symphony that we wanted to convey.

As supported by our user research, millennials are interested in minimal design, which is what we incorporated in the reimagined logo.

Hi-Fi Prototype

HAMBURGER MENU

DISCOUNT CODE

VR EXPERIENCE

EVENT PAGE

Learnings

Clarity and Consistency

Regardless of their skill level or experience with an app, users will be looking for clear and concise directions as well as consistency to guide their experience.

Options without Overwhelming

Users would like to know what options are available to them without being overwhelmed with content and information.

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