Spring '23
Key Lime
Researched emerging technology and created innovative concert solutions
Background
What did we do?
The client wanted our group to conduct in-depth research on the entertainment industry, identify consistent issues, and develop futuristic solutions.
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The project was focused on the media and entertainment industry
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The solutions were futuristic and involved incorporating emerging technology into the context
In light of the context, our team opted to narrow our focus to the realm of music and concerts within the context of media and entertainment.
My Contributions
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Performed thorough user research
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Conducted interviews and crafted well-defined personas
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Collaborated during brainstorming sessions to generate solutions collectively
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Designed detailed wireframes
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Developed interactive prototypes, which underwent user testing
What problem did we solve for?
How did we do
it?
Due to the extensive research requirements of this project, a significant portion of our efforts were dedicated to clarifying the scope and objectives. Given its exploratory nature and broad focus, it necessitated an initial phase of knowledge gathering and understanding to establish a clear direction for our endeavors.
The diagram below shows this process.
Guiding Questions
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How might we enhance the concert experience with regards to entertainment and participatory culture?
How might we focus on the health and safety?
How can we make the concert going experience the most convenient?
Results from Research
Pain Points
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Crowd crush
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Issues with the venue
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Bad crowd vibes
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Ticket access issues
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Long lines
Opportunities
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Increase Interaction between the artists and their fans
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Empowering Disabled User's Experiences
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Create more opportunities for community and connection
After further discussion and team interest, the team decided to explore specifically the interaction between the artist and the fans.
How did the research influence the final design?
Research
The bulk of this project was dedicated to research, during which we acquired essential insights into the entertainment industry and explored various experiences within these domains.
The diagram below demonstrates how we combined all of our research into our final design.
Theme 1
How might we enhance the concert experience with regards to entertainment & participatory culture?
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Users are open to new technology or devices if it enhances experience
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Users want to feel connected with artists and fans
Theme 2
How might we focus on health and safety of people?
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Health is not main priority
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Very unlikely to invest in solutions that only focus on health
Sneakily incorporating health checks and keeping users informed of their safety
Increased user participation and immersion during the concert
Theme 3
How might we enhance the overall concert experience & address the needs of our users while also keeping their health and safety in check?
The research found in theme three was the basis of our solution.
Who are we solving this for?
User Group
The primary users considered for our proposed solutions across all themes are ‘people aged 18 to 30 years who frequent concerts and music festivals’.
Why did we choose people aged 18 to 30 years as our target users?
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Most people that attend concerts and music festivals fall in this age group
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We wanted to design solutions that could cater to the highest population or for the people who are more likely to attend concerts or music fests.
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We also had better access to people in this age group to conduct primary research or user studies.
"My head started to get really hot and then my legs felt like they couldn't hold my weight anymore... I woke up to medical staff helping me into a golf cart."
-Interview Participant
Maxine Adams
Maxine is a 23 year old graduate student at Purdue University. She loves going to concerts and music festivals with her friends. She likes to buy discounted merchandise and collet freebies. She also loves to capture pictures and videos of the event, friends, and the artist.
Characteristics
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Health is not a priority for Maxine. She tends to power through the entire duration of the concert
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Maxine hates losing her spot at the venue. She therefore avoids taking water breaks or going to the washroom
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She is tech-savvy, social media conscious, and has a limited budget
Frustrations
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Difficulty in navigating the venue or finding friends
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Missing out on events due to long queues
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Feeling hungry/thirst but fear of losing their spot
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Lower availability of washrooms
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Blocking views due to other people or using phones to record events
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Feeling claustrophobic due to large crowds and overwhelming lights/noise
Wants
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Interactive and immersive concert experience
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Feel more connected to the artist
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Collaborate and connect with others
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Knowing the location of their friends and real time updates in case of emergencies
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Not losing their spot or missing out on the event
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Good photos (friends, artist, selfies, group, etc.)
What were the pain points for the users?
Story Boarding
With a completed persona backed by research and interviews, our team decided the next best step was to create user storyboards to effectively communicate the problems experienced at a concert by attendees. We implemented our persona as the main user in each scenario in order to directly address one of their problems.
Unaware of Health
At concerts, attendees begin by enjoying the show. If interested, they will consume alcohol. Unaware of their current body status they continue to drink. By the end of the night an attendee may be sick, pass out, or need medical attention.
Show versus Health
The attendee was watching the concert and they started feeling thirsty. However, they are hesitant to go and get some water because they don’t want to miss the concert. In the end, the user watches the show instead of tending to their health.
Misses Concert
While watching the concert, the attendee felt thirsty and went to get some water. Due to long lines and confusion at the venue, it took 30 minutes, and by the time they returned, the concert had ended.
How did we turn our findings into a cohesive design?
For the creation of the final solutions our team decided to take a dual-scoping approach. The scopes we decided to explore were a design in the near future (potentially next 5 to 15+ years) and distant future (potentially next 15 to 25+ years), although still focusing on experience engagement and user health.
We believed this to be very beneficial for a few reasons:
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Exploration of different technologies
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There have been many new developments in the world of technology, and to accurately display all of our findings, we were able to explore both near and far
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Differentiation
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Each scope has different constraint, were able to explore more options
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Flexibility
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Our team was uncertain and struggling to make a decision on what final ideas should be pursued to higher fidelity
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Final Solutions
Solution 1:
Near Future
In secondary research, our team learned about Coldplay’s XYLO-Bands (existing technology). These bands were very unique and gave an engaging yet more enjoyable feel to the concert experience.
The goal for the wristband was to stay simple, include engagement and health features, and incorporate interactivity into the experience.
In the image to the left, the wristband is in inactive mode. In this mode, the wristband would light up different colors, create patterns in the crowd, and light to the beat of the song.
On the left side of the band is a button. When pressed, it will illuminate a hologram displaying a visualization with health information and band color, as seen below.
The image to the right shows how the band will display data such as heart rate, temperature, and hydration level.
At the top, is an overall status indicator stating their condition.
At the bottom is a color wheel to change the color of the wristband.
Using AI tracking the sensor data, the band will be aware of the individual's health status and notify friends, nearby concert-goers, and potentially medical staff to assist in supporting the individual. At the bottom of the visualization, the wristband will display response protocol to assist in treating the individual.
This can be seen in the image to the left.
The framing for the distant future was to design a more creative solution in the much more distant future reimagining the modern day concert experience. This design would be novel, utilizing emerging technology to shape the experience and would be primarily focused on engagement and the user’s health needs.
Solution 2:
Far Future
In the future, our team believed in blending the reality between virtual and real world experiences. To do this, we created a solution that can engage the audience, support their health needs, and support witnessing the performance at any time.
The light patch can be placed anywhere on the body. The main function being to illuminate and track the users vitals. Additional functions include connecting with friends via a tap and being a concert freebie to take home.
The MR glasses utilize futuristic mixed reality technology to support the concert-goers experience. Many functions tackling pain points we identified in research.
Solution
Walkthrough
Maxine loves to interact, collaborate, and connect with the artist and the audience. Maxine loves to dance so she selects the Dance Mode, which is enabled by the artist(s).
Maxine can enter the Dance Mode by tapping on the notification when the mode is enabled. If she does not wish to enter the mode, she can simply perform a swiping gesture with her hand to remove the notification.
Imagine a scenario when Maxine is in need of help. The sensors will trigger a notification to nearby friends and medical staff to support in receiving medical assistance. On the same note, the MR glasses have an SOS button on them. If Maxine presses the button 3 times, an SOS is sent to three of their friends and in some rare cases - also to the concert medical staff.
Final remarks
There were many other areas that the team would have liked to explore if there had been more time. Other areas in the entertainment industry such as sports, museums, gaming, parades, and much more.
We also would have liked to explore more of the opportunities already identified, specifically making these spaces more accessible for the disabled. We did not tackle this issue since we did not have enough resources to that community, and time did not allow for it.
Throughout the design process, many iterations were made, and some were not made due to time
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Some users found it difficult to understand certain icons, such as the contacts icon that looks like the alert icon.
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Users felt that the search bar on the map page may not be useful since they are not familiar with the venue.
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Users were unlikely to use the app while actively listening to the concert, and some felt that portions of the app could be better suited for normal phone apps.
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Users felt that the medic was the only useful emergency contact, as they would call their friends for non-urgent issues.
Overall, these insights provided valuable feedback on the app's design and functionality. By addressing these concerns, the app could provide a better user experience in future iterations.
