Hanley Whelpton

There are clearly, from all of the research I had done, some key issues with Board-masters that means that it fails to navigate a user from A to B – dropping sales and losing consumers through its poor design. And, as shown by the Synthesis (found here: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVNbWB2lE=/?moveToWidget=3458764566662132129&cot=14?) there was a lot that could be done to change what the larger and more frequent issues were.

One of the main problems that Board-masters faced was the inability to get a user to purchase or prebook tickets. They couldn’t get back from the website they were transferred onto, they didn’t like the change from text input to buttons, they didn’t like the theme and how it didn’t flow, or how bland it was compared to Board-masters itself. A user who knew little about Board-masters would therefore not understand what it is. So this is what I chose to focus my changes on.

Low Fidelity Wireframes

I first had to wireframe the elements in order to make sure that the user would be able to follow them through, as well as to include everything the user made commentary on. Below is an image of the updated wireframe against what it previously was.

I firstly, wa need the popup to fade, this meant the user couldn’t actively get it off their screen without paying attention to what it actually said, something ignored by most users. Next, I developed the design to be inclusive of the design system, which makes the user feel like the secondary webpage is authentic.It was commented on how people view ‘third party resellers.’ as untrustworthy. The fact that the website completely changes format throws people off, so this was a clear change I would need to make. Even including the design system images would work. I also thought about jargon. I wanted to give the idea of hints towards what the user can expect – users commented on the fact that they didn’t even know it was a surf festival, so making sure it was focussed on as well as other aspects was valuable.

There were some parts that I believed I could have developed upon, such as maybe adding some sort of slideshow which could link back to gallery at the end, which would focus then on another issue Board-masters had that could be solved. This led me to my final prototype.

Adding Detail

Some comments I made regarding this redesign include:

• The typefaces that I chose for this project reflect that of the actual boardmasters design system, and in following this, look to be a part of the webpage itself.
• I used phrases that showcased the event, talking about the surfing, beach, music, and other aspects in short snappy headers that draw the user in.
• One of the issues I needed to solve was the users lack of knowledge regarding some aspects of the festival, so I believed were they not to know about aspects like this, this leads them on that journey.
• Link back to the homepage gallery allows the user to look further into the images -sets up that want to go. 
• The text boxes are created in such a way that when clicked, it is clear what the user is doing – that affordance helps the point made regarding boxes and being unsure of what to do.
• The shape I chose to use follows the Boardmasters logo shapes, tying it all together. This gives it the authentic feel the users wanted.

I then placed the finalised version against my synthesis, to make sure that everything I had included presented value tot he user, and if I hadn’t included anything by mistake, that it was changed.

Overall, this project I believed turned out quite well. it helped me learn a lot about different component elements as well as problems and how they can be solved. Some things didn’t go quite to plan, but like the Board-masters website, they could easily be fixed with a little bit of user testing and research.

Minor Details

Throughout the project, using both user research and user interviews, and then followed up by user testing, I had minor details placed throughout the product that validated its use as a checkout service as well as an experience.

The use of a sand-which filter throughout was imperative in guiding the user and giving that authentic feeling. However, it was also really important to gain an understanding of when perhaps to drop its use – such as when the user is checking out , to push them into that final part of the process, and minimise them going back on themselves. This can also be followed up by the user of highlighted features throughout the product. The highlighted boxes presented action fro the user to take, which helped then to move them forward in the checkout process, as they followed a key of ‘order,’ ‘details,’ and ‘payment.’

The softer edges used felt similar tot hat of the slightly curved edges of the monopoly design systems and the colours were a mix of both what people saw as ‘thrilling,’ as well as the monopoly colour theme. The images used were taken directly from the monopoly go game, as monopoly as a company moved towards 3D illustrations when creating online gameplays.

Whilst these were not all of the small details I added, these were some of the important ones in making the user feel comfortable in the checkout process!

To gain a better understanding of my users, I wanted to interview three different people. The first was Sky Anna, who regularly goes to a Gaming Cafe to play both board games and video games with her friends, she was an expert in the field of gaming. I then asked Rob, who didn’t know a great deal about gaming but did enjoy a thrill. The final one user was Max, who had a really good grasp of both. Of course all of them loved food and had that in common!

Max

Max was a really insightful interview because he had a really good understanding of all of the different concepts. And there were a couple of key things that Max highlighted for me in the interview.

• Being young is all about adventure, which we established was thrilling. Thrills are then linked to the outdoors as is childhood. It is all about learning something new, doing something new, and that is what brings thrill around. These were concepts Max brought around that really got me thinking about the way users interact with a youthful product.
• The action type of shooting is physical, the sound could be thrilling, the idea that it isn’t something you do everyday (or no one really does), a new experience is what brings that thrill around for the users of games.
• There ​is ​a ​frustrating ​aspect ​to ​monopoly, ​so ​adding ​the ​maybe ​unknown ​and ​the ​idea ​that ​you ​might ​win ​or ​lose ​is ​a ​really ​fun ​concept ​to ​play ​with for the idea of the product.
• The ​idea ​that ​maybe ​its ​a ​a ​win ​or ​lose, ​positive ​or ​negative ​experience ​that ​could ​occur ​is ​also ​really ​thrilling ​to ​people. ​
• The ​concept ​of ​there ​being ​a ​different ​result ​everytime ​you ​interact ​witht ​he ​product ​could ​be ​looked ​into. ​This ​would ​be ​fun, ​a ​swipe ​system ​that could go a certain way or could go another way.
• The ​idea ​of ​knowing ​where ​you ​are ​going ​and ​having ​that ​familiarity ​with ​it ​is ​really ​useful. ​The ​game ​could ​be ​exciting ​but ​the ​actual ​checkout ​needs ​to ​be ​recognisable ​to the ​user. ​

Rob

Rob didn’t have a great depth of knowledge regarding games, so this was a really important interview about what else brings people thrill.

• When asked about thrill, Rob mentioned silly games that were almost a fear of being hurt: How does this present anything towards the project? Throwing rocks at each other is imaginable to be sharp and painful – it is that unknown and the feeling that brings thrill. This is important to understand.
• Monopoly has no relevance to Rob, but what does show relevance is the desire for competition within the game and how it challenges people, and that tends to be what people remember about the game.
• Th ease of movement between the purchasing and the start is really important and needs to be relatively quick.

Sky

Sky enjoys video games, but doesn’t necessarily care for the idea and concept of thrill. She plays every other day, and enjoys video games as well and board games, having attended gaming conventions as well as gaming cafes.

• Th genre of a horror game is often seen as thrilling because it almost encompasses the human fear of the unexpected. You never know what is coming your way, and Sky brought this up a couple of times.
• Sky associates thrilling colours with red, yellow, and orange. These are colours most associated with flames and fire, or more importantly – heat.
• The idea of banking and trading is fun, and it adds to the thrill aspect, but the main advantage of this is the interactivity aspect, and the possibilities a game could lead to.
• Sky likes the idea of there being a challenge, soething to achieve from the service you are being offered  makes it a game to remember. There is something people like about doing new things – trying new things, or even the same concept in a new light. It is what people enjoy about board games.