DELIVERABLES
User research, Wireframes
GOAL Fix scanning issues and improve readability.
OUTCOME 15% average increase in tickets scanned for events.
Ideation
✨ Better event branding Automatically show client's primary brand color or event's category color and include an event image
🔢 Increase redundancy Add multiple barcodes and barcode data in strategic locations
📨 Encourage party ticket distribution Add instructions to users for each person in their group to be holding their own ticket
🪜 Elevate important information Make finding customer name, seating information, and event details easier
UniversityTickets
Improving Event Attendance Accuracy 15% by Redesigning PDF Tickets to Fix 4 Scanning Problems
UniversityTickets was a live-event web ticket platform for 500+ universities
Event entrance was slowed when PDF tickets were not scannable due to 4 issues. Strategically placed, redundant barcodes increased attendance accuracy 15%.
Contextual user research at a university graduation event discovered that barcodes on print-at-home PDF tickets were not scannable due to 4 common issues, causing delays with attendee entrance. As the UX design team-of-one, I initiated a redesign project that solved the problem by increasing the number of barcodes and placing them in strategic locations. This resulted in a 15% average scanning accuracy for events and sped up entrance.
Project Overview
MY ROLE UX Team-of-One
TEAM 2 SWE, 1 PM
EMPLOYER UniversityTickets
TOOLS Omnigraffle
TIMELINE 4 Months
STATUS Launched September 2016
4 common issues caused scanning problems that slowed down attendee entrance to events
Contextual user research observations at a graduation ceremony event for Azusa Pacific University in May 2016 uncovered 4 issues preventing barcodes from being scanned: covering, mis-printing, folding, and smudging.
I initiated a redesign project to fix these scanning issues and improve the attendee experience two days after the issues were found.
1. Covering
2. Mis-Printing
3. Folding
4. Smudging
To fix scanning: increase redundancy, add instructions, improve barcode placement
⏹️ Place barcodes away from common fold lines
Tickets were often folded in quarters or thirds. In the revised design the barcodes were moved away from these common fold lines to prevent this cause of scanning difficulty.
🔢 Increase redundancy by adding backup barcodes
By increasing the number of barcodes there would be backups in case one of the barcodes was covered or misprinted or distorted.
ℹ️ Add instructions to distribute tickets
Adding instructions to attendees for each person in their group to be holding their own, unfolded ticket helped keep the scanning line moving smoothly by eliminating time waiting for tickets to be separated and unfolded.
🔣 Increase redundancy of backup manual scan text
If a ticket still couldn’t be scanned, the barcode data was also printed in text on the ticket in the format of OrderLocator.TicketNumber.CategoryID.EventID
In my redesign I also added a backup; with barcodes placed in opposite diagonal corners to account for possible printing issues.
First Concept
Final Concept
Improved Visual Hierarchy and Branding
Customer name, event name, seating information, and ticket type are all easier to find in dedicated locations and visual styles.
Customer’s Name
Quickly finding the customer's name is important for greeting attendees at the door.
Event Title
Attendees need to know that they are bringing the tickets to the correct event.
Client Branding
The only branding option for clients in the old ticket design were the header and footer images. For the new ticket design new branding options were added.
Seating Location
This is important so staff and customers can easily locate their correct seat.
Old Ticket
New Ticket
15% increase in attendance ticket scan accuracy
The number of tickets scanned of tickets sold increased 15%, from 53% to 68%, on average, as a result of the new ticket design—which is now being used by over 500 colleges and universities across the USA and Canada, including MIT.
Takeaways
Contextual observation can uncover big, unknown problems.
When a digital file becomes a physical object, unexpected issues can arise.
Design for extremes, not the ideal.
Decide how to accommodate content that exceeds available space.
Leverage existing data to inform design decisions.
By analyzing the longest and average text lengths for text content I was able to design a ticket that would work better for most clients.
Ideas for Exploration
Booklet Tickets
Alternate layout options that clients can choose from would offer more flexibility.
A quarter-folded layout that looks like a mini book is something I’d like to explore.
Event-Type Specific Tickets
UniversityTickets served four main client types: theater, student activities, athletics, and graduations.
Perhaps offering an E-Ticket layout tailored to the needs of each would be better than a single layout balancing the needs of all four.
Additional Analysis
For additional measures of success I would have liked to compare two events at the same school of equal size using the original and the new e-ticket designs.
I would compare the amount of time a user spends in line, user satisfaction with ease of finding their seat, and number of times a scanner's laser is activated vs number of times a barcode is successfully scanned.
Additional Case Studies
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