INSTAGRAM EVENTS
Enhancing local event discovery and attendance on Instagram with a new feature.
Project Details
Role:
UX Researcher UI Designer UXDesigner
Goal:
To enhance users’ event planning and organization by providing a centralized platform to manage their upcoming events and share it with a wider audience.
Tasks Performed:
Since this was an individual project, I was responsible for both UX Research and UI Design.
I performed each step of the process, which includes:
User research
User Persona
Information Architecture
Wireframing
Visual Designing
Interaction Design
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Tools Used:
Figma Miro InVision Freehand
Timeline:
June 2023 - July 2023
4 weeks
Some Context
Instagram is a dynamic platform, which means the platform adapts to provide meaningful and relevant experiences for the user — the lead principle of User Experience (UX) design. Enthusiastic Instagram users, driven by their love for local events, strive to stay updated on upcoming happenings in their area. However, the existing platform lacks a dedicated feature to discover and get notified about local events, compelling them to resort to following multiple separate event pages for information.
Problem:
No centralized feature for events
Current event discovery feature on Instagram is limited or not location-based, which makes it hard to keep up with what's happening in ones area.
THE BIG QUESTION
“How might we create an event notification feature that enables seamless event promotion, engagement, and coordination for a diverse range of events?”
Solution:
Dedicated Events Page
The events page prioritizes events based on location, listing the nearest ones first. It provides event details such as time, location, and date, ensuring users have the necessary information to avoid missing out on events.
“Our goal is to not just be a photo sharing app, but to be the way you share your life when you’re on the go.”
— Kevin Systrom, Co-Founder, Instagram
Multiple # results
Trying to search for events using # results in a number of results causing frustration and time-waste while trying to determine what events users want to attend.
Event Notification Feature
The event notification feature enables users to receive personalized notifications tailored to their preferences.This personalized approach enhances the user experience and ensures they stay informed about events that matter most to them.
No notification reminders
Users cannot be notified about upcoming events that they are interested in. This can be inconvenient for users as they may end up missing out on those events.
Personalized Recommendations
Personalized event page suggestions based on user preferences facilitate greater event exploration and foster connections through shared experiences.
Ready to uncover these remarkable solutions? Let me spill the beans on the research and ingenious strategies that brought them to life!
EMPATHIZE
“How can we effectively comprehend and assess the user's need for Instagram's events feature?”
My Hypothesis
What do Instagram enthusiasts want?
Young adults on Instagram, between 20 and 35, want a feature that lets them share their plans for events, check if their friends are going, and decide whether to attend the event or not.
Competitive Analysis
Evaluating the competitors
In order to understand the workings of key market competitors in event hosting, I conducted a thorough analysis of Eventbrite, Meetup, and Facebook.
"Instagram is my quick break during busy days. I prefer browsing more, as a silent observer, than posting actively. "
- 28 year old Instagram user
Young adults use Instagram actively to browse through their feed and stay updated on events based on the pages they follow. They aren’t interested in actively posting about it themselves.
Re-routing the research
Focusing on what users really want
New research focus: Simplifying the discovery of local events for users on Instagram.
I performed the following actions:
Created an account (as an event organizer)
Followed the steps to create an event and mark attendance
Compared and assessed the user-friendliness of each platform (as below)
With a clear research objective and project scope in mind, I worked on a Research Plan addressing the following questions:
How do users typically discover new local events through Instagram?
What do users appreciate in other apps that they use for staying updated on local events in their area?
What causes users to miss out on event discovery through Instagram?
Why are users hesitant to use Instagram for event attendance?
What factors would make them interested in using Instagram for event discovery?
User Interview - Round 2
Refocusing on the user expectations
User Interviews
Getting to know Instagram enthusiasts
During the first round of user interviews, I found that many active Instagram users weren't keen on posting about events. Instead, their interest lay in following certain pages to stay updated about events through Instagram.
My Hypothesis was wrong!
For the second round of interviews, the participants were a mix of instagram enthusiasts who seek local events through Instagram stories & posts as well as those who didn’t rely on Instagram for finding events.
Based on user insights and feedbacks on their Instagram journey, I created an Affinity Map to identify user needs, goals, motivation and pain points, ultimately gaining a deeper understanding of their requirements and areas of difficulty.
In addition to gathering insights from active Instagram users, it was equally important to understand the perspective of users who do not actively use Instagram for finding events. This helped to uncover the reasons behind their disengagement and shed light on the limitations that prevent them from utilizing Instagram for event discovery.
Number of participants : 6 (4 rely on Instagram for finding events, 2 did not)
Age: 20 -35
The interviews were conducted over Zoom calls.
Interview Insights
Key findings from user interviews
The absence of a centralized page dedicated to events poses a significant challenge for participants when it comes to finding events.
“Using # to search for pages on Instagram produces too many results, which leads to frustration and time waste.”
The desire for social connection and shared experiences with familiar faces can serve as a strong motivator for users to actively participate in events.
“Attending an event is more like a social activity for me. So I go to events my friends are going to too”
Getting personalized recommendations ranks high in user needs.
“I would love to see event recommendations based on my browsing history.”
One of the major pain points for users is missing out on events due to the absence of a notification feature on Instagram.
“Alot of time I get to know about an event through my friends’ Instagram stories. But by that time I have already missed it.”
DEFINE
“How can we leverage prior research findings to establish primary objectives and determine key focus areas for the development of the Events features?”
User Persona
Prioritizing user needs and motivations
Early on, I identified a crucial constraint: the Events feature could cater to two distinct user groups - event creators and event attendees. Given that my user interviews primarily focused on event-attendees, I made the decision to prioritize addressing the needs of this user group for the scope of this project.
Hence, from the interview brief three user personas emerged:
Persona 1 - Emily / The social butterfly
Persona 2 - Calvin / The culturally curious
Persona 3 - Alexa / The lone adventurer
Goal Setting
Defining the primary objectives
After clarifying the constraints, I conducted a goal-setting exercise to prioritize the essential features. This exercise enabled me to effectively manage my time and concentrate on the minimum viable product (MVP) that aligns with the primary objectives.
IDEATE
“Turning ideas into reality!”
Sitemap
Architecting the platform's structure
A sitemap was the first step to help me understand Instagram’s information architecture. It served as a blueprint helping me determine the hierarchy of pages and establish clear navigation pathways.
User flow
Mapping the user's path within the app
With the Sitemap in place, in order to understand and visualize the path users would take while interacting with this new feature on Instagram, I created a User Flow. It helped me to dig deeper into user behavior and optimize the user experience while navigating through the new feature.
Task flow
Working on the task flow helped me understand user interactions within the platform, enabling me to pinpoint areas for enhancing the user experience. This process proved important in identifying opportunities for improvement and optimizing the product's usability and functionality.
The task flow was created keeping the following processes in mind:
Search for Upcoming Events
View your friends attending that event
Subscribe/ Set notification for an event
Check for scheduled events under personal events page
Check recommended events and follow the page
Optimizing user interactions
Early Ideation
Breathing life into blueprints
During the initial ideation phase, I opted to leverage the existing Instagram UI and incorporate the event notification feature using a similar interaction pattern. This approach ensured that the new addition seamlessly integrates with the platform, offering a cohesive and intuitive user experience.
For each of these processes, I also considered the business goal. After doing my research, I decided to design the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) so that it could achieve its purpose without costing the business a lot.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
I discovered InVision Freehand during the bootcamp and found it invaluable for rapidly sketching low-fidelity wireframes remotely or when collaborating with other designers. I love to draw and sketch, but you save a lot of time with Freehand as you can quickly duplicate screens and components without wasting too much time on the details.
Mid- fidelity wireframes
Using Figma, I transferred my sketches into mid-fidelity wireframes. Transitioning my best concepts from sketches into simple digital wireframes allowed me to refine some smaller details. By digitizing these screens, I was able to envision the potential outcome of my high-fidelity wireframes, allowing for a more tangible representation of the final design.
Notification options
Notification option selected
My Events
Event information
Recommended events
Userfeed
Upcoming Events
Friends attending
Event’s profile
Event post
DESIGN
“Translating the idea into a tangible and logical design!”
UI Component library
Style & branding
Before starting with high fidelity wire-framing, I decided to create a UI component library which would serve as a style guide helping in maintaining consistency in high-fidelity designs. It also helps to save time and increase efficiency.
My UI component library consisted of both light and dark mode components because I has decided to design for both dark and light modes of instagram.
High fidelity wireframes
Leveraging the UI component library, I elevated my mid-fi wireframes to polished hi-fi designs. The pre-built components streamlined the design process and ensured a consistent and finished look.
The end result? A visually captivating and user-friendly interface.
Light Mode
Homepage
Event Page’s Profile
Event Information
My Events
Upcoming Events
Event’s Post
Recommended Profiles
Notification Options
PROTOTYPE
“Bringing concepts to life for testing and validation.”
To validate the functionality, user interactions, and overall user experience of my high-fidelity wireframes, I created a click-through prototype with essential interactions and animations using Figma.
USABILITY TEST & ITERATION
“How do we gather user feedback, identify improvements, and refine the design to enhance usability and user satisfaction?”
Usability Test
Testing the prototype to determine its usability
Once I had a prototype, I was able to get feedback from users. I used their feedback to make changes to the product, which I then tested again. I continued this process until the product was meeting the needs of my users.
Number of participants: 5 (3 from initial user interview phase & 2 new users who use instagram frequently)
Duration: 7 hours
Number of tasks: 4
The tasks that were tested:
Search for Upcoming Events
View your friends attending that event
Subscribe/ Set notification for an event
Check for scheduled events under personal events page
Check recommended events and follow the page
Analyzing Feedback
Compiling user input to improve user experience
After receiving positive feedback from users who found the new feature engaging and intuitive, with a strong willingness to use it if introduced by Instagram, I utilized their valuable insights and user experience to create a comprehensive chart in order to understand their challenges. This chart allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of their requirements, enabling me to provide a seamless and user-centric experience for future iterations of the feature.
By using a prioritization grid, I organized and categorized the feedback received from various users during app demonstrations. This approach enabled me to pinpoint and prioritize the elements that required immediate attention, ensuring that critical improvements were addressed before the final handoff, resulting in an optimized and user-focused feature.
Iterations
Implementing Modifications to Enhance Usability
To ensure that Instagram Events aligns with the needs and expectations of its target users as per their feedbacks, required iterations were made to align with user needs. Check out the major iterations I made to my wireframes for improved usability of my product:
Before
DARK MODE
After
Considering user needs and preferences, I integrated a filter to expand their search options and enable them to specify the days they are interested in.
How?
Before
Before
After
In order to clearly differentiate between the two and enhance overall usability, I re-named “My events” to “My schedule”, ensuring user clarity.
After
The detail icon was removed, and a direct unsubscribe feature for events was implemented in its place.
In addition to the mentioned iterations, I opted to list events based on the user's location, with the nearest events appearing first. This implementation eliminates the need for users to manually search for events in their vicinity.
I conducted a Round 2 user testing and received positive feedback from all the users. Once, I was satisfied with my usability test results, it was time to dive a little deeper into user needs.
Between 91% and 95% users prefer to use dark mode, showing a clear preference for Dark Mode over Light Mode. Also, since most of the users I interviewed used Instagram in dark mode, I decided to create hi-fi screens in dark mode as well.
Before
After
To increase overall usability and reduced potential user confusion, the text color was changed from blue to pink to differentiate between a hyperlink and highlighted text.
CONCLUSION
Next Steps
Additional steps for next cycle
If I had more time and resources, a few things I would love to explore:
Explore features that could offer value to event organizers as well.
Monitor the growth and impact of this new feature.
Conduct user testing of our designs to iterate and improve the feature further.
Retrospection & Takeaways
What did I learn?
User Inclusivity: User’s perspectives played a pivotal role in designing a feature that resonates with diverse audiences, fostering inclusivity and engagement.
Iterative Design: Embracing an iterative design approach allowed us to refine the feature continuously, adapting to user needs and expectations with each iteration.
The Value of Feedback: By valuing user feedback, I leveraged existing Instagram experience to ensured a smooth transition, maintaining familiarity and enhancing user adoption.
Throughout the process of designing this feature for Instagram, I embarked on a journey of innovation and user-centricity. Diligently analyzed user feedback, tested prototypes, and made iterative improvements. My commitment to addressing pain points and enhancing usability led to meaningful results.
