A few months back you may remember reading on our blog that Mark, our CD, had been invited to the Design Off in .NET magazine. Well now you can witness his works, thoughts and direction in response to the fictitious brief of a redesign of a theatre site in November’s issue. We believe it to be the best of the bunch… but why don’t you judge for yourself and see if Mark has still got his mojo…
And if you rush out and buy a .Net November issue you can also see his piccy… which he most adamantly claims has had no retouching what so ever… well, we will leave you to make up your own mind on that one…
The Brief:
Mock up the homepage of a theatre site. Visitors should get excited about attending a production and have no trouble finding out what’s on and how to buy tickets. The page should also reflect the atmosphere and personality of the theatre. Consider including social networking features and video.
The Solution:
None of the theatre sites we visited during the R&D phase of this project actually present the experience of visiting a theatre. Something so inherently emotive and experiential required a much more engaging solution, yet one that communicated key information readily and easily. So we looked further afield and defined our principle as follows:
The site needs to be functional and the design should be contextual to the offering. Our solution was a balance of functionality and form that recreates the theatre online. We’ve extended, as much as possible, the experience of visiting the theatre into the digital experience. Don’t entrap or bind the performance; let the browser be the stage and its elements the players. Our fictional theatre, the New Vic, runs three productions at any one time. We thought about full-screen and video, but these were ruled out for manageability and cost reasons. The site had to be managed by a CMS, it had to be modular and it had to be quick and easy to navigate for a multitude of users. We had three clear objectives in mind:
1) make it mimic a production;
2) make it easy for people to book;
3) create engagement possibilities that exist outside of a theatre show, and extend the long-term relationship between the theatre and the theatre-goer.
The solution was a hybrid Flash/Ajax build (with a core focus on naturally integrated social media channels), resulting in a highly usable site that met all objectives by satisfying rational needs while engaging the emotive values of the theatre.
1) The site is my stage
Scalable props and players define each production, so the site reflects the performance with every pixel. Quick or slow, brash or gentle, it’s reflected through images, graphics and inertia.
2) Parallax build
A parallax Flash build creates depth and a multitude of background environments that best promote the production - extending the metaphor of the stage and its transient nature.
3) Simplified booking tool
An easy- to-use booking tool is important. To avoid separation from the site experience we used a step-by-step booking app that enables users to purchase tickets directly on the homepage.
4) View from your seat
It’s always good to know what view you have of the stage. We propose to map The New Vic’s seating views in a 3D environment so online customers don’t have to second-guess.
5) Long-term engagement
Create long-term opportunities beyond buying a ticket. Strategies involve VIP experiences and local activity; we want this to be more than just a building, and engage on multiple levels.
6) Social media marketing
Integrating social media tools, such as Disqus, increases engagement and stickiness by up to 50 per cent. Publishing real-time comments within the stage gives productions context.
