SLOVE
Overview
SLOVE is an innovative Swedish startup designed to simplify the event booking process for musicians and venues.
PROBLEM
Many users felt uncertainty and mistrust when booking gigs, as they involved large sums of money, and users would often abandon the process midway.
Additionally, they were unable to locate the main features.
MY ROLE
Lead Product Designer
I took ownership of the entire design process. I collaborated closely with product managers, developers, and stakeholders to align design decisions with business goals.
IMPACT
Better Booking: The new booking flow made the process much clearer.
Improved Usability: Restructuring the app and switching to vertical scrolling made navigation more straightforward.
Higher Engagement: Personalised recommendations and gamification encouraged users to engage more with the app.
Improved Visuals: The dark theme and brighter colours made the app look better and easier to use in low-light settings.
Smooth Development: Close teamwork with developers ensured the designs were practical and implemented successfully.
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
To tackle this problem, I employed a user-centered design process, starting with comprehensive research:
USER RESEARCH
I conducted interviews with musicians, venue owners, and music agents to uncover pain points in the booking process. The majority of them had issues finding the right match, with whom they could collaborate in the long run. They also didn't feel confident during the booking process due to the limited amount of information.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
A deep dive into non-direct competitors' apps showed a gap in communicated trust mechanisms. I've noticed a few elements: 1. Verification badge 2. Reviews 3. From 3 to 5 booking steps.
USER TESTING
To identify the main issues in our app, I led user testing, assigning simple tasks. I repeated them with different variations of the screens to find the perfect solution. Insights revealed that 60% of users struggled to find core features, and 80% felt unsure about the security of their payments.
With these insights, I began ideating solutions. By creating personas and user flows, I mapped out the booking user journey, pinpointing areas where users were most likely to drop off or feel uncertain. From there, I iterated on several wireframes and prototypes, gathering feedback to ensure the design addressed key pain points.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
The core issue users faced was the inability to find the app's main features, which impacted their confidence. With card sorting, I've achieved 100% feature findability.
TESTING & ALTERATION
Throughout my experience working for Slove, we underwent various changes and alterations based on continuous feedback from users.
BOOKING FLOW
The booking process was a significant focus of the redesign. I developed a new, structured five-step flow that includes initiating contact, discussing event details, formalising agreements, and creating ticketed events.
REtaINING USERS
To boost user retention, we implemented features like personalised recommendations, which tailored gig suggestions to users’ preferences, gamification elements that rewarded users with points for booking gigs, and community-building efforts through email marketing and social media engagement. These strategies led to higher user satisfaction and increased repeat usage.
SOLUTIONS
Clear Payment Steps
I introduced additional steps in the booking process, which provided detailed payment breakdowns and security assurances. This improvement increased user confidence by 15%, as determined by testing.
Gamification Features
We added features such as user ratings, verification badges, and community-building elements that encouraged interaction and increased trust among users.
Improved Navigation
Redesigning the navigation system helped 100% of users locate core features quickly, as confirmed by post-redesign testing.
RESULTS
100%
Feature findability
As a part of the building trust process, was making sure that information architecture is clear for the users. That led to higher confidence for them, as they could find any feature without a problem
15%
Boost in user confidence
With enhanced features like gamification, ratings, verification badges and better navigation, users way were more confident to finish the booking process.
Winning the Venture Cup Sverige ‘Game Changers’ Category
Slove's success in solving the challenges faced by musicians and venues has been recognized through this achievement.The success of Slove in addressing issues that musicians and venues face was recognised through this achievement.
Final Mobile design
REFLECTIONS
Seeing my designs come to life was both exhilarating and challenging. One significant lesson I learned was the importance of early and effective communication with the development team to ensure that design proposals were feasible within their technical constraints. The original vision for the booking process had to be adjusted to align with the developers’ capabilities, ensuring a smooth and successful implementation.