eVenture

Discover Events. Build Connections. Find Community.

Table of Contents

1. Project Overview
2. Process & Methods
3. My Contributions
4. Key Outcomes & Deliverables
5. Skills Built

Overview

65% of students believe their commute discourages from participating in campus activities and events*

Source: Survey by StudentMoveTO (Coutts et al., 2018)

Problem Statement

Students who live off campus and commute to school want to find ways to connect with others and make friends. Current digital solutions lack support for both event discovery and relationship building, leaving them without effective opportunities to socially participate.

Objectives

Create a platform that enables students to both discover and attend events easily, as well as create and build social connection.

Project Overview

Scope

Completed over the Fall Term (4 Months) for INF1611

Deliverables

• Background Research (Competitive and Literature Analyses)
• Primary Research (User Interviews)
• UI Planning (User Profiles, Journey Maps, Task Flow, Low Fidelity Sketches)
• Prototype
• User Testing
• UI Mockup

Discovery

Literature Review

We conducted a Literature Review looking at how online platforms facilitated community building and how commuting effects ones sense of belonging.

• Students are most influenced by their peers
• Students were more likely to attend social events if they were told by peers
• Most students would prefer to attend activities with those they are familiar with

Commuting Limitations

• Commuting time, distance, and social drain influence students’ lack of engagement

Existing Solutions Felt Ineffective

• Students felt current web-based resources that facilitated social and academic opportunities were ineffective

Competitor Analysis

We examined Meetup, Thursday, UofT Student Organization Portal, and Eventbrite.

Strengths

• Consolidating everything onto a single platform offers convenience
• Thursday allows access to tickets through a companion app
• Meetup and Eventbrite offer wide interest coverage
• Well-established platforms with large user bases

Weaknesses

• Some platforms are too broad (Meetup, Eventbrite)
• Some scopes are too narrow (Thursday, UofT SOP)
• Lack of commuter accommodation

User Interviews

7 UofT students (past or present) who commuted were interviewed remotely via voice calls.

Research Questions

• How can commuting students meet and socialize outside class?
• What challenges do commuter students face socially?
• How does commuting affect social experience?

Key Findings

• Preference for smaller groups with shared interests
• Difficulty forming meaningful relationships
• Academic prioritization over socialization
• Commuting exhaustion and demotivation

Ideation

Core User Needs

We consolidated our research insights into the following core user needs

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Relationship Building

Students want to make friends with others with similar interests.

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Flexibility

Students want to find things to do that are convenient in time and location.

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Consolidation

Students are overwhelmed with options and need help making decisions.

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Social Proof

Students are more likely to participate in activities others have vetted.

Shortlisted Features

• Personalization (Interests)
• Friend System
• Calendar Availability
• Proximity-based Event Map
• Student ID Verification
• Curated Event Discovery

User Personas & Journey Maps

Two personas (extroverted and introverted) were developed to empathize with diverse student needs.

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User Task Flow

Golden path for discovering and registering for an event.

Sketching & Wireframes

• Home
• Advanced Filters
• Event Description
• Collections
• Profile
• Feed
• Event List
• Ticket Display

Wireframing & Prototyping

Figma Prototype

Interactive prototype built in Figma.

User Testing

Method

8 participants tested the prototype by completing event discovery and registration tasks.

Key Insights

• Misleading iconography
• Unclear Feed and Collections
• Lack of confirmation after registering

Updates to Prototype

• Updated navigation iconography
• Implemented confirmation screen
• Adjusted unclear screens and labels
• Added suggested friends

My Contributions

• Conducted Competitive Analysis
• Conducted 2 User Interviews
• Led Figma prototyping
• Conducted and noted User Tests
• Designed final UI mockups

Art Direction

The final art direction was chosen from the first style tile due to its calming green palette.

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Evolution of Prototype

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Final Design

Core Features

• Personalized event feed
• Advanced filters
• Social feed
• In-app tickets
• Saved events

Challenges & Limitations

• Time constraints limited scope
• Not all testers were target users
• Prototype limitations impacted UX

Lessons Learned & Next Steps

What I Learned

• Advanced Figma prototyping
• User research synthesis
• Team collaboration

What I’d Do Differently

• Onboarding personalization
• Event attendee lists
• Virtual experiences
• More usability testing

Going Forward

• Build strong foundations first
• Prioritize accessibility
• Design based on research, not assumptions