Streamlining the Path to Purchase: Event Calendar to Seat Selection
2023
Project Overview
Cosm pushes the boundaries of live entertainment by integrating state-of-the-art technology into a venue that celebrates sports, art, and music. This fusion results in a dynamic atmosphere that keeps fans engaged and excited.
As Cosm approached the opening of its first venue, it became essential to expand access to the event exploration features, which were initially app-only. A desktop version was needed to ensure users could experience the full ticketing process while maintaining the app’s original mobile-first flow and design.
My Role
Product Designer
Collaborators
Ethan Paulson, Director of Product Design
Marcus Valverde, Senior Software Engineer
Mike Schiro, Web Product Manager
The goal of this project was to ensure the website could support ticket sales as demand increased, providing users with a seamless purchasing experience. While the app was equipped for sales, we aimed to prioritize a web-first approach, allowing users who preferred not to download another app to easily explore events without sacrificing the quality of the experience. By collaborating with stakeholders and developers, I worked to create a solution that was both accessible and efficient for all users.
Defining Core Design Features
The event exploration feature needed to be intuitive, visually clear, and scalable. Since the original experience was designed for a mobile-first app, we ensured a seamless transition to the web by maintaining key features while enhancing usability with the advantages of a larger screen. Through stakeholder discussions, we developed a set of key goals:
- Retain the efficiency of the mobile-first flow while optimizing the desktop experience with clearer layouts and contextual guidance.
- Enhance the ticketing process with educational touchpoints that help users make informed decisions about their purchase.
- Create an adaptive seat map that dynamically adjusts to different venue layouts, ensuring users can easily find and select their seats.
By focusing on these goals, we ensured that users could navigate Cosm events effortlessly, whether on desktop or mobile.
01 Adapting the Ticketing Flow for Web
Building upon the existing app flow, we optimized the web experience by leveraging the larger screen space on desktop and tablets to enhance user education and streamline the purchasing process. The first step in this flow was the Calendar page, where users were introduced to upcoming events at Cosm. Given its critical role in discovery and decision-making, I worked closely with stakeholders and participated in multiple design critiques to refine the calendar, location, and category filter components. This ensured that users could easily find events relevant to them, setting the stage for a smoother purchasing experience.
From there, users would navigate to the Event Detail page, where we presented essential ticketing information and event metadata upfront, reducing unnecessary clicks and improving clarity. Key details like event type, duration, and age restrictions helped users quickly determine if an event suited their needs, minimizing decision fatigue and ensuring a smoother path to purchase.
02 Helping Users Understand Ticket Variations
Cosm’s venue offers multiple ways to experience an event, from different floors to ticket types, but users often found it difficult to differentiate between seating options, pricing tiers, and what each ticket included. To address this, we needed to present this information more clearly to reduce confusion and create a more informed purchasing process.
- Venue Experience Selection: Users could now choose between Hall or Dome seating before entering the seat map.
- Ticket Tiers & Pricing Indicators: We introduced visual indicators ($, $$, $$$) alongside ticket descriptions to simplify decision making.
By providing additional context and visual cues, we ensured that users could easily compare options and confidently select the best experience for their needs.
03 Designing the Seat Map Experience
An intuitive seat selection process was essential to the user experience. Working with our content designer, I refined the seat map to improve the venue’s visual clarity, ensuring users could easily understand the venue screen placement, venue shape, and seating layout. To further enhance usability, I designed components for every seat type and state, aligning with real-world configurations.
Through regular design critiques with stakeholders, we refined the approach to balance user needs and business goals, ensuring expectations were met. To improve navigation, I introduced a mini map that helped users stay oriented while switching floors and selecting seats. Close collaboration with developers ensured the final implementation was both technically feasible and user-friendly.
The optimized web experience improved event discovery and ticket purchases. Enhancing filters and presenting key details upfront reduced friction, increasing user engagement. The refined seat selection process, including a mini map for orientation, minimized confusion and improved conversion rates. Close collaboration with stakeholders ensured alignment with business goals, while iterative design refinements led to a more intuitive and scalable purchasing flow.
This project reinforced my ability to account for edge cases, maintain large design files, and improve cross-team communication. By working closely with developers and stakeholders, we delivered a ticketing flow that was both technically feasible and user-friendly.
Now that we’ve seen everything come together in a live environment, we’re better equipped to make further improvements that will enhance the ticketing experience even more:
- Refining pre-purchase educational moments: Enhancing onboarding screens to provide better ticketing guidance before seat selection.
- Adjusting seat map visuals: Ensuring the digital seat map aligns more accurately with real-world venue layouts for better user confidence.
- Continuing user research: Conducting usability tests and gathering qualitative feedback to fine-tune the flow based on real customer experiences.
By continuously iterating on this foundation, we are ensuring that the ticketing experience remains as seamless and engaging as possible.