Introduction

• Brief: Prototype an app for the Total Dublin Heineken event.

• Challenge: Make Dublin’s best local content, events, and listings instantly accessible for both locals and visitors.

• Goals: Fast discovery, easy navigation, and a lively city guide vibe.

Discovery Phase

• Stakeholder interviews with event organizers and editors.

• Business requirements: Promote the Heineken event, surface top listings, and boost engagement with the publication.

• User needs: Quick event look-up, save favorite places, and easy navigation by category.

Problem Framing

• Problem: City guides are often cluttered and slow—users can’t find what they need on the fly.

• Success: Users find events, venues, and highlights in seconds.

• Constraints: Prototype needed for a specific event, tight timeline, mobile-first.

User Research

• User interviews: Locals and tourists shared what they want from a city/event app.

• Competitive analysis: Checked out other city/event apps—most were either too basic or too bloated.

• Market research: Found that users bounce if they can’t find events or venues fast.

Synthesis

• Personas: City explorers, event-goers, and weekend tourists.

• Journey mapping: From app open to finding an event, saving a venue, and navigating there.

• Key insights: Simplicity and speed beat feature overload.

Solution Development

• Info architecture: Home screen with featured events, tabs for categories (music, food, film, etc.), and a favorites section.

• Wireframes/prototypes: Card layouts for quick scanning, bold visuals, and big tap targets.

• Visual design: Clean, energetic, and image-driven—captures the city’s vibe.

Testing

• Usability testing: Ran with target users—flagged slow flows and confusing icons.

• User feedback: Improved navigation, made saving favorites frictionless.

• Iterations: Tweaked visuals and streamlined the event/venue discovery process.

Implementation

• Handoff: Shared annotated wireframes and clickable prototype with dev team.

• Dev collaboration: Quick feedback loops to ensure smooth transitions and fast load times.

• Go-to-market: Launched as a pilot for the Heineken event, promoted in-app and at event venues.

Results & Impact

• Metrics: High engagement during the event, strong repeat usage, and positive feedback from both locals and visitors.

• User adoption: Users loved the easy access to events and favorites.

• Business impact: Boosted event attendance and strengthened Totally Dublin’s brand as the go-to city guide.

• Lessons learned: For event/city apps, keep it simple, visual, and lightning fast.