Impacting over 1 million people.
Creating the new look of the mobile app for one of the biggest music festival in the world.
Background
Rock in Rio is one of the biggest music festivals in the world, with an average of 1 million people per edition. The festival is considered the eighth best worldwide by the specialized website Festival Fling. Since its 4th edition, the festival usually takes place biannually in Brazil.
a sneak peak…
Loading Screen
Navegating the app
Assets
Discovery
Challenge
A more interactive and personalized user experience to keep the audience captivated and actively involved with the app during the event.
Refresh the visual aesthetics and improve the usability of the app without losing its unique essence and brand identity.
Short deadline: two months to understand the users’ needs and design the next app’s update.
Goals and objectives
Increase user engagement with the app.
Increase the app’s monetization.
Introduce new features and update the design without losing the brand identity.
Research
I reached out to and interviewed 6 individuals who utilized the app during the event, aiming to gain a clear understanding of both the advantages and challenges they experienced. My inquiries included questions such as:
Opening question:
What was your overall impression of using the app during the event?
About the positive experiences:
What did you like most about using the app during the event?
What features in the app did you find particularly useful?
About the negative experiences:
What difficulties did you have while using the app?
What features or functionalities of the app did you find frustrating or unhelpful?
To close the interview:
What would you change about the app to make it even better?
Conclusion
After collecting information, these were the main issues related to the app's usability and accessibility:
Features were difficult to use or limited.
The Home screen showcased the event lineups but didn't update to show the events happening that day.
The 'Agenda' feature served the same purpose as the Lineup feature on the home screen.
In the Event Map, users noted the absence of information beyond the locations of the stages.
The app was available only in Portuguese.
Current app (2022):
Design Solution
Armed with the insights from our research, we recognized the need to develop an application that was not only easy to use but also purposeful for the event. It was essential that the app be intuitive and user-friendly, considering the majority of users would likely download it for the first time during the event. Therefore, it had to offer a sense of familiarity right from the start.
Prototype
I worked alongside a Product Manager to rapidly test some of the changes with users using a prototype.
Usability test
I called 5 other users to perform a remote moderated test. Particularly, I was interested in how easy would it be for the user to find what they were looking for without guidance. In the test, I gave the testers simple commands such as “Check out the Lineup for today’s date” or “You want to read News about the event, how would you do it?”.
After the test, the insights were:
The overall feedback was positive.
Users were able to complete all the tasks without help.
Some of the users complained that the contrast of the background with the text in the News Section could be stronger.
Final designs
All Screens
Results
The final product boasts an easy-to-use and intuitive design. The main dashboard provides quick access to real-time day lineups, event official store, and more.
Rock in Rio Link
The app met and exceeded stakeholder expectations, leading them to apply the same design to their other festival mobile app, "The Town," which garnered success during the event in September 2023, with over 200,000 downloads and +2.000 reviews while kepping a rating of 4.8 Stars.
Key Learnings and Achievements
Beyond meeting my primary goals, the project significantly refined my skills in stakeholder management, mentorship, and the application of psychological biases in UX design.
The aim was to make each interaction within the app not just a touchpoint, but a touchstone of the festival experience itself. From the moment users opened the app, they were already part of the Rock in Rio vibe—no wristband required!