MCSF: Design Solutions
All changes were prototyped on unlinked pages, presented to board members and the executive committee, discussed and revised as needed, and approved before being implemented.
Research Concerts
The home page now includes show dates with each appearance of a concert
The font size has been increased
Figure 1a: Concert list, desktop
Figure 1b: Concert list, mobile
Purchase/Attend
A Tickets section has been added to the top navigation
Figure 3a: Navigation, desktop
Figure 3b: Navigation, mobile
Purchasing tickets now only involves a single click, going to another site that has its header styled similarly to the MCSF site.
Each concert has its own page to help select the date/location. Multiple shows can be purchased at once.
Additional donation capability is also added.
Figure 4: Improved purchasing page
Visual Style
The blue color is no longer used. The color has been changed to a more subtle and more readable yellow hue.
This yellow hue has also been used as the new button color for Donate buttons, to differentiate them from the regular orange buttons. Custom CSS was needed to do this in SquareSpace, with the F12 "dev tools" used to determine the appropriate classes.
Figure 6: Navigation highlight
Figure 7: Donate button styling
All image layouts have been styled, replaced with a more aesthetic "collage" layout, with fonts and colors in line with the rest of the site theme.
Figure 8: Styled "collage" layout
Engage with MCSF
Audition information was updated and includes a link to a map for finding the venue.
Proposal: have a program with designated members in each vocal section that could be researched and "interviewed" by prospective singers.
Proposed: Discover MCSF
The contents in the rest of the site can be advertised better to facilitate information discovery and aid the customer journeys. The navigation menu is easier to use on desktop than on mobile.
Recommendation: add stylistic image buttons to the bottom of the home page (before the donation section) that lead to summary pages explaining what you can find and leading you there.
Figure 9: Proposed discovery buttons
MCSF's use of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter has recently been increased and improved. Not only should social media sites be used to direct people to the website, but they can and should also store event information, make announcements of upcoming concerts or auditions, etc., adding more opportunities for discovery.
Proposed: Post-concert
Recommendation: consider an interface for concert goers to leave comments/reviews (moderated), for better engagement. These "customer reviews" add a different flavor to the existing "art critic" reviews. Comments from social media can also be added to these.
This concludes the redesign study of the Master Chorale website. Implemented changes have been well received by MCSF, with discussions ongoing for future changes.
Complaints about the ticket purchase experience have completely stopped!
-- Nancy Gates-Lee, Vice President and Chair, Master Chorale of South Florida, Marketing Committee