Driven by a passion for enhancing the movie-going experience, I embarked on a 3-week project to create an intuitive and visually engaging movie ticket mobile app. As a user experience designer, I envisioned a seamless experience where users could effortlessly navigate, select showtimes, purchase tickets, and invite friends with minimal effort.

One significant challenge was ensuring accessibility for all users, including those with dyslexia. I implemented design considerations such as adopting a large, easy-to-read font and increasing line spacing to optimize readability. I also incorporated social dimensions by adding sharing options for users to share tickets with friends.

Despite the challenges, I developed a movie ticket app that I hope will improve the movie-going experience for all users. By seamlessly integrating ticket purchasing and sharing functionalities, I aimed to make the process effortless and stress-free. 

Challenge: Moviegoers often experience long lines and frustration when buying tickets and sharing them with friends.

Goal: To develop a mobile app that simplifies the ticket-buying process and makes it easy for friends to share tickets directly.

To ensure a comprehensive understanding of user needs, I decomposed the research goal into 4 distinct sub-goals :

user interviews

I interviewed 8 people from my network who saw a movie in the past 3 months to better understand their movie-going habits. Here were the questions :

Key insight: Interviews identified excessive steps in existing apps' purchase flows as a major source of user frustration. Participants emphasized the need for features that simplify ticket sharing with friends. Language support for non-native speakers was also a recurring request.

personas

I crafted detailed user personas to gain a comprehensive understanding of my target audience's diverse needs and preferences. That encapsulated their motivations, behaviors, and pain points.

Key insight: To ensure an inclusive movie-going experience, the app should cater to users with dyslexia and those learning English. This requires a customizable and user-friendly interface with features like Text enhancement options and a Simplified purchase process.

competitive audit

I targeted 3 different competitors of my Movie Ticket App. My main goal was to benchmark the usability of those apps:

And then By analyzing Fandango, Cinemark and Bow Tie Cinemas, all of them being movie ticketing apps I made some discoveries:

• First impressions: Each app maintains a clean and minimalist visual design, adhering to a strict color palette of no more than three colors, ensuring optimal responsiveness.

• Interactions: While most of these apps feature images and fonts with adequate size for visually impaired users, the Bow Tie Cinemas app requires improvement in its main menu design to enhance accessibility.

• Visual design: The brand identity is consistently maintained across all apps, with a strategic use of red as an accent color to enhance visual appeal.

• Content: The overall tone of these apps strikes a balance between professionalism and approachability, while Cinemark could benefit from more descriptive icons for its menu to enhance user navigation.

Key insight: Limited Accessibility and Inconsistent Usability Hinder User Experience in Existing Movie Ticketing Apps.

paper & digital wireframes

Here is how I imagined some of the app screens. I wanted the homepage to be informative with enough information about movies to watch. I also added a "Your friends" menu, where users can see their added friends' comments on movies and receive invitations to watch movies with them. 

Then I imagined different screens for the user flow of buying and sharing a movie ticket like this :

I created a prototype of my movie ticket app and conducted two rounds of moderated usability studies with five participants each. In each study, I guided participants through different tasks to complete, such as choosing a movie and purchasing tickets, and listened to their feedback. Here are my findings for each round: 

ROUND 1:

ROUND 2:

The two rounds of usability testing resulted in this new user flows, incorporating all the solutions I developed to address the identified pain points.

After a rigorous design process and thorough app testing, I've reached the culmination of my efforts – the final design.

Building upon previous iterations, these are the key features I have introduced to the Movie Ticket App:

Drawing from my research and adhering to inclusive design principles, I've incorporated several accessibility considerations for users with visual impairments, including dyslexia. Here are a few examples: 

• To improve readability for users with visual impairments, I've employed large, sans-serif fonts : Font: Montserrat, Size: 20px, 17px, 15px, 12px).

• I've increased the line spacing to double to make the text easier to follow and reduce strain on the eyes.

• For enhanced visual clarity, I've utilized high-contrast color schemes, such as white text on a dark background.

• To ensure accessibility for a wider range of users, I've avoided using jargon or technical language.

Developing a movie ticket app from scratch has been an enriching journey, allowing me to explore user-centered design and address common moviegoer pain points. One notable feature, seamless ticket sharing, was particularly appreciated by users, enabling effortless ticket gifting.

This positive feedback reinforces the power of human-centered design and validates my commitment to creating meaningful experiences. As I continue my design journey, I'll embrace continuous learning and user testing to ensure my products remain relevant and user-friendly.

Through this project, I also gained a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by people with disabilities. This realization has solidified my belief that UX/UI design plays a crucial role in making the world more accessible and inclusive for everyone. I am committed to using my skills to create products that not only enhance user experience but also contribute to a more equitable and just society.