Our company was approached by Qi Card, a leading electronic financial service in Iraq, to design an innovative online sports ticketing platform. In Iraq, traditional ticket purchasing is still prevalent, and digitalization is a relatively new concept. With the vision of promoting a cashless transaction system and seeking a better Iraq, Qi Card recognized the need to modernize the ticketing process and provide sports enthusiasts with a seamless and convenient way to purchase tickets for their favorite events.
The traditional (offline) purchase of sport tickets in Iraq poses limitations such as limited accessibility, time-consuming processes, lack of transparency, scalability issues, and inconvenient payment.
Our project team developed an online sport ticketing platform that offers a user-friendly interface with clear navigation, seamless exprience and localized content. I created design solutions including interactive seat maps, personalized payment experiences, and QR code-based ticketing to ensure easy access at event venues. Additionally, the platform provided educational resources and support to help users confidently navigate the digital ticketing process.
Disclaimer: All views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the respective company. Some design elements have been changed from the original. The name and branding were changed for this case study.
How might we...
— 01. Event Discovery
— 02. Seat Selection
— 03. Checkout process
— 04. Electronic Ticket
To address the challenge, we began by defining the scope and success of the project before conducting primary research to understand the Iraqi market, including behaviors, preferences, and barriers to digital adoption. Working closely with the client's team, we gathered insights and aligned design decisions with their business goals. Through iterative prototyping and user testing, we refined our designs for a seamless and engaging user experience.
After defined the project object tive with client through workshop, we defined some high-level goals for the online sport ticketing platform:
From browsing to storing, digital tickets should be easily accessible within the platform. The overall experience should be intutive and user-friendly.
Educate and familiarize users with digital ticketing, encouraging the adoption of online platforms and the transition from traditional ticket purchasing methods.
Customize the platform for the Iraqi market, considering language, cultural context, and local preferences, to deliver a personalized and relevant user experience.
Establish a secure and reliable platform for transactions, ensuring the safety of user information and providing a trustworthy environment for ticket purchases.
To ensure the design solutions are aligned with the project's objectives and meet the needs of the users. I defined key design principles serve as a reference point for making design decisions, evaluating design concepts, and ensuring consistency and coherence across different aspects of the user experience.
Our solution should be accessible and user-friendly, enabling seamless goal achievement.
Users should be empowered to make informed-decision with confidence & trust.
Our solution should be scalable and extensible for future models and use cases.
With the assumption about the low digital literacy in Iraq, I started conducting market research to gain insights into the Iraqi sport ticketing industry, the current painpoints of traditional purchase process, and the preferences of the target audience.
With this finding, users may need an intuitive interfaces when accessing online platform
Arabs tend to be much more risk averse than other cultures so we need to instill trust across the exprience
Users may need to be educated about the benefits and convenience of digital payment methods
Due to the time limitations of our project, we were unable to conduct in-depth user interview. Instead, I relied on proto-archetypes derived from my market research and understanding of the target audience. Additionally, I conducted interviews with Iraqi stakeholders and colleagues who are familiar with online & offline ticket purchasing to gather insights from their personal experiences.
At this point, I decided The Casual Fan would be a primary focus when it comes to solution generation. Here's why:
By catering to their needs and preferences, the platform can attract a broader audience and maximize its reach.
By focusing on this archetype, the platform can ensure accessibility and usability for users with varying levels of digital proficiency.
By providing a seamless and intuitive ticketing experience, the platform can attract and retain football enthusiasts.
For benchmarking, I analyze established platforms like Ticketmaster, Stubhub and prominent football clubs (MU, Tottenham,...) and leagues (English premier league, La Liga,...) to understand existing practices, identify opportunities, and bridge any potential gaps in our pioneering online ticketing platform.
Here are some findings after listing out pros & cons of above platforms
Most football clubs used white-label ticketing systems such as Seatlab, Ticketmaster
Some advanced features and capabilities that allow users to select their preferred seats for an event such as 360° view, Interactive seat map,...
Some key elements that enable effortless navigation include search functionality, a clear and organized menu, and event cards...
With the insights and priorities in mind, we started with mapping out the userflow to align the product's features and functionality with user needs. We then toyed with different versions of Lo-Fi before prensenting and gathering feedback to stakeholders. Seeking feedback at this stage helps to us and stakeholders focus on core concept and usability of the product without being distracted by visual details.
We primarily focus on the structure and design of the homepage since it serves as the entry point of the online ticketing platform. I recommended Option 3 to stakeholder for the sake of simplicity and the ease of navigation.
As the recommendation aligned with the goal and the needs of our user archetype, stakeholders agreed with the suggested design with only minor tweaks. With their approval, we then proceeded to the final stage.
A completely new visual brand identity was established after going through moodboard exploration. I selected a round and familiar typography, complemented by an energetic yet friendly and trustworthy color palette, which embodies the spirit of Iraqi national football. Together with other designers, we developed the Style Guide before applying to Hi-Fi designs to ensure the consistent and coherent experience.
I then built a Figma prototype to test it with 5 target users to validate our assumptions before moving to development. We also run an in-house testing session with client's team & our project team to indentify frictions. The tests also brought about some learnings on user expectations:
Drawing upon workshop feedback and user testing findings, I implemented improvements while taking into account technical constraints and prioritized user archetype. Additionally, I revisited our design principles and high-level project goals to ensure that the iterated solutions align with our project objectives, technical constraints, and the needs of our users.
Homepage Design before and after user's feedback
Remove fritcions on seat selection page by improving layout
To enhance usability and cultivate user trust, we improved visual hierarchy and added descriptive images and icons into help documentation and tutorial elements throughout the platform. This approach empowers users to make informed decisions and bolsters their confidence in their selections.
Help & Documentation before and after user's feedback
Given that the platform will be deployed in the Arabic Market, it is necessary to adapt our design for right-to-left languages (which is more challenging than it may seem). Moreover, recognizing the widespread use of mobile devices in Iraq, we have proactively developed a mobile design to ensure ease of visualization for both the team and stakeholders. Our design has been implemented with responsiveness as a key consideration from the outset.
After finalizing the revisions, another designer and I have completed the prototype, encompassing both desktop and mobile versions, and including English and Arabic language options. We have also prepared the necessary hand-off documentation for development. The engineering team has effectively aligned their efforts with the product roadmap and prioritized tasks accordingly
The development is currently in progress ( at the time of writting this case study). Consequently, we are unable to assess any impacts at this time. However, we have identified key metrics to track post-launch, such as the number of visits, adoption rate, successful completion rate, and other relevant factors.
Despite the status of project, the project received positive feedback during both user testing sessions and stakeholders' reviews, affirming our commitment to its progression
This is not my first project of designing LTR language platform but I still felt there were a lot to learn when joining the project as designing for Arabic experience presents some unique design challenges including UX ( user's behavior & preference, cognitive load, trust issue,...), UI ( directional flow & mirroring) and content ( text style, numbers, text lenght,...).
The project encountered significant time constraints, which led us to prioritize essential elements over superficial ones, such as feedback animations or micro interactions, at certain stages. Additionally, my experience on this project highlighted the significance of documenting design decisions comprehensively, as clients frequently raised questions and sought modifications based on instant ideas, cultural preferences. Having well-documented rationales proved invaluable in guiding conversations and ensuring alignment throughout the process.
An AI-based assessment platform that empowers sonographers to enhance their skills seamlessly and achieve certifications
*Case study coming soon ´{´◕ ◡ ◕｀}
A mobile app that makes skincare more accessible and empowers people to adopt healthier skin choices
.gif)
