The purpose of the project was to help Puddleshaker (formally Design.Local) develop a platform that could be used to host outreach events virtually. Due to COVID-19 physical attending, an event couldn't be possible, so the team and I had to develop an unconventional way to embody that same experience. The theme of the event we wanted to focus on understanding your inner selves and create a digital presence. Since with COVID-19 restriction, online presence is more important than ever. Our goal is to help foster hope for the future during the pandemic.
Our team followed through a 7-week design sprint to develop the virtual live event. We broke the development cycle into weeks to allow us to give attention to each of the development stages.
To understand the scope of the project, my team and I surveyed people's interests and hobbies.
The results revealed that between the ages of 21 and 32, many people were interested in educational content and personal interests (hobbies).
What activities are they doing: Most participants spend their time watching shows, tutorials, and baking bread. Others have spent over 10 hours on devices connected to the internet or looked for ways to have a healthier and more active lifestyle.
What are their concerns: about 40% of our participants were worried about their physical and mental health. Other participants felt demotivated, given the Covid-19 situation, and expressed uncertainty about the future.
“How might we help others discover themselves, so that hope for the future can be fostered and feelings of identity loss and uncertainty can be lessened?”
Due to Covid-19, a physical event would not be possible, so we looked into possibly hosting the event online.
When generating ideas, we looked at other examples of how events are constructed and reached out to experts to get their insights. Once we collected enough insight, our team conducted an exercise called a Lighting demo to inspire ideas for our team.
Then we did a Big Idea Vignette exercise to help us rapidly generate ideas. Finally, we case voted on those ideas.
Design an event that focuses on self-discovery but use design thinking methods.
Once we established the idea, the team and I began assembling the virtual event. We looked into streaming software and other services that could allow us to broadcast our event.
Amid the process, we did hit a few limitations but were able to redesign it to a more manageable level.
- Google presentation for the visual display.
- Writing a script to help conceptualize what to say during the event.
- Streamlab OBS & Youtube Live to host the live event.
In addition to the setup, I took the initiative to design the advertisements to ensure we were efficiently communicated our content across all platforms. A/B Testing was conducted to collect feedback for the Ads before finalizing them. The next phase was working with a Design.Local Social Media Strategist, to optimize the exposure on social media platforms.
In other preparation, we run through a dry run to evaluate if we were hitting our time goal. The result showed our presentation was 30-minutes short of the original 60-minute marker, so we had to come up with an add-on to help fill in the remaining 30 min.
To solve these problems:
We came up with an activity booklet that our attendees could download to work on during or after the webinar event.
Booklet:
- Added Q & A section with gave us the extra 30 min.
- A 10 min work period for the work booklet we designed for attendees.
As part of the preparation, we rehearsals to help our presenters be familiar with the content and fix any flaws. By the end of week six, we had all our assets edited and completed. The last part was to distribute the ads leading up to the event.
On June 6th, at 10 AM, we held our virtual event. After the Webinar, we asked our attendees to fill out a survey on their thoughts about the Webinar.
Presenters:
Anthony P. Ferraro & James H. Kim
Event Operators:
Kevin Huynh & Fabrizio Sacco
Media Used:
Streamlabs OBS, Google Hangouts, YouTube Live, YouTube audio library
Event Duration: 60 minutes
Peak Live of Viewers: 16
After Live of Viewers: 80
Overall the event was well-received by our attendees.
Interaction and participation exceeded our expectations, especially in the Q & A session, where the engagement level was at the highest.
The team also learned that practicing helped us synchronize our roles and gave us a chance to improve the flow of the presentation before the event.
April 2020 to June 2020
Online Virtual Event Platform
Researcher & CX/SX Designer:
Anthony Paulin-Ferraro
Fabrizio Sacco
James Kim
CX/SX Designer & Visual designer:
Kevin Huynh
Puddleshaker (formallyDesign.Local) Members:
Greg Chevreau, Seul Lee, Laura Sinder, Rob Rinaldi
The purpose of the project was to help Puddleshaker (formally Design.Local) develop a platform that could be used to host outreach events virtually. Due to COVID-19 physical attending, an event couldn't be possible, so the team and I had to develop an unconventional way to embody that same experience.
The theme of the event we wanted to focus on understanding your inner selves and create a digital presence. Since with COVID-19 restriction, online presence is more important than ever. Our goal is to help foster hope for the future during the pandemic.
Online Virtual Event Platform
April 2020 to June 2020
Researcher & CX/SX Designer:
Anthony Paulin-Ferraro
Fabrizio Sacco
James Kim
CX/SX Designer & Visual designer:
Kevin Huynh
Puddleshaker (formallyDesign.Local) Members:
Greg Chevreau, Seul Lee, Laura Sinder, Rob Rinaldi
Our team followed through a 7-week design sprint to develop the virtual live event. We broke the development cycle into weeks to allow us to give attention to each of the development stages.
To understand the scope of the project, my team and I surveyed people's interests and hobbies. The results revealed that between the ages of 21 and 32, many people were interested in educational content and personal interests (hobbies).
What activities are they doing: Most participants spend their time watching shows, tutorials, and baking bread. Others have spent over 10 hours on devices connected to the internet or looked for ways to have a healthier and more active lifestyle.
What are their concerns: about 40% of our participants were worried about their physical and mental health. Other participants felt demotivated, given the Covid-19 situation, and expressed uncertainty about the future.
“How might we help others discover themselves, so that hope for the future can be fostered and feelings of identity loss and uncertainty can be lessened?”
Due to Covid-19, a physical event would not be possible, so we looked into possibly hosting the event online. When generating ideas, we looked at other examples of how events are constructed and reached out to experts to get their insights.
Once we collected enough insight, our team conducted an exercise called a Lighting demo to inspire ideas for our team. Then we did a Big Idea Vignette exercise to help us rapidly generate ideas. Finally, we case voted on those ideas.
The Result:
Design an event that focuses on
self-discovery but use design thinking methods.
Once we established the idea, the team and I began assembling the virtual event. We looked into streaming software and other services that could allow us to broadcast our event. Amid the process, we did hit a few limitations but were able to redesign it to a more manageable level.
Software and setup:
- Google presentation for the visual display.
- Writing a script to help conceptualize what to say during the event.
- Streamlab OBS & Youtube Live to host the live event
In addition to the setup, I took the initiative to design the advertisements to ensure we were efficiently communicated our content across all platforms.A/B Testingwas conducted to collect feedback for the Ads before finalizing them. The next phase was working with a Design.Local Social Media Strategist, to optimize the exposure on social media platforms.
In other preparation, we run through a dry run to evaluate if we were hitting our time goal. The result showed our presentation was 30-minutes short of the original 60-minute marker, so we had to come up with an add-on to help fill in the remaining 30 min.
To solve these problems: We came up with an activity booklet that our attendees could download to work on during or after the webinar event.
Booklet:
- Added Q & A section with gave us the extra 30 min.
- A 10 min work period for the work booklet we designed for attendees.
As part of the preparation, we rehearsals to help our presenters be familiar with the content and fix any flaws. By the end of week six, we had all our assets edited and completed. The last part was to distribute the ads leading up to the event.
On June 6th, at 10 AM, we held our virtual event. After the Webinar, we asked our attendees to fill out a survey on their thoughts about the Webinar.
Presenters: Anthony P. Ferraro & James H. Kim
Event Operators: Kevin Huynh & Fabrizio Sacco
Media Used: Streamlabs OBS, Google Hangouts, YouTube Live, YouTube audio library
Event Duration: 60 minutes
Peak Live of Viewers: 16
After Live of Viewers: 80
Overall the event was well-received by our attendees.
Interaction and participation exceeded our expectations, especially in the Q & A session, where the engagement level was at the highest. The team also learned that practicing helped us synchronize our roles and gave us a chance to improve the flow of the presentation before the event.
