Designing an installation experience at the Manchester City arena.
UX Designer June 2022 - September 2022
Context
With the Manchester City Square attracting up to 20,000 football fans per match day, their team sponsor OKX teamed up with UNIT9 to design an experiential activation to allow fans to show their football tricks to win an official MCity t-shirt.
Etihad Stadium in Manchester
Ambassador-led or standalone experience?
The first challenge was to define how the overall experience would work, including how the tricks would be judged, how the prizes would be given and ultimately, if the machine could work as a standalone installation or if a human Brand Ambassador (BA) would be required. After weighing in experience and production considerations, we opted for a brand ambassador controlling the experience with a tablet for increased feasibility, limitation of issues on-site and optimisation of the guest experience.
Research method: Journey mapping + Flowcharts
Comparing standalone vs ambassador-led experience flows
Physical experience considerations
Analysing the context of the experience made me wonder how to manage queues, the flow of people inside the booth and weather conditions. I used simple 3D renders (SketchUp) and spatial layouts to communicate my ideas with my team and discuss them with the client.
Design methods: 3D wireframing + Spatial layouts
Low-fidelity representation of the physical experience
Coordinating guest experience and BA experience.
The guest-facing display being controlled by the Brand Ambassador with a separately designed control panel, I decided to represent all wireframes side by side to communicate the design and ensure that the full experience has been designed for both types of users.
Design method: Wireframing
Example of side-by-side wireframes to coordinate both the BA and guest experience
A guest experience placed at the stadium
Through internal prototyping, testing and iteration, the team gradually refined the experience until the installation date at the Manchester City Square. On top of a formal BA training, the tablet includes a staff guide to help them navigate the complexities of a live event.
Footage of the installation placed at the stadium
Results
The experience has been on site at the stadium since September 2022 to promote the team sponsor OKX and give football fans an interactive experience with a chance to win a club t-shirt.
Journey mapping of the experience
Installation at the stadium
Credits
Production: Jess Deacon, Manuela Mesrie Project Management: Paulina Pawlak Creative Direction: Xuhao Yuan Tech Lead: Daniel Castano UX Design: Sebastian Ervi Development: Richard Drake, Riess Phillips Visual Design: Mariusz Kucharczyk, Szymon Lucarz Motion Design: Ciaran McCusker Physical Design: Yuchang Chou Hardware Tech: Hugh Boys Quality Assurance: Tom Watson, William Eden
And next?
Sebastian is interested in designing more experiences for public spaces and communities within the realm of urbanism, art and live performance.
You can connect with Sebastian on LinkedIn or get in touch with him directly by e-mail.
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