A proposed visual identity and experience of Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s annual night-time arts event.
UX/UI designer, UX researcher, visual designer
12 weeks
Over a million visitors attend Nuit Blanche annually.
Nuit Blanche is a free night-time arts event with multimedia art installations, performances, and other activities. Taking place annually across Toronto, the familiar city is transformed from 7PM to 7AM.
Despite its popularity, it gets poor reviews each year.
Over the years, some comments stand out as long lasting issues that seem to go unresolved.
Key insights from online comments and in-person experience.
I identified the main factors contributing to visitors' negative experiences by reading through online forums and visiting the event myself.
Users need clear instructions appropriate for the event environment
Provided navigation tools currently don’t account for the lack of lighting and crowds. This makes it difficult for visitors to effectively use the large printed maps and unlit signage.
Users need a tool to efficiently guide them at and prior to the event
Inconsistent details between the existing website, maps, and other signage results in frustrating attempts to locate projects.
Users need to feel more engaged with the art
Visitors feel disappointed with the lack of engagement with the art and art community due to overcrowding.
Visualizing the user journey to identify opportunities for improvement.
As people of various levels of interest in art attend the event, I created two personas to understand their journeys.
Addressing user needs through digital and physical features.
Informed by the user needs, I ideated various digital and physical features and validated them with my initial user flows.
New insights from conducting usability and A/B testing.
I sat down with 3 participants to test the usability of the website, making improvements to visual accessibility and overall ease of navigation.
Insight 1
Exact locations of projects within buildings were unclear.
Added circular visual indicators the exact location or building entrance to improve clarity.
Insight 2
Lack of CTA on homepage made it difficult for users to decide what to start with.
Improved hierarchy of buttons through colour and location.
Insight 3
Greater preference towards seeing project images without colour stylization.
Included project images as the original on project pages, but kept stylized images during browse. Also decreased contrast between colours for improved visual accessibility.
A refreshed Nuit Blanche experience.
Browse through art projects and sessions to plan your visit.
Users can filter through art projects and sessions with relevant details to determine what they want to see. The website plots a suggested walking route with their bookmarked projects.
Engage with the community and art more closely through sessions.
The website leads users to community-run sessions like artist talks, workshops, and guided tours, directly connecting them to the art community.
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Navigate the event through visually exciting physical wayfinding signage.
Lamppost signs, navigation blocks, and interactive subway billboards guide visitors to the art projects across the city and set the tone.
I better understand the value of going through the experiences of users first hand.
My visit to Nuit Blanche helped me gain a better understanding of visitor needs. It showed me the importance of user testing not just digitally but physically.