RSVIP
In many cities nightclubs select their attendees by restricting access. Quite often the doormen have the power to deny entry to anybody given the unclear policies about club entrance where criteria could include association, cover charge, dress code and guest list.
Many club goers state that the guest list is “meaningless…all bullshit” (photographer at San Francisco nightclubs) and mostly because the security doesn’t have an up to date accurate guest list that is quickly verifiable.
With a team of four we created RSVIP, a standardized solution reducing the friction from clubs broadcasting their events and entry uncertainty from club goers; a once-time sign up to always be on the guest list at a number of clubs and events in San Francisco.
Design Research
promoters, and club goers waste time putting themselves and friends on the guest list or waste money on the cover fee having not done so in time.
The research conducted through interviews with potential users informed that many club goers worry in line waiting to get confirmation on whether they are actually on the list or not. There is a lot of disjointed information between the club managers, security, bouncer, artist list, promoter list, guest list and any of the other dozen lists.
Other barriers for selecting one club over another is where friends will be attending. This entire process forces any outing to be pre-planned hours in advance, sometimes even days.
System Analysis and Design
Our team used Confluence to document meetings, ideas, goals, and strategies. Once the overall functionality of the application was decided on and iterated, we mocked out model associations and created issues on Jira.
Wireframes
Development
Technology Stack: Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, HTM & CSS, Javascript, JQuery, Foundation, Twilio API, GIT.
Our team consisted of two developers, a system’s architect, and our chameleon (product management/business/marketing/sales). I lead the development and design of the product, all the way through the back-end, front-end, UI, and graphics.
Interaction Design
Through the design process I focused on studying and defining the user’s purpose and prioritizing the correct information at the right time.
RSVIP has three interfaces, one for the club goer, one for the club itself and one for the administrators of the website (our team).
Club Goer: This user’s main goal is to be on the guest list. We tell the user that all they have to do is sign up once, on our landing page, and they are on the list. For peace of mind and certainty they receive a text message with confirmation of their action.
Club (merchant): The club’s goal is to increase the number of people walking through their door while not dealing with and paying a great number of promoters. We achieve this by providing the interface for club attendees to put their name on the list and a checkin web app for the bouncer to use at the door. The app is responsive to multiple devices, allowing the club to use a phone, tablet or laptop to check people in. The application also gives instant feedback whether the user is or not on the list.
Administrative panel: Our website administrator is not tech savvy therefore I built an interface that is easily managed by someone other than myself or another developer. It includes features such as adding, deleting, or modifying any of the users (club goers), clubs, or events. The admin panel is particularly useful for editing the text messages that are sent out weekly or whenever the administrator decides to send them out.
The best way to feel the interaction is by using the website and put your name on the guest list!
