I wish to improve the official Oxjam Beeston website and app so it helps support the festival better than last year. This could help not only festival goers but also performers, venues and volunteers organising the festival. But to do this it's vital that we get your valuable input into the design of the next version, which is why I'd like to invite you to take part in a design workshop.
Why are we asking you this?
This is part of my research at the Mixed Reality Lab of the University of Nottingham is looking at how to use different technologies to support the experience of live events. We have created a first version of the Oxjam Beeston mobile app last year, which has helped festival goers schedule their festival and collect memories of it.
This year, amongst other improvements, we are merging the features of the app into the official website. But to go even further and make it more than a simple “app update”, I need to get input from all people involved in the festival, whatever their role and whatever their use of technology.
What would Oxjam Beeston get in return?
For example (this is not an exhaustive list),
- For festival goers, technology may improve their awareness of what’s playing nearby, what the atmosphere is and/or how to get there.
- For performers, the app may help them collect material they may then use for their own promotion
- For venues, it may help manage the flow of customers and/or promote food and drinks
- For organisers and volunteers, it may be either about raising awareness of Oxjam’s activity, about better planning the festival or about attracting more volunteers.
If you have other ideas about how technology and media (this includes printed media and not just online or mobile tech) can improve the Oxjam experience, we are interested in hearing your suggestions.
How would we like to do this?
I would like to invite all people that may have an interest in Oxjam, whatever their role in the festival and whether or not they’ve used the app or are planning to use it, to take part in a participatory design workshop in the next few weeks.
That workshop would take 2½ or 3 hours in which:
- We will introduce each other, discuss our experience of the festival and start thinking of.
- I will present the app we’ve deployed last year and how people have used it.
- We will design together new ways of improving the global experience of the festival.
Participating in the workshop does not require any specific skill, any previous knowledge of the Oxjam Beeston website or app, or any familiarity with the technologies being used. Everyone is welcome!
How can you participate or help me find participants?
If you know of people who might be interested, whatever category they fall in, please either forward this email or introduce me to them.
If you are interested in participating yourself, let me know when is most convenient for you: Weekdays during the day, weekday evenings or at weekends.
The workshop will be scheduled in August and will be held in a pub or café in Beeston town centre.
As this feeds into my research, I would like to record this meeting. If you wish to know in advance about our data policy, I am happy to send you the study’s information sheet, which has been approved by the School of Computer Science’s Ethics Committee.