Reducing congestion at high-volume events by rethinking spatial strategy…

HBO’s “All the Feels,” was a touring experience that encouraged college students to sign up for HBOGO. Composed of seven distinct sections, “All the Feels” included puppy show sets, themed snacks, photo ops with the Iron Throne, and several interactive touchpoints. It was held at the University of Miami, CU Boulder, and the University of Southern California (USC).

Client: HBO / MRY / Invisible North

Role: Experience designer on a team of fifteen. Responsible for re-designing the layout of the event at USC. Collaborated with a number of stakeholders in the process, such as HBO execs, account managers, event planners, and vendors.

Timeline: 6 weeks from research to set up

The Challenge

The event encountered major setbacks during its earlier runs at CU Boulder and UMiami. As a popular experience with limited capacity, both stagings experienced issues with congestion and guest duration control. Thus, many students were turned away and the number of HBO GO sign ups for each event fell short of projected estimates.

USC was the last stop on the tour and, with the largest student body of all three schools, we needed to rethink the experience flow to prevent the same problems from arising.

Our goals were to…

Research & Ideation

We interviewed 13 event organizers and staff from the CU Boulder and UMiami events. Our goal was to understand the level of engagement in each area, patterns in guest behavior, and possible constraints that needed to be taken into account.

From these interviews, we identified a few key insights that guided our strategy for the space:

1. The Iron Throne is the main source of congestion

2. Main cause of excess guest duration is repeated visits to photo opps

3. The Lounge also contributes to excess duration

4. The HBOGO Hub, where students sign up for HBOGO, receives the lowest engagement

Our overarching strategy was to push and pull visitors through the event.

Strategically-placed visual magnets and popular attractions would draw visitors in, while defensive design techniques gently nudged them towards the exit.

The Solution

Here are the changes we made to improve guest flow and reduce congestion:

• OOH… The Iron Throne: Placed by the exit

  • The most popular attraction, it’s old location near the entrance blocked traffic into the space.

  • Putting it father back makes it a visual magnet that stimulates guest flow.

• HBOGO Hub: Placed by the Iron Throne

  • Need to maximize engagement, as this is where students sign up for HBO GO.

  • Placing it by the Iron Throne leads the crowd directly into the HBOGO Hub.

• AWW… Puppy Sets: Placed by the entrance

  • Medium-engagement area, less likely to cause congestion by entrance.

  • Moved the shades from the Lounge area to the Puppy Sets, keeps guests from staying in the lounge for too long.

• MMM… Ice Cream: Placed near the exit

  • Guests were recommended to eat the ice cream after photo ops because it dyed teeth and lips.

  • Placing it by the exit encourages guests to leave (rather than loop back for more photos)