LIWEI JIANG

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From 2021 - Now


NYU Skirball UX  Update
UX Design

Instructor: Amon Burton
Pratt Institute, 2025
In this project, we redesigned how new users interact with the NYU Skirball website, optimizing the navigation bar design and information presentation to help increase membership rates and ticket purchase success rates.



The Skirball Center at New York University is the university's premier performing arts venue, located in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. While it continues to bring cutting-edge and spectacular performances to New York, its website design poses challenges for first-time users. User attrition and confusion during the ticketing process, coupled with low membership rates, are becoming a growing concern. In this project, our user experience team was invited to evaluate the usability of the existing website and propose design recommendations aimed at helping users more easily find events, understand membership benefits, and complete the purchase process.

Ticket purchases, membership, and donations.



When we first engaged with the NYU Skirball team, we learned that their data indicated users were more likely to abandon the process at each subsequent step of the ticket purchase journey. Additionally, the conversion rate of new users into members remained relatively low. We have confirmed the scope of the project, focusing on the ticket purchasing process for new users on the website, including the display of membership information and benefits throughout the process, and concluding with the donation section. My contribution centered on translating shared research insights into interaction logic and technical execution, while design directions were collaboratively discussed within the team.

Through our discussions, we have gradually identified the website's target audience. The ideal customer base consists of individuals aged 18 to 70 who reside in or are planning to visit New York City and have an interest in live performances.







User testing sessions based on target users.


After defining our objectives, we designed five key phases to identify potential usability issues on the website. I contributed to shaping the interview framework by defining key research questions, then conducted two moderated user sessions. I synthesized the findings to surface early signals of a misalignment between users’ mental models and the client’s assumptions.

The final results indicate that while users can grasp the underlying design aesthetics and relatively straightforward guidance from the website's visual design, disconnects between theater staff and first-time users remain evident in certain aspects.

By focusing on three hypothetical tasks—ticket purchasing, member information, and donation inquiries, we uncovered opportunities to enhance usability and accessibility throughout the process. The specific issues we have identified include:



1. Member information is difficult to understand.
The design of the membership benefits disclosure page obscures the perks users can receive, making it easy for users to feel lost during the search process due to the lack of visual hierarchy in the layout.


2. No membership information prompt appeared during checkout.
Competitor analysis reveals that for first-time users, understanding the tangible benefits of membership during checkout effectively boosts membership rates. However, the current website lacks this feature.


3. Donating does not equate to becoming a member.
During user testing, since most of our test subjects had never been to a theater before, they perceived donations and membership as two unrelated concepts.


4. The disconnect in user experience caused by design language.
Through two user interviews, I identified a disconnect between how users understood the system and how the client initially envisioned user behavior. Due to layout constraints, the seat selection page is extremely large, requiring users to scroll all the way down to select seats and add items to the cart. However, the option to reselect event times is positioned at the top. This placement often causes users to overlook this functionality.






Based on usability issues identified through real users, we established four key recommendations.


Based on the online simulation task testing with eight real users matching the target demographic mentioned earlier, combined with competitive analysis conducted by myself and three other user experience designers on six local New York theaters, these data ultimately developed into four possible suggestions. I developed the majority of the prototype as a way to externalize design assumptions and test whether our proposed structure aligned with users’ expectations

1. Restructure membership tier information
By redesigning the layout of the membership information page, we can now present the benefits of becoming a member to customers in a clearer manner. Reprioritizing the information also enables users to access details more transparently and in real time.



2. Membership Information throughout the check out process
Through competitive analysis, our team discovered that theaters tend to display membership benefits throughout the entire checkout process. By showcasing these potential advantages, users' willingness to pay increases.



3. Reorganize the navigation bar
 During our user testing, we observed that new users often struggle to connect donations with becoming a member. Separating these two options into distinct clickable items on the navigation bar would be more intuitive for users.



4. Redesign the “Select Different Events” section
During user testing, we observed that when users wish to change event sessions, they tend to click the back button rather than using the website's native “Change Event” button. This suggests that the original layout may be easily overlooked during browsing. Relocating it below and aligning it with the “Add to Cart” button will help users locate it more quickly.


Reflection and next steps.


We discovered that as user experience designers, our most crucial task is to identify the objectives and target audience. Establishing the correct target audience enables subsequent design-related activities, such as testing, to better align with customer needs, helping them solve more genuine and pressing problems.

Through this project, my team and I gained valuable collaborative experience, particularly in communication and tailoring solutions to meet client needs. When NYU Skirball brings cutting-edge performing arts to the New York community, we hope this design will help them better connect with their target audience.

The report was shared with the NYU Skirball team as a reference for future website updates and strategic decisions around their digital experience.