Link Up
While Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU-Idaho) provides a range of on-campus events and activities, many students also seek off-campus experiences for social, recreational, and business opportunities. Whether it's community events, networking meetups, outdoor adventures, or local business promotions, students often struggle to find and participate in these activities. Likewise, local event organizers and businesses face challenges in reaching the student population effectively.
Role
Date
Tools
The Problem
Through research and student feedback, the following issues were identified:
Limited Visibility for Local Event Organizers – Community event hosts and businesses struggle to promote their activities to the BYU-Idaho student audience, missing potential engagement.
Inefficient Booking & Registration Processes—Students who want to book venues or purchase tickets for local activities often encounter inconvenient or outdated systems.
Difficulty Connecting Like-Minded Individuals—Students interested in group activities (hiking, sports, networking, etc.) lack a streamlined way to form or join groups for off-campus events.
Lack of a Centralized Event Hub – Students rely on scattered sources (social media, word of mouth, flyers, and business websites) to discover off-campus events, making it difficult to stay informed.
Solution
To address these challenges, we propose a dedicated digital platform tailored specifically for BYU-Idaho students and local event organizers, creating a seamless bridge between students and off-campus experiences.
Key Features of the Platform:
For Students (Attendees & Participants)
Group Activity Coordination – Students can form or join groups for activities like hiking trips, road trips, or collaborative learning meetups.
Seamless Booking & Ticketing – A one-click booking system for event registrations, facility reservations, and ticket purchases.
Off-Campus Event Discovery – A single platform showcasing local concerts, networking events, recreational activities, and community service opportunities.
Personalized Event Recommendations – AI-driven suggestions based on user preferences (e.g., outdoor adventures, business workshops, social events, etc.).
For Local Businesses & Event Organizers
Event Listing & Promotion – A streamlined portal for businesses and community event hosts to advertise directly to BYU-Idaho students.
Targeted Student Outreach – Organizers can use in-app notifications, email marketing, and social integrations to reach the right audience.
Venue & Facility Booking System – A simplified process for students and organizations to reserve off-campus venues for gatherings, meetings, or private events.
Engagement Analytics – Track event interest, attendance, and feedback to improve future event planning.
For Local Businesses & Event Organizers
Event Listing & Promotion – A streamlined portal for businesses and community event hosts to advertise directly to BYU-Idaho students.
Targeted Student Outreach – Organizers can use in-app notifications, email marketing, and social integrations to reach the right audience.
Venue & Facility Booking System – A simplified process for students and organizations to reserve off-campus venues for gatherings, meetings, or private events.
Engagement Analytics – Track event interest, attendance, and feedback to improve future event planning.
Persona
Given that many students browse on their phones, the website will be fully responsive, ensuring a smooth experience across all devices.
Emily - 23yrs
Student - Junior
Emily is a junior at BYU-Idaho, studying business marketing. She enjoys attending networking events, business workshops, and community service projects, but she often struggles to find off-campus opportunities that align with her interests. She relies on word-of-mouth, social media posts, and random flyers around campus, but she frequently misses out on events due to scattered information.
Challenge
Emily wants a single place to find and book off-campus events without having to check multiple sources. She also wishes there was an easier way to form a group with friends for activities like hiking or attending a concert together.
Jacob - 28yrs
Event Organizer
Jake is a local event organizer in Rexburg. He runs a small event planning business that hosts professional networking meetups, outdoor adventure trips, and local concerts. He wants to attract more students from BYU-Idaho but struggles to effectively reach them through traditional marketing channels like posters and Facebook ads.
Challenge
On the other hand, Jake needs a targeted platform to promote his events directly to students and manage ticketing, RSVPs, and event updates in one place.
Competitive Analysis
In analyzing the competitive landscape for a BYU-Idaho off-campus event platform, we evaluated existing event discovery and management solutions to identify gaps and opportunities.
Key Competitors
Facebook Events
Popular for event discovery but lacks student-specific filters and often buries events in cluttered feeds
Eventbrite & Meetup
Effective for ticketed events but not tailored to student engagement, local business promotions, or free community events.
Conceptual Wireframe
The conceptual wireframe for the BYU-Idaho Off-Campus Event Platform is designed to provide a seamless and student-friendly experience for discovering, managing, and attending off-campus events. The platform features a clean, intuitive layout that prioritizes ease of navigation, allowing students to explore events based on their interests, location, and availability
Key wireframe components include:
Homepage Dashboard – Displays a personalized event feed, trending activities, and upcoming events.
Event Discovery Section – Allows students to filter and search for events by category, date, and location.
Event Details Page – Provides comprehensive event information, including date, time, venue, organizer details, and RSVP options.
Booking & RSVP System – Enables students to register for events, purchase tickets, and receive reminders.
Group Coordination Feature – Students can invite friends, organize carpools, and plan attendance together.
Organizer Dashboard – A dedicated space for event managers to create, promote, and track engagement.
Notification & Updates – Sends reminders, announcements, and live event updates to users.
Usability Test
First Round
I would say one key important thing that I relesed was mission was the option to go back. All 3 people users asked for it. I thought since it was a paper prototype, there will be no need to put every single feature.
Second Round
With the back option added, all navigation went as expected and users were satisfied about it. This time I added a little arrow that in my opinion would suggest that the page is scrollable or there are other content below.
2 out 3 users asked what that was, and I had to explain my initially idea of it to them which didn’t play the role I wanted it to perform.
Third Round
From the feedbacks received so far, I used a familiar icon to represent the scroll option which this time round was meaningful to all 3 users. They did not asked what it meant like the users for my second round usability test.
Using the paper prototype, I asked few people to test how usable the plaform would be with just the papers represent the screens. Each paper represent a slide/screen on th platform. This helped in knowing what feature is missing, what can be simplified or changed. I will also got the chance to understand what users would expect whiles using the platform. Each round was tested by 3 seperate individuals.
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