Role
User Researcher and Product Designer
Date
October 2024 - January 2025
Tags
Solo project, Mobile app, UX/UI design, End-to-end process
Tools
Figma, Figjam, Canva
Final designs of the Instagram Events app.
The overview
Instagram Events: Connecting communities through local experiences
I designed Instagram Events, an intuitive feature within Instagram, to empower residents in rural areas to discover upcoming gigs, explore local events, and browse nearby venues with ease.
Key outcomes:
• Increased community engagement.
• Simplified event discovery for rural users.
• Increased usage and revenue through event-focused interactions.
Initially planned as a standalone app, research showed integrating event discovery into Instagram would create a seamless, accessible experience, leveraging its engaged user base for social-driven events.
The problem
Young people in rural areas often struggle to find local events
In 2016, a NASAA Arts study revealed that rural residents, relying on fragmented communication channels, struggle to stay informed about local events.
By 2024, Virgin Media / O2 research showed that two-thirds of rural 16–24-year-olds were considering leaving their towns due to limited opportunities.
The challenges identified within the papers included:
• Lack of Accessibility: Local events were challenging to discover and poorly promoted.
• Inconsistent Tools: Residents relied on fragmented platforms like Facebook, posters, or word of mouth.
• Community Isolation: Young people felt disconnected from local social opportunities.
The solution
Instagram Events brings a unified solution by integrating event discovery, RSVPs, and ticketing into one seamless platform
Personalised Event Feed:
Discover events based on interests, location, and friend RSVPs.
Integrated RSVP and ticket purchasing system:
Users can select RSVP and select ticket types, adjust quantities, and complete payments using saved payment methods—all without leaving the app.
Reminders for upcoming events:
Users can set personalised notifications for events they’re interested in, ensuring they never miss out.
User interviews
Event centralisation and reminders: What users really need
Building on NASAA and Virgin Media/O2 findings, I hypothesised that a social-driven event feature could enhance accessibility. To validate this, I interviewed 12 participants, including avid event-goers, casual social media users, and an event organiser, to uncover key opportunities to streamline event discovery, planning, and sharing within Instagram.
Questions I asked included:
• How do you currently find out about local events?
• What types of events would interest you?
• How do you feel about the entertainment options in your area?
• What factors would make you want to stay in your community longer?
From these interviews, a recurring theme emerged: event discovery was fragmented. Three-quarters of my interview participants often relied on multiple platforms to stay updated on events, but they frequently missed opportunities because the information wasn't centralised. With its strong visual storytelling and vast user base, especially as it is used by 86% of 16-24-year-olds, Instagram was uniquely positioned to address these challenges.
In addition, 60% of the participants reported missing events simply because they were not reminded. One participant mentioned, "I usually hear about events ahead of time, but when the day comes, I forget all about them. Without any reminders, I miss gigs I was genuinely excited for."
With the challenges in mind, I asked:
How might we help young people in rural areas discover and attend local events more easily by embedding a social-first solution within the platforms they already use — like Instagram?
Competitor analysis
The missing link: How Instagram Events fills the social gap left by competitors
I explored event platforms such as Facebook Events, Ticketmaster, DICE, and Ipswich Regent during my competitor analysis. While each offers event listings and ticketing, they lack strong social integration — a crucial factor for younger users looking to connect and make plans with friends.
In summary:
• Facebook Events still holds ground, but many younger users favour other platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, as their social media apps.
• Ticketmaster and DICE are reliable for purchasing tickets but operate more like marketplaces, with minimal focus on community or content sharing.
• As a local venue site, Ipswich Regent provides limited functionality beyond event listings and ticket links.
Instagram Events fills this gap by embedding discovery, social sharing, reminders, and ticketing directly into the user’s existing network — making it seamless to go from seeing a post to attending an event with friends.
Facebook, Ticketmaster, Dice and Ipswich Regent logos.
User persona
Introducing Sarah – The social explorer
To ensure Instagram Events meets real user needs, I developed a user persona that illustrates how users discover, plan, and attend events.
Sarah, 20, is a music-loving student who often struggles to find local events. She relies on multiple platforms but finds event discovery fragmented. She wants a seamless way to discover, plan, and share events with her friends.
Sarah Williams - Our user persona
Ideate
From concept to reality: Crafting low & high-fidelity designs
To translate insights into a tangible solution, I first created low-fidelity wireframes to map Instagram Events' user journey and core functionalities.
The wireframes represent the flow our persona Sarah would take to discover, RSVP and purchase a ticket to an event, then offer her the opportunity to share the event with her friends and set a reminder so she doesn't miss it.
My low-fidelity wireframes (sketches)
When designing the high-fidelity wireframes for Instagram Events, I ensured a seamless integration with Instagram’s existing UI and interaction patterns.
I followed Instagram’s design language closely to ensure visual consistency by using its iOS-standard typeface (SF Pro), official colour palette, and iconography. I sourced Instagram’s five core brand colours from its official brand site and imported them into Figma, alongside commonly used interface colours—blue, black, and white—to support content visibility and maintain a cohesive user experience throughout the feature.
In addition, I designed custom components that mirror Instagram’s familiar interaction patterns—such as swipe gestures, bottom navigation, and modal pop-ups—to ensure a native, intuitive feel for users.
Instagram presents its new features using an overlay, such is presenting their 'shops' feature.
I created a similar function when presenting Instagram Events to the user for the first time.
I created this style guide and bespoke components for Instagram Events, based on Instagram's branding and functionality
Usability testing
Improving What Matters: Iterations That Enhanced the Experience
During design review, my mentor shared a valuable insight from the perspective of a first-time user:
“I think once the payment was processed, I didn’t clearly understand that I could view my upcoming events. I went back to the explore page and had to repurchase to get back to view my upcoming events.”
This highlighted a gap in the user journey: users lacked a clear next step after completing a purchase. Instead of confidently accessing their tickets, they risked repeating the journey or repurchasing in error.
As a result, I iterated on the confirmation screen by:
• Reordered the calls to action, placing “View your upcoming events” as the primary button.
• Styled it more prominently and added a small calendar icon for clarity.
• Supporting text was added to reassure users that their ticket was saved and accessible anytime.
I then conducted usability testing with a range of users via a structured feedback form. Participants were asked to complete key flows—like browsing events, setting reminders, and purchasing tickets—while providing feedback on usability, clarity, and visual design.
