Seat selection for the Vienna State Opera

Smashing Magazine

I participated in an intensive 4-week UX training aimed to tackle complex user interface challenges. The training involved a series of online classes along with assignments on real cases. The maximum time for each assignment was 8 hours.

On this assignment I worked on a concept to improve the seat selection UX for the Vienna State Opera.

Photo of the opera hall taken from above, showcasing multiple stories with seats.

The problem

The Opera fits 500 visitors over 9 different pricing tiers ranging from 15 to 215 EUR. The Opera does not really have a problem with selling tickets. However, based on some research it appears that users are often dissappointed by their seats. There seems to be a mismatch between the user’s expectations and what is presented on the seating map. This doesn’t come as a surprise to me. When you compare the map with the actual Opera you will see that the stories are positioned above on another and the map does not reflect that. The vision can be obscured and the audio quality may be lower on certain seats. Users need to make up the seat availability and pricing based on colors and a legend. Also, users have a very hard time navigating the map on desktop, and it’s absolutely impossible on mobile. Therefore, when new tickets are announced, users on mobile devices have absolutely no chance to get a ticket.

Map of the seating plan, showing pricing and colors

Approach

An interesting note that came up in usability interviews is that visitors often don’t care about the specific date of visit, so perhaps we can prioritise the seat selection over the date selection to make it easier for users to select their desired seat. The business cares most about their reputation rather than selling more tickets, but if possible, they would like to increase the number of annual ticket holders.

Some of my sketches and ideas to improve the seat selection.

Ideation

Change the booking flow
Find an alternative to using the seating map
Group the 11 pricing tiers into best/good/OK
Show seat availability by date
Show member prices
Show a photo of the view from the seat
Promote the annual member card
Members may receive ticket alerts

Solutions

Key features

Changing booking priority to seats instead of date

Users value the quality of the seat more than their moment of visit.
Seating options with photos and reviews

After selecting the desired price(s) the users receives various seating options, along with photos and reviews.
Better seats on a different date

Users might prefer to visit on a different day if they can get better seats.
Show member discount upfront

Users can make a better choice if the member discount is already applied. They could choose a more expensive seat.
Preview seat view

Before users choose their seat, they can get an impression of the view from their seat.
Buy annual member card during booking process

Get immediate discount by also buying the member card during the booking process

Seat selection for the Vienna State Opera

The problem

Approach

Ideation

Solutions

Key features

Changing booking priority to seats instead of date

Seating options with photos and reviews

Better seats on a different date

Show member discount upfront

Preview seat view

Buy annual member card during booking process