Brandon Saltzman | UI/UX Designer

Guild Senior Social

Event experience design for a not-for-profit organization based in Menlo Park, CA

📖 THE PROJECT

The Guild Senior Social aimed to help combat elderly loneliness by opening the venue as a space for nearby senior homes to gather and socialize.

🙋‍♂️ROLE?

Lead Video Editor and Storyboarder, Team Member, Guild Collaborator

📅 WHEN?

Oct 2023 - Dec 2023

🧑‍🤝‍🧑WITH WHO?

Magenta Music (M+M), The Guild Theatre

🧰TOOLS USED?

Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier Pro, Canva, Figma

📝RESOURCES

DESIGN BRIEF

PITCH DECK

FIGJAM FILE: WILL BE UPDATED FOR ANONIMITY

FIGMA FILE: WILL BE UPDATED FOR ANONIMITY

DESIGN CHALLENGE

Use human-centered design methods to reimagine how the Guild Theatre becomes a vibrant and central pillar of the community, known for giving back and doing good.

VIDEO RECAP / SOLUTION

INITIAL RESEARCH

WHO IS THE GUILD?

The 500 person venue focuses on bringing smaller entertainment acts to the northern Bay area. As a 501(c)(3), the Guild is able to provide an affordable venue space to both the surrounding community and up and coming artists.

GUILD STATS:

78% of Guild attendees are 40-50 years old.

80% of sales come from their newsletter

$5 million USD are received in donations each year on average but most shows are run at a loss

78% of Guild attendees are 40-50 years old.

80% of sales come from their newsletter

$5 million USD are received in donations each year on average but most shows are run at a loss

NEEDFINDING

Initially, my team wanted to continue the Guild's progress of appealing to a younger demographic that was started by the design class last year. We wanted to find entertainment and arts communities on our campus that were underrepresented and underappreciated, so we begun our research by interviewing contacts we had.

We initially interviewed six different people, all with varying experiences in different student and professional organizations.

INTERVIEWED ORGANZATIONS

alpha Kappa Delta Phi

Sorority

Sigma Phi Epsilon

Fraternity

Frost Amphitheater

Music Venue

Golden Voice

Music Promoter

Frost Amphitheater

Music Venue

Golden Voice

Music Promoter

Fellowship of Christian Athletes —Athletes in Action

Religious Student Group

Stanford Concert Network

Volunteer Student Organization

Stanford Bhangra

Student Dance Organization

Lavender Love Lounge

Student Band

Stanford Bhangra

Student Dance Organization

Lavender Love Lounge

Student Band

TAKEAWAYS

Greek organizations have used the Guild as a venue in the past with mixed results. Transportation and marketing is usually the main issue.
Being a not-for-profit does not have to be limiting. Frost Amphitheater is a non-profit organization that brings in huge headliners through their audience and donors.
Dance organizations rarely have the chance to perform off-campus. When they do, they have to travel upwards of 2 hours to arrive at their competition.
Student bands have performed at the Guild in the past. Many bands would give everything to have the opportunity to perform at professional venues.

We also did secondary research of both the entertainment industry and other nearby venues hosting anywhere from 50 to 22,000 attendees.

My team chose to focus on dance organizations. We felt their needs were not being met by any venues in the surrounding area, and we believed the Guild can benefit from broadening their scope by introducing dance acts in their lineup.

SYNTHESIZING AND IDEATING

We contacted a variety of dance organizations, both on and off-campus, to try and learn more about how we could co-design solutions at the Guild with them. We also made initial prototypes of marketing material for a dance event.

Here is where we ran into three major issues.

On-campus dance groups have little incentive to perform off-campus. Transportation is not guaranteed and venues are usually expensive. Many groups only perform off-campus for cultural showcases or monetary incentives.
The Guild's physical space is not well-suited for dance shows. With one entrance on stage, it makes it difficult for groups to block and transition between set pieces. There are also no spaces for a dance studio or mirrors for groups to practice.
Rapid prototyping, even for one student dance group, is almost impossible. Since their schedules are heavily booked ahead of time, notices of performances would need to be given months in advanced.

Here is where we ran into three major issues.

On-campus dance groups have little incentive to perform off-campus. Transportation is not guaranteed and venues are usually expensive. Many groups only perform off-campus for cultural showcases or monetary incentives.
The Guild's physical space is not well-suited for dance shows. With one entrance on stage, it makes it difficult for groups to block and transition between set pieces. There are also no spaces for a dance studio or mirrors for groups to practice.
Rapid prototyping, even for one student dance group, is almost impossible. Since their schedules are heavily booked ahead of time, notices of performances would need to be given months in advanced.

DINKENSPIEL AUDITORIUM

Stanford's own auditorium where quarterly dance showcases are held.

Note: four entrances to the stage

Stanford's own auditorium where quarterly dance showcases are held.

Note: four entrances to the stage

GUILD STAGE

In-house stage filled with cutting

edge performance technology

Note: one entrance stage right

In-house stage filled with cutting edge performance technology.

Note: one entrance stage right

In-house stage filled with cutting edge performance technology.

Note: one entrance stage right

With these issues, we were left at a standstill. There was no conceivable way our team could improve these issues given both the time and monetary constraints.

Because of this, we made the decision to PIVOT.

With these issues, we were left at a standstill. There was no conceivable way our team could improve these issues given both the time and monetary constraints.

Because of this, we made the decision to PIVOT.

THE SHIFT

Over the course of two weeks, my team completely refocused our solution to the design challenge. Our shift was from the Guild's weaknesses in accommodating young dance groups to the Guild's strengths, catering towards a senior audience.

Again, we started our need-finding with preliminary research.

PRELIMINARY RESEARCH:

98% of elders actively listened to music at least once a month.
17% of Menlo Park and Palo Alto's residents are aged 65+.
There are at least 4 senior homes within a 2 mile radius of the Guild Theatre.

NARROWING OUR FOCUS

USER RESEARCH:

Our user research started with interviewing 10 senior homes in the surrounding area. Consistently, we found that there was a reoccurring issue affecting seniors: loneliness.
We also asked 34 seniors we were in contact with a series of questions related to elderly life, dance, and music.

To reaffirm our findings, we also collected data from surveys conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The NIH found that 35% of adults aged 50-80 reported feeling socially isolated, a lack of companionship, and infrequent contact with those outside of their home. Loneliness affected 40% of senior home residents.

Supported by our research, we began brainstorming and conducting low-fidelity prototypes.

INITIAL FEEDBACK

After presenting our initial prototypes to various people, here was the feedback we received:

Fallon Falore

Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

Guild Livestream and Gift Box Feedback

We do livestream events but this has to get approved by the artist & I believe it needs to be set up through a third party streaming service which costs money.

Nursing Home Event Feedback

We have never had a nursing home visit The Guild. Since starting here (Sep 2022) it seems like the elderly community is 50/50 on wanting to be in a crowded space post COVID.

Jack Shieffy

Ticketing Manager

Guild Livestream and Gift Box Feedback

We have the capacity to do livestreams.

Nursing Home Event Feedback

An event for seniors seems unique. If it could be done during our off-hours when production and bar staff are not getting things ready for the next show, I can see it being viable.

Saad Riaz

Course Assistant

Guild Livestream and Gift Box Feedback

I really enjoy combining both the physical and virtual space with this prototype.

Nursing Home Event Feedback

Again, if you could use the technology available in the Guild to livestream these events to those who can't attend, it would be amazing. You'd reach superstar status if you can prototype a real-life event in such a short time.

Mrs. Wronko

Senior Home Resident

Guild Livestream and Gift Box Feedback

I don't think I would ever use either of those things, even though they seem nice.

Nursing Home Event Feedback

The event should have a recurring schedule or be posted in advance if you want attendance. Also, the posters are a little difficult to read. I'd also recommend making them look a little younger.

FINAL PROTOTYPE

The big day, our senior social prototype, the Forever Young Club, was set on the morning of Sunday, December 3rd at 10am. We put fliers, handed them out after church, and posted on both Facebook and NextDoor with relatively good reception.

No one came.

RESULTS

Despite our unexpected result, the concept and ship to market was still well-received by the Guild Theatre team. Here's what an executive had to say:

Tom Bailey

General Manager

Forever Young Club Event Feedback

I appreciate the different way you took your project. We say many groups focus on a younger age group, but you went the complete opposite [way]. With our current attendee demographic, I feel like we would be able to market easily to a group for an event like this. I want to put this event on myself just to see how successful it can be.

You mentioned business potential, but as I see it, this event does not have to make money for the Guild. If we are able to use our space during our off-hours for the community, I'm fine with losing a little money.

Additionally, here's what a reviewing professor had to say about our event:

David Kelley

Stanford Professor

Forever Young Club Event Feedback

When you design, you want to show the process. This is clearly what you did here. Showing unexpected outcomes is important when you design, it's part of your storytelling.

Currently, the Guild is in communication with the 4 local senior homes we highlighted. Our team has high hopes for a future event at the Guild similar to the Forever Young Club where the young at heart are able to combat their chronic loneliness.

WHAT I LEARNED

It's okay to show what I think may be a failure as it can become one of our strongest selling points. To do so, I must know the audience and stakeholders extremely well.

Pivoting is a option, but be prepared to do the work necessary after the pivot. Doing more extensive preliminary and community research can help when deciding whether or not to pivot.

It's okay to show what I think may be a failure as it can become one of our strongest selling points. To do so, I must know the audience and stakeholders extremely well.

Pivoting is a option, but be prepared to do the work necessary after the pivot. Doing more extensive preliminary and community research can help when deciding whether or not to pivot.

📝RESOURCES

DESIGN BRIEF

PITCH DECK

FIGJAM FILE: WILL BE UPDATED FOR ANONIMITY

FIGMA FILE: WILL BE UPDATED FOR ANONIMITY

Last updated January 2025