Peacemaker Music Fest REMIX: A New Take on the Festival’s Digital Experience

Arizona State University: Graduate UX / CX Project

Duration: Fall 2024 – 7 weeks

Role: Lead UX Researcher & Designer

Team: UX/CX lead with feedback from festival-goers, usability testers, and peers

Project Summary:

Peacemaker Fest is a beloved, community-driven music festival in Fort Smith, Arkansas, entering its 11th year in 2025. As a charitable event, much of the design work, from the website to posters and themes, is created by volunteers donating their time. As an attendee and a supporter of their cause, I chose to redesign the website as my capstone project for GIT 542: Usability and User Experience.

This project focused on enhancing both the digital user experience (UX) and the broader customer experience (CX), with an emphasis on improving the website experience. That meant stepping into the boots of the people who actually use the site, from curious newcomers and loyal returners, to last-minute ticket buyers and planners organizing for a whole crew.

My goal was to bring the energy and spirit of the festival online, removing digital friction points. That included making information easier to find, clarifying ticket purchase paths, and reducing the stress of trip planning. The result? A website that feels as inviting, smooth, and community-focused as the festival itself.

Click here to review the full proposal.

Challenge:

Peacemaker Fest has built a powerful brand, a passionate fan base, and a clear mission: to deliver an unforgettable weekend rooted in music, charity, and community. However, its digital presence hadn’t kept pace with the caliber of the live experience, creating a disconnect between the energy of the festival and its online presence.

Key gaps:

• A customer journey riddled with missed opportunities and communication breakdowns

• Incomplete or hard-to-find information about travel, camping, and site logistics

• Inconsistent visual design and readability issues

• Limited engagement before and after the event

The core challenge was to eliminate friction in the UX and elevate the CX to reduce attendee anxiety, build excitement, remove pain points, and align the digital experience with real-world festival needs. Every touchpoint needed to reinforce the brand’s warm, friendly, and community-first personality.

Research & Testing Approach:

To guide the redesign of PeacemakerFest.com, I applied a user-centered approach that combined heuristic evaluation with direct feedback fromfestival attendees. Through internal assessments, surveys, persona development, and usability testing, I identified friction points and prioritized improvements based on how users actually interact with the festival’s digital experience. This ensured our design decisions were grounded in empathy and aligned with the voices and needs of the Peacemaker community.

Before-and-after comparison of the original site and redesigned prototype, showing improved structure, readability, and user flow.

Pre-UX Testing User Insights: Initial survey feedback painted a mixed picture of the Peacemaker Fest website experience:

Strengths:

• Menus and drop-downs were easy to navigate

• The homepage effectively highlighted key info like artist line-up and festival dates

• Artist bios made artist discovery easier and improved engagement

• Nearly 85% of respondents said they would recommend the site

Pain Points:

• Poor readability due to color contrast and image-based text

• Users struggled with the FAQ layout, citing information overload and unclear structure

• 53% had trouble finding accommodation details

• Information on camping, ticket packages, and charitable initiatives lacked clarity

Personas - Built using user survey data and test behaviors:

• Adventurous Abby: Spontaneous explorer who dislikes friction

• Memory Maker Matt: Group organizer who values clarity and reliability

• Organized Olivia: Detail-oriented planner who expects structure

  
  

Adventurous Abby

Memory Maker Matt

Organized Olivia

Usability Testing:

• 6 participants completed three tasks based on real-world planning needs:

  • Find festival dates, tickets, and accommodations

  • Locate camping package details

  • Explore FAQs and festival expectations

• Pre- and post-test surveys captured shifts in perception

Research Conclusions:

• Festival Dates were noted as the most important site feature, yet several respondents desired day-by-day breakdowns.
  

• Ticketing was viewed as essential by 81% of respondents and was a top reason for recommending the site; however, navigation and accessibility concerns made the process feel clunky and confusing.
  

• Accommodations were identified by 57% of users as a key part of their planning process, yet only 21% rated the available lodging information positively. This highlights a clear gap in transparency and accessibility.

  
  

• Camping Details were a recurring pain point. Users expressed frustration about missing information on showers, layout, and what to expect on the festival grounds.
  

• FAQs were considered overloaded with content, making it difficult for users to scan or locate relevant information. This lack of clear visual hierarchy and inconsistent formatting further contributed to confusion, highlighting the need for a more structured, user-friendly design.
  

• Accessibility issues—especially related to color contrast and readability—were frequently mentioned. The color scheme from previous years created confusion and eye strain across key sections.

Proposed UX Recommendations:

Usability testing uncovered key friction points in the digital experience that were slowing users down, confusing their journey, or prompting them to leave the site to find information elsewhere. These issues ranged from inaccessible ticketing flows and disorganized FAQs to inadequate search functionality and poor mobile readability. Each UX recommendation that follows is grounded in real user feedback and testing insights. The proposed solutions aim to simplify navigation, clarify content, and increase confidence, ensuring that users can plan and purchase with ease, whether they're first-timers or returning fans.

• Ticket Package Clarity: The ticket information was buried and difficult to compare. A new “Tickets On Sale” section now offers a clear side-by-side breakdown of GA vs. VIP tiers.
  

• Accommodations Page: Previously, lodging and camping details felt scattered across the site, making it difficult for users to plan effectively. The redesigned "Accommodations" page now brings hotel and camping information together in one place, creating a more cohesive experience.
  

• Parking & Directions: Key travel details, like directions, parking, and the site map, were previously buried in the FAQs, making them difficult to find. The new “Getting Around” page centralizes this information with an embedded festival map and persistent nav buttons, improving wayfinding and pre-event planning.
  

• Search Functionality: Users struggled to locate information. A site-wide search and FAQ-specific filters were added to enhance findability and reduce frustration.
  

• FAQ Redesign: Key content was buried in an overloaded accordion design. Critical topics are now linked to dedicated pages with an improved hierarchy and enhanced scannability.
  

• Accessibility Updates: Color contrast issues and branding inconsistencies hindered readability. The redesign uses 2024 branding and WCAG-compliant colors for improved accessibility.

Outcome & Impact:

This project showcased how UX and CX work best when integrated. The insights gained from real users, along with a focus on both emotional and functional aspects. This ensured that the site redesign was not just aesthetically pleasing, but truly supportive of the community it was built to serve.

Site Enhancments:

• Improved site clarity and readability

• Clarity in festival policies and information

• Streamlined ticketing and accommodation flows

• Fostered a sense of trust, excitement, and readiness for all types of festival-goers

Projected Results:

• Higher usability satisfaction scores

• Improved discoverability of key content (Accommodations, Camping, Tickets)

• Reduced reliance on external sources like Google for festival details

Figma Prototype Screenshots of Proposed Website Improvements