This was the redesign of the entire event management experience for LocalHop. I combined multiple fragmented workflows into one intuitive dashboard, introduced a clean new UI, and used iterative testing to ensure it met the needs of librarians, event coordinators, and admins.
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
2023 — 2025
Outcome
Rolled out to all LocalHop clients, helping secure new contracts and reduce user confusion.
Redesign LocalHop’s event management to be clearer, faster, and easier for every library.
Timeframe
July 2023 — September 2023
Context
LocalHop’s event management tools had become messy and fragmented. Core features such as event creation, guest tracking, attendance, and registration were scattered across outdated screens. Libraries varied in technical skill and event needs, from quick headcounts to detailed reporting. To stay competitive and attract new clients, we reimagined the entire experience: consolidating workflows, simplifying the UI, and supporting both simple and complex events with care.
Solution
I redesigned LocalHop’s event tools to be flexible, mobile-friendly, and way easier to use. Libraries can now manage guest lists, check in attendees, register groups, and export data; all from one clean interface. I gave the UI a full refresh, tightened up accessibility, and updated the design system. We tested with real librarians and iterated until it fit how they actually work.
Thanks to
Courtney Bordeaux for research support and user insights. Steve Moore, Shawn Chapiewski, and Brian Davidson for dev collaboration. And last but not least, every librarian who tested early versions and shared candid feedback.
What Librarians Told Us
Not every library runs events the same way. Some just needed a quick way to add events to their calendars. Others needed full registration, group check-ins, and clean exports for monthly reporting.
But across the board, librarians shared the same frustration: managing their events in real-time was too difficult.
Even basic event creation required navigating deep menus— friction that made real-time use nearly impossible.
Testing & Iteration
To guide design decisions, I built and maintained a user pool to track interviews, feedback, and feature interest across multiple libraries. This helped me prioritize real needs and continuously test changes with the right people.
Pain Points by the Numbers
I pulled together insights from surveys, interviews, and testing to figure out where things were breaking down. The same issues kept showing up— too much friction, not enough clarity, and a clear need for better real-time use, teamwork, and mobile support.
50 Participants / Survey
Usability Testing
User Interviews
79 Participants / Survey
20 Participants / Usability Testing
User Interviews
User Interviews
— Library Staff, User Interview
Insights to Action
These insights guided every design move that came next. Personas, user journeys, you know the drill. They showed us where we needed to simplify the experience, where teamwork, not solo use, was the norm, and why mobile access couldn't be treated like a nice-to-have. This wasn’t just visual cleanup. It was a shift toward solving the real problems librarians deal with day to day.
Event Creation
The original event creation reused the same screen as event management, causing confusion and clutter. I redesigned it to focus on essentials, enabling quick publishing, with advanced settings available later for fine-tuning. This substantially reduced the click amount needed for libraries to get their events up and running, no matter the event size.
Progressive Disclosure
I kept the event creation flow streamlined by showing only essential settings first. Advanced options open in focused modals, helping users move forward confidently without feeling overwhelmed.
Event Dashboard
I used tabs to separate key event management tasks, helping users stay focused by showing only what’s relevant to the job at hand. This structure improves clarity by reducing visual noise and making it easier to find and complete tasks quickly.
Mobile Experience
Librarians aren’t hauling around laptops for Story Time or knitting groups. They need something that works in the moment. So I focused on making the mobile experience simple and fast— easy check-ins, quick edits, and guest tracking; without all the extra stuff that just gets in the way during a live event.
Conclusion
Redesigning LocalHop was more than just a visual refresh. It marked a shift in how the platform supports librarians during real-time event management. The experience became faster, more intuitive, and easier to trust—especially when it mattered most.
The results were tangible. Support tickets dropped, feature requests slowed, and users reported higher satisfaction across both mobile and desktop.
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