Lounges.tv is an entertainment platform and £1 million kickstarter funded start-up where anyone with talent can host pay per view live streams. As Founding Designer, I worked with 3 other experienced UX designers to conceptualise and design the platform.
[001] CONTEXT
We designed Lounges.tv as a live streaming and ticketing platform that helped creators turn live performances into sustainable businesses while giving audiences a more engaging way to discover and attend online events. From discovering an event to purchasing tickets, joining live broadcasts and rewatching performances, the platform was designed to strengthen the relationship between creators and their communities.
[002] THE CHALLENGE
Before designing the platform, we needed to answer a fundamental question: could an online performance recreate enough of the atmosphere of a live event for people to pay for it? Rather than validating interfaces, our research focused on understanding what creators and audiences felt was missing from existing streaming experiences.
[003] WHAT RESEARCH CHANGED
Research challenged one of our biggest assumptions. Many musicians questioned whether livestreams could ever match the atmosphere of performing in front of a real audience. They described audience reactions, applause and shared energy as being just as rewarding as the performance itself. This shifted our focus away from simply broadcasting content towards recreating moments of connection.
[004] DESIGNING AROUND CONNECTION
Those insights shaped the product beyond the streaming technology itself. We prioritised features that reinforced the feeling of performing to a real audience, including visible audience reactions, audience gallery views and premium one-to-one sessions. We also invested in professional streaming experiences that helped creators deliver broadcasts with greater confidence while minimising technical disruption.
[005] DEFINING THE EXPERIENCE
Once the core experience had been defined, we mapped both creator and viewer journeys before exploring concepts across event discovery, creator dashboards, ticket purchasing, wallets and on-demand content. This helped prioritise the MVP while ensuring both sides of the marketplace worked together as a single experience.
[006] ITERATION
User testing refined the experience beyond the core concept. Feedback improved creator onboarding, event discoverability, content categorisation and publishing confidence, helping creators feel more assured that audiences could successfully find and attend their events.
[007] FINAL PRODUCT
The final platform supported the complete creator journey across desktop and mobile, from event discovery and ticket purchasing through to live broadcasting, audience engagement, replay content and transparent earnings. Creators could monetise through ticket sales, receive payouts within 24 hours and build longer-term communities around their content.