Part 2 of 3
For my final project in Public Interfaces, co-taught by Jake Barton and Ian Curry from Local Projects, I worked to create an engaging public interface for my imaginary client of the New York Yankees. In my previous post, I highlighted the iPhone app aspect of the experience.
But there’s much more to this experience, and where it truly becomes a public interface, in the different ways that Yankees could leverage the data being created and collected by their fans. For instance, photos from today’s game could be displayed on the scoreboard in between innings, providing a comprehensive view of today’s game from all angles of the park.
Moreover, by knowing where fans are sitting, engaging interactive experiences could be created with specific seats. For instance, the Yankees often display the number of HRs a Yankee has hit at home over the course of the season. But rather than just displaying that as a flat number, what if fans in the seats in a player’s HRs could be notified of the significance of their seat, and asked to create an info-graphic with their fellow fans. Similarly, if a player comes to bat who has the furthest HR in the history of the stadium, its one thing to tell the distance, its quite another to actually see exactly where it landed in the stadium.
Part 1 of 3
For my final project in Public Interfaces, co-taught by Jake Barton and Ian Curry from Local Projects, I worked to create an engaging public interface for my imaginary client of the New York Yankees.
After conducting primary research, talking to various fans as well as visiting the stadium for what would be the last game of the season, and a great deal of secondary research on the internet, I identified several key problems with the new Yankee Stadium ::
- Since the move, fans feel a disconnect between the Yankees’ past and their role in it
- Yankee Stadium sees a variety of visitors, from 1st time casual fans to diehard bleacher creatures. They have very different motives and desires as fans.
- Attendance at games often feels like a singular event, unrelated to previous games attended or witnessed through another medium.
With these problems in mind, I identified the following goals ::
- How can both diehard fans and first time visitors feel a connection to the Yankees and their past?
- How can attendance at a game not be viewed as a singular event, but rather, a continuous story between the Yankees and their fans
- How can this story continue after fans have left Yankee Stadium?
At the midterm, I rejected the use of mobile phones, dismissing them as a personal device, rather than a public interface. But as Jake and Ian pointed out, by moving away from mobile phones, I took fans out of their seats and asked them to engage with interfaces on the concourses of the stadium, away from the action. So, for the final, I elected to bring the phone into the system, which would allow a visitor to Yankee Stadium to create a profile and enter the experience by checking into their seat. This video demonstrates the experience in the phone, while subsequent posts will show the larger experience.
Big props to Hoshi Ludwig for his assistance in visual identity/design
As I mentioned in my previous post, there is a bit of a dead space in Babe Ruth Plaza created by the staircase that forks in two directions, sending fans to opposite gates. While a fair amount of people cross through it, I never saw it get anywhere close to packed, as opposed to the areas closer to the gates and between the Subway and Stadium. It serves as a great place for people to wait for the rest of their party, as its emptiness allows people to easily spot each other and gives those who are waiting an elevated viewpoint to the crowd approaching from across the street.
From a humorous standpoint, :19 to :28 features a couple that seems to go through the entire range of a fight, only to kiss and make up, walk off, and be replaced by another couple in the background.
Notice the arches that are illuminated by the scoreboard inside Legends Hall, occasionally transitioning the stadium from Yankee blue to a more ominous red. Could the stadium display the mood of the crowd based on the Yankees performance?
Yankee Stadium
For our Public Interfaces project, we’ve been asked to work within our thesis area. I’ve decided to build a public interface for Yankee Stadium. In doing some initial research, and working off of my past experiences, I’ve identified the following ::
Problem
- While the New Yankee Stadium does a great job of acknowledging the history of the Yankees, it does very little to tie this history back to their fans and their role in it, if only just as witnesses.
- Moreover, Yankee Stadium sees a wide variety of fans, from the diehard bleacher creatures to the casual first time fan. The stadium caters to the casual fans only by attempting to sell them overpriced food and beer, but does little to hook them emotionally and incentivize their return.
- Many fans, especially those from the neighborhood, have been outpriced by the Yankees catering to the luxury crowd.
- Finally, even for the most diehard of fans, attendance at games often feels like a singular event, unrelated to previous games attended or witnessed through another medium.
Solution Direction
- Casual fans need to be made to feel a part of the Yankees tribe. First time fans should feel the same connection to the team, and their fellow fans, as the most diehard of fans.
- Fans should be able to see a piece of themselves in every moment of Yankees history.
- These moments should not be viewed as singular events, but rather, as a continuous story.
- Fans should leave a game with an afterglow
