Oh! Jazz | 2024

Designing for Disability:

An Oh! Jazz platform re-design for the aging population

The goal was to mitigate & accommodate.

Oh! Jazz’s primary customers and OTT users are 50+ years old; yet, the website and OTT platform did not keep the aging population's needs in mind. 

  • The navigation was not intuitive and lacked information

  • There was poor contrast between the background and CTAs across all devices

Wide Angle | Why a Re-Design?

There is a need to design for the aging population but also to design for trust

  • In the past, we redesigned our registration form to provide additional information on redeeming gift codes. Why? Our elder customer base, specifically our Japanese customer base needed more guidance and reassurance based on research and user feedback.

Pt. I – Recognition vs. Recall

As a young, graphic designer who taught herself some UX/UI basics out of interest and then began designing a jazz platform, the intention behind my design choices was to be abstract and play with the meaning behind the icons, given that Oh! Jazz is a groundbreaking and new idea. 

  • We wanted the icons to be ambiguous and minimalistic which worked against us. 

  • We created a conflict between novelty and crafting a unique image/UI and the needs of our customers.

The main takeaway – Don’t rely on icons alone, add descriptive labels.

Updates

  • Updated icons for them to be more intuitive.

  • Moved away from abstract ideas

  • Added label below each icon. 

    • There used to be a lack of information.

  • For “Upcoming Live Shows,” added text below the widget with the date and time, instead of only having within the widget with poor legibility.

Pt. II – Increasing Contrast

In the original design, there was no contrast between the CTA and the app background. This was partly because of the technology. After speaking with the developers, we were able to add color to the CTA.

While testing contrast between a red vs blue CTA, we ran a contrast ratio test.

  • Oh! Jazz’s off-white has the highest contrast ratio which is great for the text. Regarding the button color, given that blue has a much higher contrast ratio and passes both tests, we are opting for blue as our button color instead of red.

Pt. III – Light vs. Dark Mode

Created a Light Mode option for both, web and app to increase contrast and legibility.

  • Used red text in “Light Mode” and blue in “Dark Mode” for better contrast and maintaining alignment with brand guidelines.