The final piece in our series on the Rose Theatre redesign focuses on bridging the gap between the digital and the real world.
Visiting a theatre is a tangible, in-person experience. From the moment we walk through the doors, we expect an enjoyable, seamless experience with clear guidance on everything the venue offers.
The Rose’s website needed to reflect these standards, enhancing the real-world experience while remaining dynamic enough to respond to real-world changes. Here’s how we achieved this:
1. The Addition of a Highlights Page
One of the most impactful features of the new Rose site is the Highlights page—a showcase of featured events, curated by the Rose team and organised with clear filtering and tagging.
Thanks to the flexibility of the Peppered platform, the team can update event details and promote key shows or offers instantly—without needing extra design or development time.
Our user research revealed that respondents valued the addition of more flash sales, so this feature doubles as a space for time-sensitive promotions, helping both the theatre and its audience stay connected.
2. A Streamlined Booking Process
A seamless booking experience is critical. It’s often the most important part of the site, yet it’s so easy to overcomplicate.
Our research found that users wanted a simpler ticket-booking process, so we prioritised this during the redesign.
With the new Highlights page, users can browse events easily and add tickets to their basket within a few clicks.
To support this, we integrated the Spektrix checkout from the Peppered platform, delivering a tried-and-tested system that’s reliable, intuitive, and efficient. This integration also enabled additional features like:
- Cross-selling items (e.g., programmes and ice cream).
- Including donations or memberships as optional extras without disrupting the booking flow.
3. Landing Pages and Quick Links
While ticket sales are the main goal of the website, the Rose Theatre is much more than its events. It supports donations, boasts a large participation programme, and offers essential practical information for visitors.
Balancing all of these needs without overcomplicating navigation was a key challenge.
To address this, we conducted:
- Card sorting: To define and group related content.
- Tree testing: To design a logical menu structure and visualize access routes to essential pages.
The result? A combination of landing pages and a tiered menu system.
- Landing pages provide top-level overviews, offering users a natural, organic way to explore related content.
- The tiered menu allows users to access subpages in a single click, offering a fast and focused experience.
This human-centred approach connects every touchpoint on the site to the real-world experiences audiences value most—whether it’s a quick and simple booking process or discovering more about the theatre’s incredible programmes.
If you missed Part 1 or Part 2, check them out to see how we’ve approached aligning user needs with stakeholder goals and uncovering insights through user research.
If you’d like to explore the full story behind the Rose Theatre redesign, check out the full case study on our website: Rose Theatre Case Study.
Join Our Arts & Culture Community
We’re bringing together inspiring minds from the arts and culture sector to explore digital opportunities, tackle challenges, and share transformative stories. Be part of the conversation—subscribe to our newsletter and join the journey.