OVERVIEW
In 2024, DICE needed to introduce reserved seating to secure larger partners and expand the types of events it could support. I led the design of a Pick a Seat experience using seats.io, covering both the fan facing purchase flow and the partner facing management tools.
The aim was to deliver a reliable MVP that worked across web and native apps while fitting within existing technical and product constraints.
DISCOVERY
Early exploration highlighted several limitations that shaped the solution. Users were required to select ticket quantity before choosing seats, only one ticket type could be purchased at a time, and there was no cart functionality available for the MVP.
I also identified a wide range of edge cases common to seated events, including orphaned seats, timeouts, free and code locked tickets, waiting lists, reminders, and split seating, all of which needed to be considered to avoid breaking the experience.
SOLUTION
The flow starts with users selecting ticket type and quantity before moving into a seat map where seats are pre selected based on proximity to the stage. Users can accept these or manually choose alternatives within the same section.
Checkout is handled differently by platform, appearing on a separate page on web and as an overlay within the seat map on native. Alongside the consumer experience, I designed B2B tooling in MIO to manage holds, code locked tickets, and the relocation of seated customers.
RESULTS
The Pick a Seat feature enabled DICE to support reserved seating events and unlock partnerships with larger venues and promoters. The MVP delivered a robust and flexible experience across platforms while handling complex edge cases.
The project significantly expanded DICE’s ticketing capabilities and provided a strong foundation for future improvements, including greater cart flexibility and deeper customisation once technical constraints are reduced.
