Classic car shows: unkinking the experience
A look into some of the issues spoiling these events
This may come as a surprise or unexpected for some, but I have reflected quite a lot about UX design principles by attending numerous classic cars shows in the last few years. Although I’m not a car enthusiast, somehow at least a couple of times a year, I end up being dragged to these events by friends who are total classic car geeks.
As design principles for digital tools are broadly based on how humans interact with objects and spaces in physical world — books, stores, furniture, kitchen appliances, car parks… you name it — I started wondering how design principles could improve the experience for classic car show guests.
Before we move on, I just want to clarify this article is not about those fancy high-tech car shows where new, conceptual models are unveiled. I’m talking about gatherings of classic car enthusiasts, dealers and businesses in this niche industry. At such events, attendees can: exhibit their own car, buy a car or parts, sell their products or just spend time with people with a common interest. There’s usual a food court and, if you’re lucky, there might be live music.
Events and key problems identified
All of the events I have attended so far took place in venues that were not designed with car shows in mind. The venues are usually exhibition centres such as the NEC in Birmingham (UK), the grounds of a car manufacturer (Jaguar Land Rover in Gaydon, UK) or pretty much anywhere that can take hundreds, if not thousands, of cars. I have attended some that took place on the grounds of old manor houses.
Across three separate events, I have identified three key issues:
- Signposting and way-finding (Classic Motor show at the NEC)
- Product description mismatch (Bentley’s 100th Anniversary at Burghley House)
- Check-in and site access (Classic Car Show at Jaguar Land Rover, Gaydon-UK)
Problem 1: signposting and way-finding
The NEC’s hangar-sized pavilions are definitely a positive point. However, when planning an event in such a large venue, signposting and way-finding become crucial, as taking a wrong turn can’t always be easily corrected. Each pavilion has these gigantic numbers painted on the walls. The painted numbers only give you a rough idea of where you are in the event, but don’t work when you need to refine your search for a particular stand or area. Imagine you arrange to meet a friend for a drink, and instead of being given the exact address of the bar, you’re only given the name of the neighbourhood.
Most exhibitors do put up banners to help people find them, but there are so many exhibitors, clubs and stands, that no matter how big or colourful the banners are, it all gets lost in the visual clutter. A digital version of the experience would be something like this: Arngren.net
Implications for the user
The guests’ ability to find their way through the vastness of the event’s grounds is seriously hindered by the lack of a clear signposting system and, consequently, poor or non-existent signage. The visual clutter described above only makes matters worse, as nothing that could be used as a reference points stands out — it’s just a sea of colourful banners. Note: the visual clutter issue will not be addressed by this article.
Potential solution
So, we already have the pavilions numbers and a grid-like system of walkways within each pavilion. A simple IA with the pavilion number sitting at the top, with numbered, lettered or even named walkways could be a potential solution. The system below is just a suggestion. The ‘streets’ could be named after car brands, cities, whatever. I would just avoid using the the pavilion ‘number+letter’ twice.
The key here is to apply the same logic to every single pavilion. This way, guests only have to learn one system, one mental model.
Problem 2: product description mismatch
I was standing by a fenced field waiting what models the organisers of the Bentley’s centennial had picked to showcase the history of the brand.
The parade started, we began seeing cars coming from the access driveway into the field. We heard the announcer’s description of each car blaring through the loudspeakers. Models kept coming one after the other, with little gap between them, which added significantly to our memory load — we were trying to match a description to a car and almost immediately another one would follow.
The problem was aggravated by the fact that the announcer was not describing the model that was entering the field at that precise moment, but the one right in front of them, and they were positioned at the other end of the drive, far from the field entrance (see image below).
Implications for the user
As a result, we became increasingly frustrated, because we didn’t have enough time to digest the information we were being given and we could not make sense of it, i.e. the mismatch between what the announcer was describing and what the we were seeing.
I guess the equivalent in the digital world would be an e-commerce website where product descriptions and images are all shown on the same page but are all mismatched.
After a handful of cars, we were so exhausted by trying to hold so much information at once and trying to match description to vehicle that, despite our interest, we made our way to the food court.
Potential solution
The problem could have been solved by the following combined:
A. positioning the announcer at the point where the drive meets the field or even somewhere prominent on the field
B. having them describe the car that was right in front of them, and
C. slowing down the flow so that guests can process and match the descriptions to the cars.
Problem 3: check-in and site access
This third and last case is about how little consideration is given to the key attractions of such shows: the classic cars themselves. You could even think of the cars themselves as the users.
These are old clunky temperamental machines that require a lot of maintenance. They easily break down and can’t be fixed as easily. At the annual gathering at the Jaguar Land Rover site in Gaydon (UK) this is brutally exposed every year.
When gates open for guest and exhibitors, a long queue of traffic quickly builds up on the access roads and driveways. That queue is a result of a bottleneck created by the check-in process and by the fact that the access leading to the carpark/exhibition area consists of a single-lane drive.
Implications for the user
Soon enough, you start seeing smoke billowing out of cars’ bonnets, owners trying desperately to cool the engines down and people getting impatient. The thing is these are not modern cars that can be started with the push of button and equipped with complex cooling systems. Some are a step-up from a horse-drawn coach. That means they can’t be easily started and they simply can’t sit in standing traffic for too long either. So, the thing you dread the most as a classic car owner is a traffic queue.
Once a single car breaks down, the single-lane drive is blocked, which exacerbates the problem.
Potential solutions
Since there’s a technical constraint (site layout: access point and drive) that’s unlikely to change, potential solutions could be:
- Give some models priority access: either through a fast lane, earlier access or simply by allowing them to jump the queue
- Request guests to name the model they’re bringing to the show upon ticket purchase, so that organisers can judge whether a priority access might be necessary
- Assign guests a check-in time slot; this could be based on the model they’re driving or zone within the exhibition grounds
Lastly…
I’m sure most of us have experienced at least one of the issues above, if not all, at some point in our lives as users. In fact, this shortlist is not only based on their impact on the user experience but also because in essence all three could be identified in other types of events, from sports to corporate.
Should the organisers of any of the events mentioned above stumble upon this piece, please do get in touch. It would be great to understand the context better.
