Situation
Task
Action
Result
Ster-Kinekor, South Africa's leading cinema chain, was experiencing increasing competition from online streaming services and changing entertainment behaviours among younger audiences.
Research showed that many younger customers were no longer seeing cinemas as a social destination. While watching a movie was still appealing, the traditional cinema experience did not align with the way younger audiences wanted to connect, they wanted to share the experience with friends, interact, and make the outing more social.
VMLY&R was challenged to explore how digital innovation could help reposition cinema-going as a more engaging social experience and encourage younger audiences to return to cinemas.
As the UI Designer on the project, I was responsible for bringing the The Social Club proof-of-concept application to life through high-fidelity interface design and visual execution.
Working closely with the UX designer, developers, and creative team, my role was to translate the user experience strategy and concepts into a visually engaging digital product that reflected the social, youthful, and community-driven nature of the idea.
Collaborated with the UX designer throughout the process, gaining insight into user research, journey mapping and experience design decisions while leading the visual design execution.
I owned the UI design process for The Social Club proof-of-concept application, creating the visual direction, high-fidelity screens, interface styling, interactive prototypes and developer-ready designs.
I designed key mobile experiences including friend groups, conversations, movie discovery, trailers, friend tagging, booking flows, seat selection and snack ordering, creating a digital experience that transformed cinema from a transactional booking journey into a more social entertainment experience.
Working closely with the creative and development teams, I refined the interface to ensure the product felt energetic, modern and aligned with the community-driven vision of the concept.
01
Delivered a high-fidelity proof of concept that visually demonstrated how Ster-Kinekor could evolve the cinema experience into a more socially connected digital journey.
02
The concept provided stakeholders with a tangible vision of how mobile technology could support stronger engagement with younger audiences by building anticipation, connection, and community before the movie even started.
03
The project showcased the value of combining strategic UX thinking with strong visual design execution to explore new digital experiences and future opportunities for the brand.
