Entre o virtual e o presencial: a festa como espaço de desenho de experiências

Abstract

Throughout history, events have undergone significant metamorphoses driven by a myriad of influences, from technological advancements to cultural changes. These transformations are particularly evident when considering user experience as something that transcends mere participation, becoming key to emotional connection, and event design as a crucial tool in projecting memorable experiences. In this sense, the present research analyzed the influence of the Event Design method on the optimization and enhancement of user experience, considering the distinct dynamics between the virtual and physical worlds. Using phenomenology as a method, the aim was to identify the experiences projected by organizers and understand the perceptions, emotions, and meanings attributed by participants. The qualitative approach was employed to allow for a deep and contextualized understanding of complex and subjective phenomena. Focusing on popular festivals, the study's scope encompassed the June festivals in northeastern Brazil, with the sample delimited to Mossoró Cidade Junina, São João de Campina Grande, and São João de Caruaru, with the research actors being the users of both virtual and physical celebrations, and representatives of the organizations involved. The combination of the Domains of Experience, Events Experience Scale (EES), Event Social Interaction Scale (ESIS), and Event Experience Mapping Model (EEMM) scales was used to develop data collection tools: a semi-structured in-depth interview script, a plan supporting participant observation, an integrated questionnaire for measuring and interpreting user experience, and card sorting for the theoretical sample. Data analysis was based on Straussian Grounded Theory or Relativist Grounded Theory (GT) and assisted by the Iramuteq software. Considering the results from both the virtual and physical realms, it was demonstrated that, although there is a genuine concern from festival organizers with participants' experience, the lack of a strategic, design-oriented approach limited the potential for creating experiences. The gaps identified, through data triangulation, revealed that this absence resulted in incipient action on the dimensions of cognitive engagement, despite the June festivals offering a broad spectrum for linking entertainment to learning, and on the experience of novelty, which emerged incipiently in the innovative context of the lives made available during the pandemic. Thus, the understanding of event design as an essential tool to be integrated into a broader dynamic that considers the implementation of innovative technologies; accessibility; community involvement; meaning - represented here by culture; hospitality; direct communication between organization and users; basic and fundamental services to events - health and safety; and equity in the delivery of services was validated, in order to enhance the delivery of memorable and meaningful experiences to participants.