On to the details 🔍
Frogslayer's prior reports show that 66% of consumers prefer self-service over talking to staff.
But widespread kiosk adoption doesn't always = good experiences with kiosks.
In many venues, kiosks aren't a preference, they're the only option. That means friction is under-reported.
Field Observation
We saw this tension firsthand at a local arcade:
Users stared at on-screen text while the card reader below flashed unnoticed.
Countdown timers (meant for queue management) created anxiety.
Loyalty pop-ups caused confusion and hesitation.
Scoping
The problem space was broad, so our field notes were too. But across multiple venue visits, three recurring themes emerged, which we proposed to Frogslayer as focus areas for guidelines:
Interface Design
Marketing & Loyalty Integration
Behavioral & Environmental Factors
Ideation:
(drawn from the three themes above)
The pivotal step was testing interactive prototypes on a full-size monitor in Purdue's busy student center, simulating a real crowded venue.
*Since our prototypes were testing tools (not final deliverables) we took creative liberties to isolate what an 'ideal screen' looks like. We experimented, designed our own components, and emulated our take of an arcade/game-like aesthetic.
Over 20 participants completed think-aloud sessions followed by short interviews, each tasked with purchasing and loading a game card.
Usability tests with custom prototypes
Simpler UI changes were iterated on in real time between participants; larger structural changes (like content design, flow, loyalty integrations) were saved for the next round of testing.
Loyalty program integrations gave us the most trouble — and the most insight
Participants were consistently annoyed, startled, or confused when loyalty screens appeared, something we'd noticed in field observations too.
But that was our only takeaway.
Loyalty programs are too integral to the kiosk experience to gloss over, so we ran additional rounds A/B testing two approaches: a gamified tier system versus an upsell sign-up flow, drawing inspiration from loyalty programs outside the arcade context rather than emulating what we'd already seen fail.
Researching & defining kiosk design guidelines for arcades
Team
Purdue Experience Studio Project with Chanseo, Kathleen, Nina, Raelee & Ryan
Role
Research, Testing & Guideline Synthesis
Timeline
August 2025, 4 months
Context + Problem
Frogslayer builds guest-facing software for food and entertainment venues—think arcade kiosks.
Their prior research highlighted that customers rarely know what to expect from one kiosk to the next, because standard UX principles break down on big, public-facing displays.
Frogslayer builds guest-facing software for food and entertainment venues—think arcade kiosks.
Their prior research highlighted that customers rarely know what to expect from one kiosk to the next, because standard UX principles break down on big, public-facing displays.
Process
Frogslayer asked us to create end-to-end design guidelines for hospitality kiosks, covering UI, behavior, and environment. Here's how we did it:
Frogslayer asked us to create end-to-end design guidelines for hospitality kiosks, covering UI, behavior, and environment. Here's how we did it:
Impact
We distilled our research into 7 rigorously tested guidelines for Frogslayer to apply across client projects.
We distilled our research into 7 rigorously tested guidelines for Frogslayer to apply across client projects.
Based on observed improvements in task-completion time during testing, Frogslayer estimated a 28% reduction in queue times compared to baseline metrics from prior client deployments.
On to the details 🔍
Frogslayer's prior reports show that 66% of consumers prefer self-service over talking to staff.
But widespread kiosk adoption doesn't always = good experiences with kiosks.
In many venues, kiosks aren't a preference, they're the only option. That means friction is under-reported.
Field Observation
We saw this tension firsthand at a local arcade:
Users stared at on-screen text while the card reader below flashed unnoticed.
Countdown timers (meant for queue management) created anxiety.
Loyalty pop-ups caused confusion and hesitation.
Scoping
The problem space was broad, so our field notes were too. But across multiple venue visits, three recurring themes emerged, which we proposed to Frogslayer as focus areas for guidelines:
Interface Design
Marketing & Loyalty Integration
Behavioral & Environmental Factors
Ideation
(drawn from the three themes above)
The pivotal step was testing interactive prototypes on a full-size monitor in Purdue's busy student center, simulating a real crowded venue.
*Since our prototypes were testing tools (not final deliverables) we took creative liberties to isolate what an 'ideal screen' looks like. We experimented, designed our own components, and emulated our take of an arcade/game-like aesthetic.
Over 20 participants completed think-aloud sessions followed by short interviews, each tasked with purchasing and loading a game card.
Usability tests with custom prototypes
Simpler UI changes were iterated on in real time between participants; larger structural changes (like content design, flow, loyalty integrations) were saved for the next round of testing.
(We conducted 3 rounds of testing over two weeks)
Loyalty program integrations gave us the most trouble — and the most insight
Participants were consistently annoyed, startled, or confused when loyalty screens appeared, something we'd noticed in field observations too.
But that was our only takeaway.
Loyalty programs are too integral to the kiosk experience to gloss over, so we ran additional rounds A/B testing two approaches: a gamified tier system versus an upsell sign-up flow, drawing inspiration from loyalty programs outside the arcade context rather than emulating what we'd already seen fail.
Final Deliverable
The final leg of the project was sense-making. We affinity mapped all feedback from testing under the three key themes identified during our sessions, refining until we arrived at guidelines solid enough to stand on their own — then cross-referenced each with our desk research to strengthen the evidence base.
For the format, we took inspiration from NN/g Usability Heuristics: each guideline paired with the reasoning behind it, supporting research, and practical tips for implementation.
Reflection
I'm still not over the fact that we got to test on a full-size kiosk monitor. That alone made this project memorable. But beyond the setup, I fell down some genuinely fascinating rabbit holes around Service Design and CX, and came to appreciate just how many variables go into defining success for an experience like this.
What I'm most proud of is how comfortable this project made me with breaking the UX mould. Designing free-form prototypes, not as a final product but purely as a research tool, pushed me to think differently about what rigorous design process can look like. I left a much more confident researcher and designer.
And I had a wonderful team.
I learned a lot from them, and found moments to offer mentorship where I could, which meant just as much to me as the work itself.
Final Deliverable
The final leg of the project was sense-making. We affinity mapped all feedback from testing under the three key themes identified during our sessions, refining until we arrived at guidelines solid enough to stand on their own. We then cross-referenced each with our desk research to strengthen the evidence base.
For the format, we took inspiration from NN/g Usability Heuristics: each guideline paired with the reasoning behind it, supporting research, and practical tips for implementation.
Click through to view all guidelines
Alongside the final guidelines document, we prepared a comprehensive handoff package that included all iterations of our Figma prototypes, and presented our work to product designers, marketers, and stakeholders at both Frogslayer and Purdue's Experience Studio.
Reflection
Reflection
I'm still not over the fact that we got to test on a full-size kiosk monitor. That alone made this project memorable. But beyond the setup, I fell down some genuinely fascinating rabbit holes around Service Design and CX, and came to appreciate just how many variables go into defining success for an experience like this.
What I'm most proud of is how comfortable this project made me with breaking the UX mould. Designing free-form prototypes, not as a final product but purely as a research tool, pushed me to think differently about what rigorous design process can look like. I left a much more confident researcher and designer.
I'm still not over the fact that we got to test on a full-size kiosk monitor. That alone made this project memorable. But beyond the setup, I fell down some genuinely fascinating rabbit holes around Service Design and CX, and came to appreciate just how many variables go into defining success for an experience like this.
What I'm most proud of is how comfortable this project made me with breaking the UX mould. Designing free-form prototypes, not as a final product but purely as a research tool, pushed me to think differently about what rigorous design process can look like. I left a much more confident researcher and designer.
Most importantly, I had a wonderful team.
I learned a lot from them, and found moments to offer mentorship where I could, which meant just as much to me as the work itself.
Field Observation
To observe this tension firsthand, we went to a local arcade and noted key takeaways:
Users stared at on-screen text while the card reader below them flashed unnoticed.
Countdown timers (likely for efficient queue management) created anxiety.
Loyalty pop-ups caused confusion and hesitation, every single time.
On to the details 🔍
Frogslayer's prior reports show that 66% of consumers prefer self-service over talking to staff.
But widespread kiosk adoption doesn't always = good experiences with kiosks.
In many venues, kiosks aren't a preference, they're the only option. That means friction is under-reported.
Scoping
The problem space was broad, so our field notes were too. But across multiple venue visits, three recurring themes emerged, which we proposed to Frogslayer as focus areas for guidelines:
Interface Design
Marketing & Loyalty Integration
Behavioral & Environmental Factors
Ideation:
(drawn from the three themes above)
The pivotal step was testing interactive prototypes on a full-size monitor in Purdue's busy student center, simulating a real crowded venue.
*Since our prototypes were testing tools (not final deliverables) we took creative liberties to isolate what an 'ideal screen' looks like. We experimented, designed our own components, and emulated our take of an arcade/game-like aesthetic.
Over 20 participants completed think-aloud sessions followed by short interviews, each tasked with purchasing and loading a game card.
Usability tests with custom prototypes
Simpler UI changes were iterated on in real time between participants; larger structural changes (like content design, flow, loyalty integrations) were saved for the next round of testing.
Loyalty program integrations gave us the most trouble — and the most insight.
Participants were consistently annoyed, startled, or confused when loyalty screens appeared, something we'd noticed in field observations too.
But that was our only takeaway.
Loyalty programs are too integral to the kiosk experience to gloss over, so we ran additional rounds A/B testing two approaches: a gamified tier system versus an upsell sign-up flow, drawing inspiration from loyalty programs outside the arcade context rather than emulating what we'd already seen fail.