The Events app was designed for a small user-base of event creators and socialites with high engagement leverage in the Facebook feed.
As a design lead, I designed the app from the ground up, with support from the Events design team. Final design up to launch was handled by Patrick Keenan.
The app was launched in Oct 2016. It was eventually renamed "Local" until its shutdown in 2020.
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Design Team Patrick Keenan Kevin Schaefer Jon Kumahara
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Events had a small cohort of power users who discovered, created and shared events with their network. Some used Facebook exclusively for Events, yet their actions had an engagement multiplier effect on the platform as a whole.
Event notifications and newsfeed stories were timely and valuable to people, but were drowned out by the Facebook content firehose. A significant portion of users had turned off notifications altogether.
Calendar integration and more tools were commonly requested by the community, but hard to justify in the Facebook app. Adding that functionality would add significant bloat and dilute its focus on content consumption.
In early concepts, the app would facilitate casual get-togethers with close friends by creating looser, "lightweight events". With a greater volume of events on the platform, the intent was to leverage an Event-only Newsfeed to nudge people to going out.
Create a lightweight event, keep track of your commitments, and get relevant information the day of the event
Events feed showing future opportunities, what's happening now and past events (FOMO)
It took time to define the app's core value proposition. We grounded the designs on what matters most to our core audience: