Thrill & Create

5 reading ideas from design, e-commerce, and amusement | August 2015

October 28, 2016/in Uncategorized /by David Parmelee

Thrill & Create Newsletter August 2015 The second half of August is traditionally a fun season for me as the owner of a design business in the amusement industry. While I have been working hard this year to bring value to my clients and potential clients, there is more flexibility in this time of year.… Continue reading 5 reading ideas from design, e-commerce, and amusement | August 2015

Ideas for your attraction’s digital marketing | Thrill & Create Newsletter, July 2015

July 31, 2015/in Uncategorized /by David Parmelee

Thrill & Create Newsletter July 2015 Hello there. I’m David Parmelee, and I design digital products – mostly for the amusement and attractions industry – through my company, Thrill & Create. Amusement parks, water parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, tourism departments, amusement and attractions blogs, and anyone who works with them are all fair game for… Continue reading Ideas for your attraction’s digital marketing | Thrill & Create Newsletter, July 2015

A new interview, two new guest articles, and two new services

May 12, 2015/in Uncategorized /by David Parmelee

Thrill & Create was featured in guest posts for Theme Park University and Optimal Workshop. We are now offering usability improvements and homepage audits. A new client (and interview): Theme Park University At the IAAPA Attractions Expo in November, we were fortunate to meet the editor-in-chief of one of our favorite blogs in the themed entertainment… Continue reading A new interview, two new guest articles, and two new services

Introducing our Pricing page (discount on usability evaluations for January!)

January 6, 2015/in Announcements /by David Parmelee

In response to several inquiries at the IAAPA Attractions Expo and in more recent conversations, we have introduced our new Pricing page, which lists our pricing for user experience design projects, usability evaluations, and accessibility evaluations. Its information is current for the month of January 2015, and we will keep it up to date. We recently… Continue reading Introducing our Pricing page (discount on usability evaluations for January!)

Mobile app or mobile site?

December 12, 2014/in Digital Strategy, Mobile /by David Parmelee

In my most recent post, I described some challenges that amusement parks and their suppliers would face in hiring a designer, developer, or company to build them an app. Namely, these: Smartphone users don’t all use the same kind of phone. Responsive design helps designers today be better at designing for different screen sizes, but… Continue reading Mobile app or mobile site?

Why go mobile?

December 9, 2014/in Mobile /by David Parmelee

In November, I met many new contacts in the amusement industry in Orlando at the IAAPA Attractions Expo, an annual trade show which is the biggest such event in the amusement business. Some of my contacts there had had their websites redesigned to be responsive or mobile-friendly. Others had not yet but had plans for… Continue reading Why go mobile?

User testing challenges: Ways to test microsites without the secret getting out

October 8, 2014/3 Comments/in Usability Testing /by David Parmelee

New attractions are widely anticipated throughout the amusement industry. They frequently come with changes to a park, zoo, or aquarium’s website. This could range from a mere mention of the new attraction to an entire website (microsite) created just for building anticipation for that new attraction. How do we do usability testing in this situation?… Continue reading User testing challenges: Ways to test microsites without the secret getting out

Getting user testing ROI in the amusement industry

October 1, 2014/2 Comments/in Usability Testing /by David Parmelee

Last week, we mentioned that hundreds of users provided feedback into our recent rebrand. They gave us input on company name ideas, tested first impressions of our site, sent us back to the drawing board many times, and walked through common scenarios to tell them what was and wasn’t meeting their needs. And our site… Continue reading Getting user testing ROI in the amusement industry

Our company's mission is to design delightful digital experiences for purveyors of joy.

How the Thrill & Create site was built

September 24, 2014/3 Comments/in Amusement UX, Making Of, Process /by David Parmelee

Recently, I made several big announcements on this blog. One was that the company is now called Thrill & Create LLC, and another is that the company’s new website is now online at AmusementUX.com. The previous site The initial work for AmusementUX.com, internally abbreviated AUX, started almost two years ago. The company’s old website, at… Continue reading How the Thrill & Create site was built

Daily Scrum for freelancers and other teams of one

September 18, 2014/in Process /by David Parmelee

Thrill & Create does user-centered digital product design for the amusement industry. In other words, we design websites, microsites, apps, and any other digital products with a view toward making these products easy to use and enjoyable for park guests, business partners, and any other prospective buyers in the amusement industry. Although we work hard… Continue reading Daily Scrum for freelancers and other teams of one

Thrill & Create rebrand: taking amusement’s thrills to users’ devices

September 12, 2014/in Amusement UX, Press Releases /by David Parmelee

For Immediate Release Thrill & Create is a user experience design consulting company focusing on digital products for the amusement industry. Gambrills, MD (September 3, 2014)—Thrill & Create LLC, a user experience design consultancy specializing in designing digital products such as websites and user interfaces for the amusement industry, today announced its new brand identity.… Continue reading Thrill & Create rebrand: taking amusement’s thrills to users’ devices

Some big announcements

September 12, 2014/2 Comments/in Amusement UX, Press Releases /by David Parmelee

I have several big announcements to make. Let’s begin with the company’s story. Dalandan Concepts (pronounced “dah-LAHN-DAHN”) has been around since April 2012, and it has been Dalandan Concepts LLC since June 2012. It began as a company which drew upon my passion (usability and user experience) and background (software testing and development). Initially, it… Continue reading Some big announcements

Screenshot showing the redesigned live About page for The Coaster Crew. This section of the page explains the different tiers of membership, which build on each other to include more benefits for individuals, families, and Platinum members.

UX Process in Action: Consistently pushing myself toward a better design

November 18, 2013/in Coaster Crew /by David Parmelee

Describing the new Coaster Crew website, which launched in September, has been a long story. I began this project by learning more about the site’s target audience and developing personas, including the primary persona for CoasterCrew.net: Javier, a male in his mid-20s who typically visits parks in the Southeast US once or twice a year… Continue reading UX Process in Action: Consistently pushing myself toward a better design

Teaser image from an earlier design of the Amusement UX website. The image shows a roler coaster train traveling through a corkscrew toward the user. For further information on Amusement UX, email info@amusementux.com.

Amusement UX is coming.

November 12, 2013/in Amusement UX /by David Parmelee

AmusementUX.com is now under construction. This will be a new brand, yet to be named, within Dalandan Concepts for serving the amusement industry. Join the mailing list to find out when it launches!

In their redesign, the Coaster Crew's fansites have a new Network Bar at the bottom of every page for easier navigation to the other fansites. The Network Bar uses the fansites' individual color schemes. An example of the network bar for one fansite is shown here.

UX Process in Action: Navigating a network of 10 sites and counting

November 11, 2013/in Coaster Crew /by David Parmelee

Ever since the new Coaster Crew website launched in September, I have been writing articles describing my design process and design decisions. The series began with a post about how I learned about both the roller coaster enthusiasts and the “general public” segment of The Coaster Crew’s audience and determined how to best target the… Continue reading UX Process in Action: Navigating a network of 10 sites and counting

Thoughts on user experience
& amusement