Designing a new social feature called ‘Live Radio’ for Spotify that aims to establish a digital hub where not only people can enjoy music, but also fosters a deeper connection with others and music by making the experience more enjoyable. This was a personal UX/UI product design case study.
Role:
UX/UI Designer
Industry:
Audio Streaming / Entertainment
Duration:
2 weeks
Spotify is a leading music streaming platform known for music discovery. They are now expanding its social capabilities by adding new features like "Wrapped" and "Jam", but they are constantly looking for opportunities to enhance its user experience further.
While Spotify offers collaborative features to help listeners discover new music with friends, there are still challenges when engaging with others via shared experiences in real-time, in the real world.
Goals
Business Goals
Strengthen the value proposition, and increase user engagement
User Goals
A delightful user experience that reduces technical debt when sharing music with others
Design Goals
Design a new interactive feature that embeds well and smoothly with the rest of the app
Challenges
User Interaction: Implementing a “real-time” aspect to the app that facilitates interaction between listeners, such as chat and reaction features.
User Experience: Creating an intuitive interface that allows users to easily share the music experience, discover new artists and music, and communicate.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Prioritizing user goals and the MVP to quickly test the product idea and gather feedback as soon as possible.
My Approach
Discovery
White Paper Research: Conducted white paper research to delve into the psychology of music and social relationships.
Market Research: Conducted thorough market analysis to understand user needs, competitor offerings, and emerging trends in the music app industry.
User Persona Development: Created detailed user personas to guide design and feature prioritization.
User Interviews: Conducted in-depth interviews with music listeners to understand their frustrations and needs with music apps.
Storyboard & Journey Map: Created to visualize how the user would interact with the possible solution and to understand existing user problems.
Design
UI/UX Design: Designed a clean and intuitive interface with easy navigation and visually appealing graphics to motivate users.
Feature Integration: Developed and integrated key features such as real-time listening radio channels, chat and reaction features, and personalized live radio suggestions.
Test
User Testing and Iteration: Conducted usability testing with target users to gather feedback and refine the app interface and functionality based on user preferences.
The final prototype was successfully tested, with a high task success rate and confidence level. All users displayed positive sentiments about the new feature and would want to use it in the future. The feedback and the key metrics from the user testing provided opportunities for improvement.
Continuous Enhancement: Plan enhancements to search features to further enrich the user experience based on feedback.
Community Building: Expand user engagement through enhanced real-time listening and social experience.
By combining meticulous design, innovative development, and strategic planning, I delivered a new feature to a music platform that enhanced user experience and drove engagement in the competitive music app market. Working on this project taught me the importance of setting limitations in my design and prioritizing user goals when designing the MVP, and how it can contribute to the result. I am most proud of the visual design and how it embeds seamlessly with the rest of the current Spotify platform.