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The process
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OVERVIEW & DEFINE
Background
Spotify is a popular music and audio streaming platform that is widely known by many worldwide. It carries the name for being "Music for Everyone" and lives up to it 489 million+ name. However, some changes to the app due to modern stylistic choices (UI), assistive technologies and better overall feel can be implemented. This will make the app more accessible, inclusive and user friendly.
Problem
Spotify is a well known household name. However, its lack of modern stylistic choices are causing the app to not have as good of a user experience as it's potential and its competitors.
Role
Goal/Solution
Redesign Spotify for a better overall user experience.
UX Designer and UX Researcher
Tools
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Competitive Market Research
Currently, Spotify's biggest competitors in the market are Apple Music and Youtube Music. Spotify wins the competition in terms of sheer numbers, however, it's competitors are very strong and offer some services that Spotify does not. Youtube's discovery functions and spot on recommendations cut it over the edge. Additionally, Apple Music supports better sound quality and more features. While both Apple Music and Youtube Music are great choices, small changes in Spotify's UI will make it a no brainer option.
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Interviews
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m
designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through extensive research
was university students who have multiple music streaming subscriptions. The age range I interviewed was between 17 and 23. Inquiries I made during the interview included the following:
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What do you like about having a music subscription?
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What do you dislike about having a music subscription?
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What is your favorite music subscription app?
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When using a music subscription app, what feature is your go to?
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Is there anything about a music subscription app that you feel could be better?
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Key User Insights
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the user base, I brought them to life. I arranged the user personas according to key data, including demographics, goals, and frustrations.
Some common trends I noticed were users wanting to see what songs were last/next in queue and the ability to see what artists are active on the said platform.
Redesign Proposal
For this redesign proposal, adding a 'last song' and 'next song' in the currently playing screen would allow for better usability . In addition to this, allowing less steps in the process to pick and listen to songs or podcasts would enhance users time.
Since the users main pain points included time and accessibility, inputting a story feature for artists would allow for fans to stay close to people they like and spend more time listening.
IDEATION
Lo-Fidelity Sketches & Wireframes
Low fidelity screens show how we can incorporate more user friendly features to the current Spotify app. Mapping out placement is key to great design , and, with these we can see how we want the final iteration to feel.
As seen below, on the first screen, I've added personability - which will show for app users to feel more connected to the app and see the app as more accessible to their wants and needs.
The middle screen introduces stories! Users can now see what is new in terms of music with their favorite artists! This feature also allows for deeper connections and ease. Users can get suggestions based off this data.
The third screen shows how easy it is to see your last song, next song and current playing song. Users can swipe and have more power at their fingertips. This will also allow for users to get to know well in advance what is playing in case they want to change it or replay a song.
With these changes and ingenious decisions, the hope is to enhance the overall user experience. Adding personal feature and paying attention to user's pain points, allow us to create interfaces that are more accessible and positively impactful for users across the board.
DESIGN
Color Palette
Below is the existing color palette of Spotify. The redesign will not be featuring the addition of extra colors and themes to maintain consistency within the brand.
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Accessibility Considerations
For an already well established brand, like Spotify, my goal with this redesign is to enhance the already entrenched feelings and motivations. Allowing users to get the most of their app will later ensure getter quality and accommodations for everyone.
Keeping Spotify's main purpose in mind, I enriched the experience by providing a visual aspect to the home screen when a song is "currently playing".
To the left, we have a mockup of the currently playing screen. In this screen, users can swipe to swap. A simple swipe will allow users to refresh their brains of what they just viewed and what is to come - but also, tapping on the any of the images will allow for a direct song change, without even opening the app.
To the right, we have the mockup of 'active artists'. In this example, we can see that the artist, Doja Cat, has posted two stories and the user is able to view those stories. Similarly, other artists can post when a new album is dropping or when they plan on going on tour.
Other Design Considerations
For this redesign, additional design considerations that were made included:
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Using principles of design that would ensure we could use a wide group of people
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Focused on maintaining the clean and spaced out structure of the current Spotify app to avoid contingencies
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Aimed to include pop ups and animations every time a change was made on the users' end to aid those with assistive technologies
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Added a larger 'liked songs' section that allowed users to click on their already saved songs easily
PROTOTYPE
RETROSPECTIVE
I learned that an already established app has gone through multiple iterations already, so trying new things has definitely been a learning curve. Overall, the app redesign for Spotify was meant for users to feel better about their audio needs.
I discovered that I gained a lot of insightful knowledge from it. In addition to knowing users who are similar to myself, I learned the value of user research. I assumed this assignment would be easy because I am a designer, but I was mistaken. But I immediately discovered via user interviews that my solutions don't work for everyone, and that's okay! As a result, I was able to broaden my thoughts, learn about various viewpoints and demographics, and discover new ways to elicit deeper insights from interviewees.
What's Next?
The designer in me never wants to stop building and bettering my projects!
To me, Spotify is so important because it is one of the few apps in the world that allows for people of multiple backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles to come together and enjoy a single app! That being said, there are a few things I foresee in the near future for my Spotify Redesign. As the usability studies suggested, I want to conduct additional usability tests to confirm that the problems users encountered have been successfully resolved and find an even more diverse population of participants to conduct studies on to ensure the best results.
Thank you for taking the time to look through my Spotify Redesign!
With love,
Devangi Vaid
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Designed by Devangi with ♡