Wave
Connect, Create, Jam Anywhere Anytime
Challenge: As we transition into the digital realm for musicians, we discovered that artists have encountered significant hurdles in discovering and connecting with fellow artists, leading to feelings of isolation and frustration. Existing musical platforms lack the tailored support artists need for meaningful connections and spontaneous collaborations.
Our Focus: We sought to partner with Spotify for artists as a way to enrich the user’s musical experiences and address the challenges hindering collaboration, ultimately building a more connected community among musicians.
Timeline
January 2024 (Complete)
Roles
UX Researcher, Interaction Designer
Methods
Competitive Features Analysis, BMC, Screener Survey, User Interview, Affinity Mapping, User Persona, User Journey, Feature Prioritization, Design Studio, Style Guide, Wireframing, Prototyping, Usability Testing
Tools
Figma, Google Spreadsheets, Google Forms, Slack, Zeplin, Notion, Zoom
Opportunity
A digital platform that includes
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Connect with others for collaborative opportunities
Share musical creations within a supportive community
Participate in both live and remote events & jam sessions
Our Process
DISCOVERY
What led us to choose Spotify?
To clarify our research scope, we crafted a
Competitive Matrix
To see if Spotify aligns with our objectives, we conducted research on
Spotify's Business Model Canvas
Identifying similarities between Wave and Spotify, we suggested potential
Integration Opportunities
Users can share their playlists
Discover music through personal algorithm
Access to extensive streaming library
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A platform to bring artists together
Exploration for otherwise unlikely collaborations
Ability to create and share new music between user
Here is the prompt our team created after drawing this insight:
How might we provide an environment for musicians to connect, collaborate, and compose with other artists?
SYNTHESIS
We hypothesized that musicians want to use a unified digital platform to connect and collaborate with fellow artists.
From our problem space, we made some assumptions
▢ Musicians want ways to connect with other musicians/artists for jam sessions.
▢ Artists want ways to connect with other musicians/artists for recording sessions.
▢ Individuals would like to be able to listen to music and connect with the artists for potential collaboration.
▢ On a platform for interaction, musicians seek to connect with lesser-known artists.
▢ It's challenging for people with geographical barriers or conflicting schedules to collaborate effectively.
To validate our hypothesis, we conducted 6
Interviews
with individuals who passed our screener survey that actively produce music in a band or collaborate with other musicians.
✔ Musicians want ways to connect with other musicians/artists for jam sessions.
✔ Artists want ways to connect with other musicians/artists for recording sessions.
✔ Individuals would like to be able to listen to music and connect with the artists for potential collaboration.
▢ On a platform for interaction, musicians seek to connect with lesser-known artists.
✔ It's challenging for people with geographical barriers or conflicting schedules to collaborate effectively.
From our user research, we validated our
Assumptions
We found that users want
Collaboration: Artists struggle to find ways to connect with others who share similar desire for collaboration in meeting up for jam sessions.
Flexibility & Convenience: Musicians desire a platform for remote recording as well as file-sharing for track collaboration with new artists.
Persona
Designing a persona gave my team a clearer visualization of who we aimed to design our product for by identifying the user’s goals, needs, and frustrations.
To guide our user needs, we created a
User Journey
Pain Points
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Low response rate for social media outreach efforts
Harmonizing diverse musical approaches is difficult
Lack of collaboration leads to unfulfillment
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To explore opportunities, we crafted a
IDEATION
We prioritized most-needed features
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Profile page
Audio & video file sharing
Live events scheduling
Music recording
Social Feed
Messaging functions
DESIGN
We made initial sketches
and turned them into
Mid-fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Our team created high-fidelity wireframes after the first round of usability testing to address blockers and enhance the overall user experience based on data. We also implemented a consistent design system for cross-functional teams to utilize. Then, we translated the wireframes and user flows into readable CSS using Zeplin.
Last but not least,
Users took longer to read through and RSVP to the upcoming event
Success Rate: 80%
Easiness Rating: 4/5
Time on Task: 34 Secs
After designing wireframes, we built our mid-fidelity prototype and conducted usability testing to uncover areas of confusion. Then, we redesigned certain aspects within the prototype in high-fidelity and conducted a second round of usability testing to validate our design decisions. Below are the results!
We incorporated accent colors and illustrations to guide user’s task flow
Success Rate: 90% ✔
Easiness Rating: 5/5 ✔
Time on Task: 21 Secs ✔
Task 1: Register to an upcoming event
Usability Testing
To assess our product's usability, we underwent two rounds of
Users weren't aware to manually scroll on a track to view revision notes
We designed clickable arrows to quickly direct users to the revision notes
Task 2: Find revision notes and make edits accordingly
Success Rate: 60%
Easiness Rating: 4/5
Time on Task: 53 Secs
Success Rate: 70% ✔
Easiness Rating: 4/5
Time on Task: 33 Secs ✔
Users felt overwhelmed by the number of options to go back to the homepage
We removed the navigation bar and kept the “back” button on the top left corner
“View Profile” Page Navigation Bar Removal
Users found the icons positioned to the right of the text unfamiliar
We positioned the icons to the left of the text to keep familiarity
Design System Modification
DELIVERY
We created our high-fidelity prototype!
Recording Screens
Scroll for horizontal screens
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To keep brand consistency, we created a
Style Guide
To make the app fun and inviting, we made
Interactive Components
Our team wanted the user experience to be inviting, fun, and minimalistic, which led us to design these interactive UI components based on the typeface and color scheme from the brand guidelines.
To ensure the app’s utility, we identified the
Metrics for Success
Before you go, we would love to tell you about our
Next Steps
Feature Recommendations
AI-Generated recommendations for artists to collaborate with
Color customizations for app UI based on user preferences
Incorporate clickable following and follower lists for user profiles
Iterations
Perform additional usability testing with potential users of the app
Conduct deeper analysis of user behavior, including pain points and challenges
Reevaluate the positioning of certain app features and redesign UI elements