Case Study Personal Project / Timeline: 1 Month / My roles: Product Ideation, UX Research, UI Design
All these songs and podcasts, not on one app
With the current music playing and music streaming apps on the market, you would think that there would be the optimal app that would be able to be considered the best for almost all users. Of course, it goes to say that nothing in the world is perfect, but with how the current apps are on the market essentially require the user to choose between either having the option to stick with streaming music or to have access to media files but lack the flexibility that streaming apps provides leaves the user making a tough choice between one app over the other. So what would be an ideal music streaming app that not only allows flexibility for the users that can access media files while at the same time have the convenience of keeping all the music and podcasts they love on one app? Enter the savant.
Design Overview:
Savant Noise is a music streaming app that aims to filter through the common noise and provide an even more enhanced euphoric experience for users to fully utilize their music streaming app, with accompanying features that improve the user experience that the current music streaming apps lack such as having lyrics translated to the user's desired language with ease and having the functionality to import media files from third party apps and websites such as Google Drive and Dropbox.
The Client
Audiophiles & Podcast Listeners
The Challenge
With the competitve market of music streaming and music playing apps currently available, it's no guess that the available apps have their strengths that keep them relevant for years. In other words, definitely don't reinvent the wheel, but rather see ways on how it can be improved, and in the scenario of music apps, there are some core features that can be implemented to further enhance the user experience that aids in helping Savant Noise stand apart from other music apps. Some food for thought would be:
• Who is the target audience when it comes to this app?
• What makes this app specifically useful for users?
• When would users keep to only having one music app?
• Why would the user need all their music in one app?
• How is the app going to be a more optimal resource?
The Objective
Provide a mobile experience for users to access media files and have the capability to import and export files, whether the destination fo the file will be on a storage app or website or through local device. The mobile app will not only include a robust library of more nich subgenres for better discovery without algorithmic bias but also to provide a more immersive experience for users to translate lyrics to match the desired language of the user.
Core Tasks
Tan Nguyen ( UX Designer )
Tools Used
• Figma
• After Effects
• Photoshop
• Jira
Methods of Research
To understand how people utilize music streaming apps, my research process is as follows:
- Reach out to 20 participants to test the currently available music apps.
- Survey the participants to inquire on their general approach, impression, & mood regarding the apps tested.
- I analyzed four popular applications: Google Music, iTunes, Spotify, & Amazon Prime as those are the four commonly used apps on mobile devices.
- I made comparisons and contrasts with the four apps & determined their strengths & weaknesses.
The goal with the 20 participants was to see how they would sort music files, identify their favorite genres & subgenres, how they might seek these files, and which they choose to prioritize. I created a journey map based on the research:
Conducting the Survey
The survey portion was divided into two sections: Usage Behavior & Apps & Methods Used. In addition to the survey conducted, two user personas give additional insight to the user research.
User Research Insights
Lots of Files, Many Restrictions
Users tend to have a lot of personal media files they would like to import. Given the current state of the apps available on the market at the moment, they all restrict the user from only having either media files being only accessible through their devices locally or through a proprietary cloud database. As a result, users have to shift through multiple devices to consume their media files depending on the app.
Strong Desire of More Niche Subgenres
It is evident that current applications prioritize the top 40 or radio friendly songs that would be ideal for the average user, but with the survey conducted, 80% of the users showed a strong desire of having subgenres be better represented in the same vein that the top 40 songs have precedence on the main screen.
Seeking to Comprehend Songs of Another Language
The variety of music that users consume nowadays is much more sporadic than what would be conceived years ago, and the variety that users have for foreign music is not only increasing & accessible but will eventually convey the nuances and meaning of songs. In the survey, 70% of the users expressed a noticeable lack of songs having translated lyrics innate to the apps tested.
With consideration into these insights, I have refined my approach to the user flow to efficiently address the user pains and concerns expressed:
Setting up the Design
Fleshing out the user flow, below is the approach that the user of Savant Noise would navigate through.
Ideating the Low Fidelity Screens
To provide a streamline user experience, the following are some of the low fidelity screens produced as part of establishing the user flow process:
The Final User Flow
Upon ideating and producing the low fidelity screens, the final user flow is established.
Utilizing a UI Design Kit
Having a UI Design Kit assists in the workflow process and expedites the product being shipped.
Design for the Savants
I worked with the developer to consider all the possible combinations of custom functions a user could create using the
functions we would support. Some of the features supported in this app were:
• File sorting capability from cloud & local storage
• Dedicated translations for songs
• Ease of navigation in the app for finding songs & podcasts
What I've Learned & Personal Thoughts
One of the more difficult challenges was to further improve the user experience that current applications provide with not only having strengths that current applications on the market provide but to also utilize functions under restraints of different mobile devices. Overall, the reception of the application has been rather lukewarm, with 80% of the users participating in the testing of the app expressing a satisfying experience while 20% expressed frustrations on the current build of the app. For a better approach on improving the product through updates, we discussed with users on what would be ideal features they would love to see implemented or refined.
Fleshing Out on Identity
Establishing identity as a brand is something that's much more complex than it sounds on a surface level.
Additional Languages
Implementation of additional languages is something users would love to see for more versatility in translation options.
Providing More Informaiton on Artists
There was a request for additional elaboration & info on artists, & will be implemented accordingly.
Further Reflection on Ideating & Designing Savant Noise
This project taught me a lot of factors that go into the making of a music app, especially when launching a music app in the current market where juggernauts such as Spotify and iTunes are so prevalent.
- This project taught me how to work within the constraints of a product and design within an established system, relying on effective use of design patterns and components. Since users are already familiar with these conventions, breaking with them could hurt usability.
- One challenge I overcame during research was learning how to gain insight into what users need without asking them directly (“What feature do you wish this app had?”), since that leads to simply wishful thinking and a lot of “it would be cool if the app did this” responses. Indirectly feeling out for user pain points is a more effective method of learning what problems users need solved and how to best solve them.
- Assumptions are fine to take note of but untested assumptions are dangerous and counterproductive to the design process. When I began this project I already assumed people wanted more social & sharing functionality, but truth of the matter is most people don’t really want to share what they’re listening to with all of their friends, but instead directly to specific people. Music is deeply personal and people don’t typically care about combining music and social media.
