Spotify Discover
Spotify Discover
Spotify Discover
Client:
Client:
Spotify (Unofficial)
Spotify (Unofficial)
Services:
Services:
User Research, UX Design, Prototyping
User Research, UX Design, Prototyping
I am an active Spotify user, just like 626 million others in the world. Spotify meets my needs in a music platform, and I've only ever had minor issues with it, like with any software. But what if I could make changes to this well-established, globally used music streaming platform? With this project, I challenged myself to uncover the core issues users were having with the way Spotify currently functions, and to come up with a solution for those issues. I took Spotify's desktop application through extensive user research, competitive research, and synthesis in order to prototype solutions, which took the form of "Spotify Discover".
I am an active Spotify user, just like 626 million others in the world. Spotify meets my needs in a music platform, and I've only ever had minor issues with it, like with any software. But what if I could make changes to this well-established, globally used music streaming platform? With this project, I challenged myself to uncover the core issues users were having with the way Spotify currently functions, and to come up with a solution for those issues. I took Spotify's desktop application through extensive user research, competitive research, and synthesis in order to prototype solutions, which took the form of "Spotify Discover".
Promoting what they THINK users want rather than what users ACTUALLY want
Promoting what they THINK users want rather than what users ACTUALLY want
Promoting what they THINK users want rather than what users ACTUALLY want
My researched informed me of 3 key points: 1.) Users don't always use Spotify with the intention of discovering new music, and are frustrated by the suggestions crowding their homepage. 2.) Users will typically actively use Spotify for <30 seconds, selecting music they already know they like. 3.) The majority of users use Spotify purely for music, and are unaware of/don't utilize Spotify's various other features (daylist, reels, DJ, etc.) The core problem I uncovered with the way Spotify currently organizes its content and suggestions for users is that there is a LACK OF SEPARATION between music users already know they like, and a bombardment of recommendations and suggestions from Spotify based on that music. The embodiment of the usage habits and pain points I discovered via my research was Trevor:
My researched informed me of 3 key points: 1.) Users don't always use Spotify with the intention of discovering new music, and are frustrated by the suggestions crowding their homepage. 2.) Users will typically actively use Spotify for <30 seconds, selecting music they already know they like. 3.) The majority of users use Spotify purely for music, and are unaware of/don't utilize Spotify's various other features (daylist, reels, DJ, etc.) The core problem I uncovered with the way Spotify currently organizes its content and suggestions for users is that there is a LACK OF SEPARATION between music users already know they like, and a bombardment of recommendations and suggestions from Spotify based on that music. The embodiment of the usage habits and pain points I discovered via my research was Trevor:
How would I solve the issues Trevor was having with Spotify's current architecture? Separation.
How would I solve the issues Trevor was having with Spotify's current architecture? Separation.
How would I solve the issues Trevor was having with Spotify's current architecture? Separation.
The key was to give users the agency to choose whether to get suggestions or not. Therefore, I came up with Spotify Discover. It essentially is a small information architecture redesign that splits the current "homepage" into two sections: "Home", and "Discover".
The key was to give users the agency to choose whether to get suggestions or not. Therefore, I came up with Spotify Discover. It essentially is a small information architecture redesign that splits the current "homepage" into two sections: "Home", and "Discover".
To access both of these, I consolidated the navigation into the top left above the user's library, making it much clearer than Spotify's current "navigation", which consists of scattered icons that leave users second-guessing themselves.
To access both of these, I consolidated the navigation into the top left above the user's library, making it much clearer than Spotify's current "navigation", which consists of scattered icons that leave users second-guessing themselves.
"Home" houses ONLY the user's music from their library, recently played, or music listened to in the past. This allows them to easily find what they're looking for, as evidenced by my research showing that they typically will open up Spotify to play music they already know they like.
"Home" houses ONLY the user's music from their library, recently played, or music listened to in the past. This allows them to easily find what they're looking for, as evidenced by my research showing that they typically will open up Spotify to play music they already know they like.
"Discover" is filled with New Music releases from artists the user follows, and song/playlist suggestions based on recent listening habits. These can all be tailored using the "vibe" filters to search your suggestions based on a certain mood or feeling.
"Discover" is filled with New Music releases from artists the user follows, and song/playlist suggestions based on recent listening habits. These can all be tailored using the "vibe" filters to search your suggestions based on a certain mood or feeling.
Additionally, users will have the ability to generate a unique "Discover" page for any specific song, similar to how Spotify currently allows users to create a "radio" for any song. This "Song Discover" page will show suggestions for songs and playlists similar to the song used to generate the page.
Additionally, users will have the ability to generate a unique "Discover" page for any specific song, similar to how Spotify currently allows users to create a "radio" for any song. This "Song Discover" page will show suggestions for songs and playlists similar to the song used to generate the page.
After iterating through and prototyping these changes, I crafted my high fidelity prototype for demonstration. However, there is still more work to be done; Trevor is an example of one of the many types of users that Spotify caters to. I would like to continue conducting research to create multiple personas that represent the other types of users, and iterate further upon this design to cater to those audiences as well.
After iterating through and prototyping these changes, I crafted my high fidelity prototype for demonstration. However, there is still more work to be done; Trevor is an example of one of the many types of users that Spotify caters to. I would like to continue conducting research to create multiple personas that represent the other types of users, and iterate further upon this design to cater to those audiences as well.