riff · App prototype

A music-streaming service where music lovers can also interact with their friends and make new ones too!

Project Type
UI/UX

Team
Briana Washington & Alex Carrera

Tools
Figma

Year
Spring 2023

Goal:

Design either a music or shopping app, that has a unique feature not offered by other major apps.

Riff is a social based music app. It aims to create a seamless listening experience, with curated playlists and radios, making it simple to discover new music with friends or on your own. Our app is a place where people can gather and have friendly conversations with other fellow music lovers about trending music, up and coming artists, music theory, you name it! With millions of genres to explore the possibilities are endless.

research, Competitor analysis, & mapping

interviewing users on music app experiences

We held four interviews and asked the users several questions about their day-to-day music app usage to learn more about what is important to them in an app like this.

we found…

Our interviewees thought that some of the limitations of free versions of the music apps such as Spotify or Pandora were at best mildly annoying and at worst invasive. Minor frustrations include: features such as the generated playlists on Spotify feel useless.

From these interviews we created personas based on the insights learned. We wanted to focus on the 16-30 age group, music enthusiasts, music casuals, etc.

our competitive analysis review found…

Despite the fact that apps like Spotify offer numerous advantages, such as an extensive music library and user-friendly interface, Spotify is not without its shortcomings.

One notable issue with Spotify is its streaming quality. While the platform offers a range of sound quality options, including a high-definition tier for premium subscribers, some users have reported inconsistencies in audio playback. This disparity in streaming quality can detract from the overall listening experience, especially for audiophiles or individuals with high-quality audio equipment.

Another common complaint among Spotify users is the perceived inefficiency of its shuffling feature. Many users have expressed frustration over the platform's shuffling algorithm, which sometimes results in repetitive or predictable song sequences. This lackluster shuffling functionality can diminish the element of surprise and variety that is integral to the enjoyment of music discovery.

Furthermore, Spotify's recommendation system, which suggests new music based on a user's listening history, is not always finely tuned to individual tastes. While the platform's algorithm employs sophisticated data analytics to generate personalized recommendations, users may find that the suggestions provided do not always align with their preferences. This can lead to a sense of disconnection or frustration when seeking new music that resonates with their unique tastes and interests.

In conclusion, while Spotify remains a popular choice for music enthusiasts worldwide, it is important to acknowledge and address the platform's shortcomings.

User Flow

low-fidelity ui

we took our prototype back to our users and found…

The main challenges users had were finding the music player, and figuring out how to add or remove a song from a queue. We were surprised that the interviewees actually enjoyed clicking around on the app, and thought it looked cool. We plan to improve on emphasizing the music player, so it stands out more, and also improving the functionality of the queues. The improvements to these flows will benefit other flows of the app by making it feel more cohesive and real.

updated low fidelity ui

interactive low-fidelity ui

A working bare-bones Figma prototype.

brainstorming brand ideas

We came up with a list of words that we wanted our brand to encompass, as well as a visual moodboard.

  • social

  • music-sharing

  • convenience

  • music enthusiasts

  • vinyls

  • concerts

  • vintage

  • collaborative

  • clean

  • warm

  • welcoming

  • inclusive

  • community

  • nostalgic

  • fun

key-words

moodboard

design system

interactive ui

A working prototype ready to be tested by users!

after testing this prototype we found…

  • The main challenges users had were they were unable to touch certain buttons, locate where to add things to the queue, as well as seeing which parts of the app are clickable.

  • We were surprised that throughout the interviews we only received one Spotify comparison. It lets us know that we were capable of designing an app that can stand on its own. We were also surprised by the lack of questions towards us for navigating through the app. Users were capable of exploring the app freely with only minor direction.

  • We learned how much work goes into creating usable design systems, if we were to continue working on this app, we would like to improve the usability of the app by adding more pages that work in settings, and some layout changes to the music player.

For the revision we made it easier to click on things by making hit boxes bigger, and made all of the add song buttons work on every page, and changed minor details for cohesiveness.

final prototype

final ui

The final prototype version, with added tweaks from user feedback!