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Introduction
Apple Music
A feature add-on to Apple Music that enables users to have a more curated listening experience.
Duration: April 2023 - May 2023
Timeline: 80+ Hours
Company: Apple Music
Tools: Figma, Maze.co, Google Forms
My Role: Product Designer
Skills: User Research, Wireframing, Prototyping, UI Design, Usability Testing
Background
Apple Music is a subscription-based audio and media streaming platform that gives users access to a digital library full of music, artist interviews, music videos, and radio shows. Users have access to global live radio, ad-free listening, curated playlists, personalized recommendations, exclusive Apple content, and other features through the paid service. Despite Apple Music being one of the top streaming platforms for audio and media, there’s still some features that aren’t available on the app that could improve the overall user experience.
Objective
Design a feature add-on that enhances the overall user experience of Apple Music, while still adhering to the brand's design guidelines.
Scope
Create an MVP within an 80 hour time constraint over 4 weeks. Include a case study presentation and high-fidelity prototype to hand off to developers.
Devices
Mobile
Discover
Discover
Why
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Learn about Apple Music as a business and compare alongside its competitors
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Identify specific pain points, challenges, motivations, and needs when using Apple Music
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Determine what is needed to provide a better experience for the user when streaming audio and media content
How
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Screener survey
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Competitive analysis
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User interviews
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Affinity mapping
Screener Survey
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Created a screener survey using Google Forms.
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Gained preliminary research, such as demographic information for individuals who use Apple Music and what they use it for, where they use it, how often they use it, and identified their likes and dislikes with the app.
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Identified the target audience for my user interviews.
Takeaways:
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55.6% of participants identified as male.
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44.4% of participants identified as female.
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100% of participants use Apple Music to listen to music.
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66.7% of participants use the app daily.
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Likes: Easy accessibility, simple interface, integrated with other Apple devices.
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Dislikes: Lacking content in library, hard to find new music, playlists are sub par.
Competitive Analysis
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Determined current competitors - direct and indirect.
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I wanted to focus on popular audio and media streaming platforms (Spotify and Tidal), as well as less popular audio and media streaming platforms (YouTube Music and SoundCloud).
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Identified their strengths and weaknesses, what type of audio and media streaming experience they have, and what features they offer.
Takeaways:
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In order to increase user engagement and improve the overall user experience, my design must:
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Provide curated or personalized content
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Have a social sharing experience
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Have an easy experience when streaming audio and media content
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User Interviews
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Interviewed 5 users within the target age group of 25 - 34 years old that was conducted via FaceTime.
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Empathized with their pain points and challenges when streaming audio and media content on Apple Music.
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Identified their motivations and needs when streaming audio and media content on Apple Music.
Takeaways:
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Pain points from streaming audio and media content on Apple Music:
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Playlists lack variety
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Playlists not curated
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“The playlists that are already made I'm not fully satisfied with and there's not much variety. If I don't know what I want to listen to or if I don't know what I'm looking for but I want something different, it's just easier to go to Spotify than Apple Music. Apple Music is more geared towards what's popular instead of a similar genre from artists you've never heard of.”
- Jonnicca (Female, 34 years old)
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Motivations when streaming audio and media content on Apple Music:
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Discover new music
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Options for playlists
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“I find new music through the Apple Music recommended playlists. If I find a song I like, I add it to my own playlist.”
- Mico (Male, 29 years old)
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Needs when streaming audio and media content on Apple Music:
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Easy to use
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Organize music
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“It's easy to navigate and everything is categorized pretty well.”
- Tony (Male, 25 years old)
Define
Define
Why
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Define the problems users face when streaming audio and media content on Apple Music
How
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POV statements
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HMW questions
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User personas
POV Statements
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Actionable statement that is addressing the problem we're trying to solve
HMW Questions
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I’d like to explore ways to provide Apple Music users with different options for curated playlists.
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Reframe question in a way that will help us generate solutions to the problem
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How might we design playlists so that Apple Music users have a more personalized and customized experience when listening to them?
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How might we design playlists so that Apple Music users are given a better variety of songs based on what they already listen to?
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How might we design playlists so that Apple Music users are able to discover new songs or artists that is similar to what they already listen to?
User Personas
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Identified user's goals, motivations, needs, and frustrations when streaming audio and media content on Apple Music.
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Created a fictional character that represents the target audience and helped me further empathize with the user and the problems they're facing.
Ideate
Ideate
Why
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Brainstorm ideas and develop solutions to help solve our problems
How
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Sitemap
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User flows
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Task flows
Solution
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After discussing with my mentor, we came up with a feature add-on to help solve the problem users face with Apple Music playlists.
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Many users feel like Apple Music playlists aren't curated enough in terms of providing new song recommendations based on similar genres or artists they already listen to or songs they are already familiar with.
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The "Curate for Me" feature will generate 3 curated playlists based on a user's responses to a quiz, which determines the type of music they want to listen to for the day.
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The idea is that if a user doesn't know what they feel like listening to for the day or in the mood for something more curated, they can use this feature to generate 3 playlist recommendations with the option to retake the quiz if needed.
Sitemap
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Created an updated roadmap of the app that included the feature add-on.
User Flows
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Demonstrated the different paths a user could take when first logging into the app.
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Created user flows for all the actions a user could take to access the feature and its functions.
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The main feature is:
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Curate for Me
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Task Flows
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Followed a user's journey through 2 specific tasks.
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Task #1: User "Curate for Me" feature to generate playlist recommendations.
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Task #2: Retake "Curator Quiz" to generate new playlist recommendations.
Design
Design
Why
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Establish structure and determine flow of design for the feature add-on, while adhering to Apple Music's design guidelines
How
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Low-fi Wireframes
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Mid-fi Wireframes
Low-fi Wireframes
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After developing my task flows, I sketched out key screens for each flow using my iPad.
Mid-fi Wireframes
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After receiving feedback from my mentor, I proceeded with developing my low-fi sketches into mid-fi wireframes using Figma.
Prototype
Prototype
Why
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Create a model that simulates how a user will experience the product
How
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High-fi Wireframes
High-fi Wireframes
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I adhered to Apple Music's design guidelines when developing my mid-fi wireframes into high-fi.
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After receiving feedback and performing any necessary iterations, I created a mobile prototype using my high-fi wireframes that will be used for usability testing.
Mobile:
Mobile 1_V1
Mobile 2_V1
Mobile Mockup_14
Mobile 1_V1
1/14
Test
Test
Why
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Validate product by testing the high-fi prototype on potential users and refine based on any feedback that was received
How
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Usability Testing
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Priority Revisions
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Final Prototype
Usability Testing
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I tested my high-fi prototype on 7 users within the target age group of 25 - 34 years old that use Apple Music to stream audio and media content.
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I performed un-moderated usability testing using Maze.co for all 2 task flows.
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Success metrics were determined by:
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User successfully completed each task.
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User was satisfied with interface of product and found it easy to use.
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User had minimal to no errors while completing each task.
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User was able to complete each task within 2 minutes.
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Task flows:
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Task #1: Use "Curate for Me" feature to generate playlist recommendations.
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Task #2: Retake "Curate for Me" quiz to generate new playlist recommendations.
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Task #1: Use "Curate for Me" feature to generate playlist recommendations.
Takeaways:
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4/7 users were able to compete each task successfully.
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4/7 users found that the interface was simple and easy to use.
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6/7 users suggested using different colors or having the design look more "clean".
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4/7 users completed tasks with minimal errors.
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4/7 users completed tasks quickly under 2 minutes.
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4/7 users were very satisfied with their overall use of the product to complete each task.
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Errors:
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3/7 users were unable to move past the first screen.
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Task #2: Retake "Curate for Me" quiz to generate new playlist recommendations.
Takeaways:
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4/7 users were able to compete each task successfully.
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4/7 users found that the interface was simple and easy to use.
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4/7 users completed tasks with minimal errors.
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4/7 users completed tasks quickly under 2 minutes.
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4/7 users were very satisfied with their overall use of the product to complete each task.
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Errors:
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5/7 users had a hard time locating the re-do button or were unsure of what it meant at first.
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Priority Revisions
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After collecting feedback from users, I prioritized what was important to improve the usability and interface of my product then made iterations to my high-fi wireframes.
Before:
After:
Iterations:
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Created 2 entry points for "Curate for Me" feature through "Search" screen and "Listen Now" screen.
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Removed dark overlay to have colors pop more.
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Changed colors for "Curate for Me" to have a more smooth gradient appearance.
Before:
After:
Iterations:
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Changed colors for "Curate for Me" quiz to have a more smooth gradient and "clean" appearance.
Before:
After:
Iterations:
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Created a text button that says "Re-do" instead of an icon to provide more clarification and alert users they can retake the "Curate for Me" quiz.
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Created more text hierarchy between "Sounds Like" heading and title of playlist,
Final Prototype
Conclusion
Conclusion
Conclusion
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Overall, I believe that this prototype was a success because 57% of users were able to successfully complete each task and found the navigation to be easy and familiar. I also learned a lot and was able to identify areas of improvement for further testing and development of my design.
Future Considerations
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Due to the 80 hour time constraint over the course of 4 weeks, there were a few things I would do differently if given the time and resources:
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Interviewing a larger and more diverse group of individuals so that I can gain more insight.
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Conducting usability testing with more people to get more feedback.
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Conducted moderated usability testing to get feedback in real time.
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Continuing to build out the remaining flows to simulate a full user experience when using Apple Music.
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Continuing to iterate and improve the overall functionality and interface of the feature add-on.
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Working with a developer to finalize the feature add-on and bring it to life.
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