I designed an app that allows users to stream and discover new music, podcasts, and audiobooks. The project was intended to iterate upon some of the issues experienced in popular streaming services. A primary goal when designing the application was to offer a media discovery experience through personalized recommendations, while also avoiding the endless scrolling experience and content oversaturation.
How can I resolve the issue of content overload when searching?
How can I personalize the experience for each user?
How can I improve the media discovery experience?
When interviewing regular streaming service users, I learned that the type of media they want to listen to is correlated to routine — what they are doing and what type of attention they are able to give. For example, a user might be able to focus better on music while working than an audiobook. To address this in the app, I isolated the various media types — music, podcasts, and audiobooks — so users can find what they are looking for easier.
A streaming service's discovery phase — when users look for something new to consume — is when content overload becomes most prevalent. To ease this, I gave more attention to individual recommendations within each media type, utilizing more screen real estate for each entry. If a user consciously decides, "I want to find something new," the app should aim not only to personalize this, but to be precise in it's recommendations. When a friend recommends a new record, they usually recommend one at a time, likely based on your preferences — I've aimed to replicate this experience within the app.
When a user opens the app, they are directed to the Home screen. To mitigate the endless scrolling habit, which perpetuates content saturation and overload, I've included a "Keep Listening" section at the top of the screen that includes up to 5 items. If a user is listening to different media types, one of each is pulled into this section and labeled appropriately. Additionally, I've kept recommendations to a minimum on this screen — instead offloading this to the Discovery screen. This is designed to help users finish media they've already started (especially podcasts and audiobooks) before moving on.
The initial prototype for this streaming app has yielded helpful insights for further iteration and conceptualization, based on initial user testing.
I've received positive feedback about the search functionality — specifically the voice search — as well as the Discover phase concept.
Since it is not developed, however, I currently cannot understand the full emotive aspects of a user's experience with the app. For example, I'd like to better understand how using the app makes people feel — both what is revealed and perceived.
I am still currently iterating upon this project, receiving user feedback and designing additional screens and concepts for the prototype. Nested Library pages will be in my next prototype iteration.
Additionally, I am currently designing a smart watch app prototype to accompany the phone design.
Interested in working together or learning more about what I do? Send me a message — I'd love to hear from you.
