Introduction
In just two months, I explored how Spotify, the music app many people use daily, could be made even more enjoyable. The focus was on commonly used buttons and screens, and how simplifying them could improve usability for everyone.
Step 1: Learning from People
To understand real user needs, I gathered feedback directly from Spotify users about what they liked and what caused frustration. I also analyzed other popular music apps to identify effective design patterns and best practices.
Step 2: What I Found
User feedback highlighted several key issues:
- Easy Buttons: Buttons felt crowded and users wanted a cleaner, simpler layout.
- Music Picks for You: Users wanted better personalized recommendations based on their listening habits.
- Easy Volume and Play: Controlling music while multitasking on the phone was difficult for some users.
- Find Music Quickly: Search was not always effective at locating songs or artists.
- For Everyone: Users with different abilities faced accessibility challenges in certain parts of the app.
Step 3: Making It Better
Based on these findings, the following improvements were proposed:
- Easy Buttons: Simplified button layouts for quicker access to music, playlists, and podcasts.
- Music Made for You: Smarter recommendation logic using listening history.
- Simple Controls Anywhere: Floating controls to manage playback while using other apps.
- Find Music Faster: Improved search functionality for faster and more accurate results.
- Music for Everyone: Accessibility features such as voice control and larger text.
Prototyping and Testing
Prototyping was intended to be a key part of this process. However, due to technical constraints, interactive prototypes could not be created or tested as planned. Despite this limitation, insights from user research were carefully used to shape the proposed enhancements.
Conclusion
Even without prototypes, the user research findings provide meaningful direction for improving Spotify’s user experience. The aim is to make the platform more intuitive, inclusive, and enjoyable for all users, regardless of their music preferences or abilities.