Project SuperFan…

Overview

The company PledgeMusic, including its product person, asked me to take some other existing music app — e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, Bands in Town — and mock up and design a flow of screens, adding something to it that would be exclusive to the industry. This new piece of functionality could be something you think was missing and that users were wanting. As an addendum, PledgeMusic wanted to see my thought process and design solutions while having fun!

The What

• What was designed: Plugin feature for iOS / iTunes application
• UX problems being solved: Creating a unique, exclusive way of connecting and personalizing the direct, "fan-to-artist" experience
• Approach: Agile (focused on solving a singular product need)
• Tools Used: People, Pen & Paper, Adobe illustrator, Photoshop, Sketch, InVision, Flinto

The Who

• Client: PledgeMusic / A music company that facilitates direct-to-fan access
• Target audience: Serious music lovers / followers
• Industry: Entertainment / Crowdfunding

Process

My decisions were influenced based on what matters most to the users. Each project has its own set of problems to solve and its own solutions or results. For this project scope, the proposed feature turned out to be a down-and-dirty, lean three-step UX process. Due to time constraints on this pitch, the product manager wanted me to quickly come up with concepts and designs to present to the internal team. Step 1) Started gathering insights from serious music fans that use both iOS and Android devices for streaming or downloading music. Step 2) After some brief interviews, the concept of "SuperFan" started to emerge and was being shaped around what users were not getting from their favorite music providers (real direct access) to their artists and what’s more, Spotify, Apple Music and Bands in Town were not offering anything like this to their consumers. I proceeded by sketching quick ideas in my Moleskine notebook that showed implementation of the plugin in screens / user flow. Step 3) I jumped in designing iOS high-fidelity and laying out my presentation in InVison Boards to walk the team through my process. See my initial ideation sketches below.

Step 1: App Audit + Opportunities

I started reviewing the landscape of the three assigned music companies (Spotify, Apple Music and Bands in Town) to bring out what they truly did at their core. They dealt with music but in very different ways. Spotify was a streaming company, whereas Bands in Town was a live music provider, and Apple music was more or less a digital music distributor. Similar to my other competitive analysis that I did for the nutrious project, I devised a chart of pluses (+) and deltas (∆) and key features, indicating things that were done well, and things that needed improvement. Through my audit I clearly found that these companies all lacked one thing: "Fan-to-artist interaction." This was my way of showing "why" I believed a plugin like SuperFan had a real opportunity in the market and needed to be implemented into PledgeMusic’s digital products. Below is the diagram I presented.

Value Proposition: Tailored for the serious music fan in mind. No other music tech company has this feature in their digital products. It's an exclusive, one-of-a-kind offer, you'll feel like you’re part of "real-time" excitement!

Step 2: Research + Personas

My research consisted of conducting interviews with millennials that were tech savvy and always going to concerts with a smartphone. These millennials were searching for and discovering new music that's trending, so they can turn their family and friends on, too. I created the persona template of ‘Listener Lydia’ that helps clarify the focus of the audience SuperFan is designed around. There are additional audiences that reach out beyond the scope I had time for. I listed my research findings according to business and user needs below.

Business Needs:  1) Increasing revenue 2) Improving the artist-to-fan experience 3) Onboarding user / consumers  4) Building brand loyalty

User Needs:  1) Have a better way of connecting and engaging with their favorite artists / groups  2) Pre-notifications on tour dates  3) Invites to exclusive events + videos  4) Wish list via fan to artist  5) Fan forum, where real-time dialogues happen  6) Discounts to merchandise

Step 3: Visuals + High-Fidelity Designs

For the visuals, I decided on the pointing finger icon for the app to signify the "number one" fan. The archetypal crowd image used in the launch screen helps support and ground the targeted audience. I tinted the image with a magenta hue to match Apple’s brand colors for iTunes. I also utilized the typeface, "San Francisco," since I was working in the iOS environment. Below, I annotated the high-fidelity screens through the task of implementing the following: Add new feature; reviewing benefits; adding artists, bands or groups; feed page / recommendations; and selecting and displaying your SuperFan page. User is kept in the loop buy clicking on the bottom SuperFan icon to return to the feed page.

Slide 1: Launch Screen with the app icon / Add-Feature plugin

Slide 2: Users able to Review Benefits & Add Plugin / Start Adding-Artists 

Slide 3: Select Groups & Artists / Add to Users Feed

Slide 4: User Selects Group / Directed to personalized SuperFan page (Welcome Lydia)

View SuperFan Prototype

Step 4: Results + Presentation

The intermediate conclusion of SuperFan is that further user testing / feedback is essential and mission critical for the evolution and growth of this product in order to flourish. Also, interviewing and fleshing out high-level needs, goals, pain-points, and priorities of both fans and artists for future plugin iterations turned out to be successful. The final result is that the PledgeMusic's team believed it had tremendous potential in the market.

Presentation:  The pitch meeting was very successful and well received by the senior product manager, chief product officer and director of UX. I was able to walk everyone through strategic steps that lead to design solutions and prove that this product was worth developing if budget allowed. For now, this is a unique feature that I will be able to pitch to other music tech companies in the future.

View Invision Boards