I designed a music and podcast platform that aimed to deliver an engaging and seamless experience, and while the user was my top priority, I was also tasked with incorporating revenue-generating features. To achieve this, I implemented premium account offers during the onboarding process and developed strategies to encourage paid subscriptions throughout the user journey. The ultimate goal was to create a platform that not only catered to users' needs but also maximized revenue potential without compromising the user experience.
The music and podcast streaming industry has experienced rapid growth, with companies striving to provide an optimal user experience. The challenge is understanding why users opt for paid subscriptions over free or pirated content. The primary business goal of this project is to design an onboarding process that effectively encourages premium service adoption.
To address the challenge of designing an engaging onboarding experience, our approach focuses on quickly captivating users and streamlining the sign-up process. By transparently showcasing the app's unique features and emphasizing the benefits of paid accounts, we aim to create a seamless onboarding experience that encourages users to adopt premium services.
By creating new accounts for Spotify, YouTube, and Pandora, I gained firsthand insights into their successful onboarding strategies and retention tactics, validating my user experience and identifying key elements to consider in my own designs.
Spotify:
YouTube:
Pandora:
31 diverse participants helped identify user preferences and expectations through a short questionnaire. The survey explored familiarity with popular music streaming platforms, common themes, and the expectations of premium subscribers.
Key insights from the survey include:
These insights, gathered directly from users of popular music streaming platforms, offered a clear direction and ensured that the most crucial aspects will be at the forefront of my design choices.
Creating user personas for both musicians and podcast enthusiasts allowed us to identify the unique needs and preferences of these distinct listener types. By understanding the musician's desire for diverse, customizable playlists and the podcaster's need for offline access and a wide range of content, we can ensure the platform caters to both music lovers and podcast aficionados. These personas help guide design decisions that enhance the user experience and maximize the value of premium accounts for everyone.
To ensure an intuitive and accessible experience, I planned and visualized user flows, clarifying user behaviors, app responses, and necessary steps. By considering diverse user scenarios, addressing edge cases, and maintaining linear, cohesive red routes, the user flows provide a solid foundation for the development of a platform that delivers consistent, high-quality interactions.
Starting with sketches of key pages, I focused on integrating premium upgrade options in relevant areas while establishing the foundation for minimum viable product (MVP) features. These initial designs enabled me to visualize the user flow and ensure that the platform's core functionality was thoughtfully incorporated, laying the groundwork for further development and refinement.
Leveraging my initial sketches, I created a low-fidelity wireframe prototype using Figma for user testing. The prototype focused on:
These wireframes aimed to experiment with unique features, address business goals, and fulfill MVP requirements
I conducted remote usability tests with 5 participants to assess the effectiveness of premium subscription strategies and gather feedback on design aspects like visual hierarchy, UI standards, and functionality. Key findings and solutions included:
Issue 1: Limited-time 60-day trial frustrating during onboarding
Solution: Replace with a standard 30-day trial
Issue 2: Users overwhelmed by three price points
Solution: Offer one premium price point and a free account option
Issue 3: Unnecessary search bar on every page
Solution: Remove search bar from non-essential pages
These adjustments tackle the main concerns and enhance the overall flow and functionality of the platform, while still emphasizing the value of premium features.
To transition the wireframes to high-fidelity, I developed a style guide, which I refined and expanded throughout the design process. The style guide includes:
Colors: The palette features a dark primary color that creates a strong visual impact, complimented by a teal hue that adds vibrancy without compromising legibility. Lastly, a lighter accent was incorporated to highlight specific elements and maintain a minimalist aesthetic, ensuring the overall design adheres to accessibility standards.
Fonts: I chose Comfortaa for titles and buttons because of its sleek, rounded shape that evokes the style of a popular headphone brand. Nokora was chosen for its strong legibility, making it suitable for numbers and various text elements.
UI Elements: I selected icons with rounded edges and corners to complement the header font's rounded aesthetic. This consistency creates a harmonious visual language, giving the app a softer touch while ensuring that all elements work together.
After addressing the issues from the first round of user testing, I created the initial high-fidelity designs based on the wireframes. By retaining some features, I aimed to gather insights from user feedback and further refine the design in subsequent iterations. The high-fidelity screens showcase the evolution of the design and the continuous improvements made throughout the process.
With the high-fidelity prototype ready, I conducted 5 additional remote user tests to evaluate the effectiveness of the previous iterations' improvements. Key objectives included assessing business goals, style guide implementations, and user responses to new design choices. Important findings and solutions were:
Issue 1: Premium offers during onboarding continued to frustrate users
Solution: Remove premium offers from the sign-up process
Issue 2: Lack of metadata (e.g., track duration) for albums and songs
Solution: Add metadata such as song length and album year
Issue 3: Users expressed security concerns when providing personal and payment information
Solution: Enable payment through trusted providers and emphasize privacy commitments
Based on user feedback, I finalized the high-fidelity designs in Figma, prioritizing visual hierarchy, proper alignment, and design cohesion. Key changes included removing the trial offer during onboarding, which users found frustrating. These refinements resulted in a polished design that effectively addressed user concerns while still addressing business goals.
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