Introducing: Spotify Duet
Spotify's mission is to be the #1 audio streaming app in the world. I propose an in-app sharing feature, unique to Spotify, that has the potential to expand their user base and increase customer loyalty
Project Type
Personal project
Timeframe
Timeline
3 weeks
Tools
Tools
Figma
Figma
Figma
The Problem
Spotify, while the market leader in music streaming, lacks a fully unique feature that would compel users to choose it over competing platforms.
My Proposal: Spotify Duet
Spotify Duet enables users to send music directly to their friends inside the app.
Duet Playlists
Each inbox comes with its own Duet, a playlist containing all the music shared in the inbox.
Duet playlists can be accessed the same way as normal playlists.
Optional Duet Notifications
Users can choose whether or not to receive Duet notifications outside the Spotify App.
Optional Duet Notifications
Users can choose whether or not to receive Duet notifications outside the Spotify App.
Respondents said:
Process: Research and Exploration
User Research
I sent out a survey to 14 people between the ages of 15 and 25 (Spotify's primary user base). The purpose of the survey was to find out how people feel about the idea of a 'chat' feature inside the Spotify app. The survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data.
63% of people want to keep track of the music they've sent and received
85% of people would use a feature which allowed them to share music directly on Spotify.
50% of people do not want Spotify to have a messaging feature similar to the messaging features on social media apps.
Respondents said:
I created two user personas based on the survey data to understand my users better.
"It’s a lot more convenient to receive and play a recommendation in the app compared to receiving a link on another app and getting redirected."
"Many times, a friend mentions a song I should listen to, but I forget the song/artist and need to follow up. Sharing music directly through an app could be useful."
"If it was just recommending music then yes [I would like an inbox feature], but if it became just another app to message on, then no."
"I don't want to chat with someone when I'm listening to music"
I created two user personas based on the survey data to understand my users better.
Considerations at this stage
While doing my research for this project, I found that out Spotify did have a messaging feature years ago. This was a full fledged chat feature, where users could send each other music as well as other messages. Spotify discontinued this feature because of low engagement compared to the manpower required to keep it running. This came as a surprise to few, as they never did much to promote this feature.
This information, combined with the findings from the survey, told me that there were three things to consider when coming up with the concept of a messaging feature in the Spotify App:
Sharing music has to be the core purpose of the feature
The design of the feature has to emphasise its purpose
Accessing the feature has to be easy and straightforward to encourage use
Process: Wireframing and Prototyping
Low fidelity wireframes
I started the design process by coming up with a task flow based on which I made some low fidelity wireframes using Figma. At this stage I was less concerned with how well the design of the feature fit into Spotify's existing design, and more concerned with how the flow of tasks fit into Spotify's existing flow.
How does this solution address all the aforementioned considerations?
How does this solution address all the aforementioned considerations?
Sharing music has to be the core purpose of the feature: Only music can be shared in the Duet inbox; general messages cannot be sent.
The design of the feature has to emphasise its purpose: By only allowing users to share music and not send regular messages, the purpose of the feature as being solely a music-sharing method is emphasised.
Accessing the feature has to be easy and straightforward to encourage use: Duets can be accessed in the navigation bar, which makes them easy to find. The option to "share via duet" is next to the regular share feature which means users do not need to learn anything new to use the feature.
Sharing music has to be the core purpose of the feature: Only music can be shared in the Duet inbox; general messages cannot be sent.
The design of the feature has to emphasise its purpose: By only allowing users to share music and not send regular messages, the purpose of the feature as being solely a music-sharing method is emphasised.
Accessing the feature has to be easy and straightforward to encourage use: Duets can be accessed in the navigation bar, which makes them easy to find. The option to "share via duet" is next to the regular share feature which means users do not need to learn anything new to use the feature.
Process: Wireframing and Prototyping
High fidelity prototype
I sent a working prototype of the low-fi wireframes to some of the survey respondents to ensure that the flow of tasks was intuitive. Once I received their approval, I created the high fidelity wireframes for the feature.
63% of people want to keep track of the music they've sent and received
85% of people would use a feature which allowed them to share music directly on Spotify.
"It’s a lot more convenient to receive and play a recommendation in the app compared to receiving a link on another app and getting redirected."
Respondents said:
I created two user personas based on the survey data to understand my users better.
"If it was just recommending music then yes [I would like an inbox feature], but if it became just another app to message on, then no."
50% of people do not want Spotify to have a messaging feature similar to the messaging features on social media apps.
"Many times, a friend mentions a song I should listen to, but I forget the song/artist and need to follow up. Sharing music directly through an app could be useful."
"I don't want to chat with someone when I'm listening to music"
Considerations at this stage
While doing my research for this project, I found that out Spotify did have a messaging feature years ago. This was a full fledged chat feature, where users could send each other music as well as other messages. Spotify discontinued this feature because of low engagement compared to the manpower required to keep it running. This came as a surprise to few, as they never did much to promote this feature.
This information, combined with the findings from the survey, told me that there were three things to consider when coming up with the concept of a messaging feature in the Spotify App:
Sharing music has to be the core purpose of the feature
The design of the feature has to emphasise its purpose
Accessing the feature has to be easy and straightforward to encourage use
Conclusion
My takeaways were as follows:
User research not only allows you to make a better product that actually has the potential to create impact, but also sheds light your biases and assumptions as a designer: Before I conducted my research, I thought people would like to be able to text on Spotify, since I wouldn't really mind a feature like this. However, my research showed me quickly that I was very wrong. If I'd proceeded with my initial idea, I would have ended up with a result that might have looked good, but wouldn't have the potential to actually be utilised.
A lot of thought goes into developing UI kits / design systems: Since this project involved adding a feature to an existing app, I learnt a lot about what it's like to work with an existing UI kit and developed appreciation for the amount of effort that has gone into each design choice at Spotify.
I would like to end this case study by thanking this member of the Figma community for uploading a Spotify UI kit online that helped me immensely when trying to find icons that matched Spotify's.
Conclusion
My takeaways were as follows:
User research not only allows you to make a better product that actually has the potential to create impact, but also sheds light your biases and assumptions as a designer: Before I conducted my research, I thought people would like to be able to text on Spotify, since I wouldn't really mind a feature like this. However, my research showed me quickly that I was very wrong. If I'd proceeded with my initial idea, I would have ended up with a result that might have looked good, but wouldn't have the potential to actually be utilised.
A lot of thought goes into developing UI kits / design systems: Since this project involved adding a feature to an existing app, I learnt a lot about what it's like to work with an existing UI kit and developed appreciation for the amount of effort that has gone into each design choice at Spotify.
I would like to end this case study by thanking this member of the Figma community for uploading a Spotify UI kit online that helped me immensely when trying to find icons that matched Spotify's.
Duet Playlists
Each inbox comes with its own Duet, a playlist containing all the music shared in the inbox.
Considerations at this stage
While doing my research for this project, I found that out Spotify did have a messaging feature years ago. This was a full fledged chat feature, where users could send each other music as well as other messages. Spotify discontinued this feature because of low engagement compared to the manpower required to keep it running. This came as a surprise to few, as they never did much to promote this feature.
This information, combined with the findings from the survey, told me that there were three things to consider when coming up with the concept of a messaging feature in the Spotify App:
Sharing music has to be the core purpose of the feature
The design of the feature has to emphasise its purpose
Accessing the feature has to be easy and straightforward to encourage use
Conclusion
My takeaways were as follows:
User research not only allows you to make a better product that actually has the potential to create impact, but also sheds light your biases and assumptions as a designer: Before I conducted my research, I thought people would like to be able to text on Spotify, since I wouldn't really mind a feature like this. However, my research showed me quickly that I was very wrong. If I'd proceeded with my initial idea, I would have ended up with a result that might have looked good, but wouldn't have the potential to actually be utilised.
A lot of thought goes into developing UI kits / design systems: Since this project involved adding a feature to an existing app, I learnt a lot about what it's like to work with an existing UI kit and developed appreciation for the amount of effort that has gone into each design choice at Spotify.
I would like to end this case study by thanking this member of the Figma community for uploading a Spotify UI kit online that helped me immensely when trying to find icons that matched Spotify's.
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