Back to the Future

Overview

Introducing three new yet nostalgic features that stand to alter the future of Spotify...

Back to the Future is a concept that encompasses the three main elements of our redesign: Boombox, Best Buds, and Anthems. We aimed to evolve the listening experience into a social experience by giving the friends and followers of Spotify users a glimpse into their listening habits through public stories, private music sharing, and personal anthems.

Final Design

Not just a music streaming service, but a new form of social media.

Share the songs you're vibing to with Boombox, a curated listening experience that provides a temporary glimpse into your current playlist.

Best Buds offers a portal into the ears of your mutual followers. Toggle Best Buds mode for friends to join you, or grab bud and listen in to someone else's tunes.

Ever have trouble describing your music taste? Anthems makes it easy. Pin songs to your Spotify profile and show the world what you're into.

Success Metrics

Increased Personal Engagement

Longer times spent browsing the app, more new content consumed

Increased Social Engagement

More friends added, more subscribers, more followers for artists, word-of-mouth buzz on social media

Problem Space

Spotify champions the belief that listening is everything.

The 2021 D&AD New Blood Awards competition challenged us to find a way for Spotify users to share the audio that means the most to them. We needed to create a feature within Spotify to promote sharing content and engagement on social feeds.

User Research

We asked 82 college-aged Spotify users...

Two questions in particular greatly influenced our design process. 85% of respondents were at least somewhat interested in knowing what music their friends are currently listening to, and 67% said they regularly received song suggestions outside of the Spotify application. These findings pushed us to consider how we could promote in-app music recommendations between users and their friends/followers.

Requirements

Showcase your personality with features that revolve around YOU.

1. Develop your own public identity
2. Build a deeper connection with friends and artists
3. Tap into your personal reach or influence
4. Share content in a simplified process
5. Join a community of people who love to share music

Ideation

How can Spotify's audience socialize around their passion for music?

Young people often post Spotify songs to their stories for others to see what they're listening to. We asked, why not share these music suggestions within the Spotify app?

Major video-streaming services offer watch parties so people who are not physically near one another can still enjoy a program together. Our idea for listening parties incorporates that same idea to connect people around the world.

We considered a personalizable user profile to offer some insight as to who the user is. Pinning your top songs is a surefire way for someone visiting your profile to get an idea about what music you're into.

Conceptual Design

Reflection

Iterating and testing with a consistent subject group

This endeavor marked my first time working with a partner on a design project in a non-academic setting. In a few short months, I learned the value of collaborative brainstorming and providing honest feedback. I also experienced the urgency of working under a shorter timeline. My partner and I planned to test our prototype on the same audience we initially surveyed, but unfortunately we didn't have time for user testing and consequent design iterations.