SOUNDCLOUD
SOUNDCLOUD
SOUNDCLOUD
Search Landing Page Improvements
Search Landing Page Improvements
Search Landing Page
Improvements
We developed this final design project at IronHack UX/UI Bootcamp in collaboration with a Product Owner from Soundcloud. Soundcloud's search landing page on iOS was empty and the Android version only displayed a search history list. We aimed to enhance the page with features that would encourage users to explore the catalog and differentiate it from the personal/curated home tab.
We developed this final design project at IronHack UX/UI Bootcamp in collaboration with a Product Owner from Soundcloud. Soundcloud's search landing page on iOS was empty and the Android version only displayed a search history list. We aimed to enhance the page with features that would encourage users to explore the catalog and differentiate it from the personal/curated home tab.
Project Scope
Project Scope
We developed the final design project at IronHack UX/UI Bootcamp in collaboration with a Soundcloud Product Owner. Soundcloud's search landing page on iOS was empty and the Android version only displayed a search history list. We aimed to enhance the page with features that would encourage users to explore the catalog and differentiate it from the personal/curated home tab.
Deliverables:
Research summary
3 personas with user journey maps (with a focus on one persona)
User flows for designs
Relevant research insights per module
We developed the final design project at IronHack UX/UI Bootcamp in collaboration with a Soundcloud Product Owner. Soundcloud's search landing page on iOS was empty and the Android version only displayed a search history list. We aimed to enhance the page with features that would encourage users to explore the catalog and differentiate it from the personal/curated home tab.
Deliverables:
Research summary
3 personas with user journey maps (with a focus on one persona)
User flows for designs
Relevant research insights per module
Project Details
Project Details
Project Length: 2 weeks (1. Sprint / UX Research, 2. Sprint / UI Design)
My Role: UX Research and UX/UI Design
Team-mates: Marianna Ostrowska - UX/UI Designer, Maen Alali - UX/UI Designer
Device: Mobile
Methods & Tools: Lean Survey Canvas, Quantitative Survey and Qualitative Interview, Competitive Analysis, Empathy Map, Affinity Diagram, User Persona, Journey Map, User Testing, Card Sorting, User Flow, Wireframing, Prototyping, Figma, Maze.
Project Length: 2 weeks (1. Sprint / UX Research, 2. Sprint / UI Design)
My Role: UX Research and UX/UI Design
Team-mates: Marianna Ostrowska - UX/UI Designer, Maen Alali - UX/UI Designer
Device: Mobile
Methods & Tools: Lean Survey Canvas, Quantitative Survey and Qualitative Interview, Competitive Analysis, Empathy Map, Affinity Diagram, User Persona, Journey Map, User Testing, Card Sorting, User Flow, Wireframing, Prototyping, Figma, Maze.
1. Empathise
1. Empathise
The product owner asked for extensive UX research to understand Soundcloud users' behavior before launching a new interface design. Therefore, we dedicated the first week to comprehensive research.
Research Objectives:
- Understanding user needs, goals and pains
- Studying competitors, strengths and weaknesses
- Understanding user expectations from a music streaming app
- Creating an empathy map
- Identifying Soundcloud's main target persona
The product owner asked for extensive UX research to understand Soundcloud users' behavior before launching a new interface design. Therefore, we dedicated the first week to comprehensive research.
Research Objectives:
- Understanding user needs, goals and pains
- Studying competitors, strengths and weaknesses
- Understanding user expectations from a music streaming app
- Creating an empathy map
- Identifying Soundcloud's main target persona
2. Define
Following the empathy stage, we advanced by defining the problems and proposing potential solutions to address them.
Surveys and Interviews
Survey I
We had 73 participants.
Key Insights from Survey I:
- All participants used music streaming platforms
- Most familiar with Soundcloud, but preferred Spotify
- Friend recommendations most important in choosing music
- Over half liked platform-curated playlists
- A/B test showed interest in genre and mood-based playlists
- Over 70% preferred single tracks over albums
Survey II
We had 46 participants.
Key Insights from Survey II:
- Majority is interested in platform-curated playlists and listen them often
- Over half see search tab as a place for discovery
- Almost all are open to new genres
Interviews
In total, we conducted 12 interviews.
Survey II
We had 46 participants.
Key Insights from Survey II:
- Majority is interested in platform-curated playlists and listen them often
- Over half see search tab as a place for discovery
- Almost all are open to new genres
Competitor Analysis
Market research, conducted after surveys and interviews, identified Soundcloud's main competitors as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp. Our findings showed that Soundcloud offers a unique value to users by combining original and user-generated content.
Survey II
We had 46 participants.
Key Insights from Survey II:
- Majority is interested in platform-curated playlists and listen them often
- Over half see search tab as a place for discovery
- Almost all are open to new genres
Mina / The Tourist
Our main persona, Mina, is an infrequent user who is not familiar with the app's functionality and can become easily overwhelmed. She relies on friend recommendations for discovering new music and is impatient when it comes to finding new tracks.
Personas
We used the data collected from surveys and interviews to create three personas. These personas were designed to represent different approaches to the Soundcloud app, reflecting the needs and behaviors of different user groups.
Elias / The Visitor
Elias is interested in discovering new and unique music and values user-generated content. He takes his time exploring different genres and wants to be more aware of the music he listens to. Therefore, Soundcloud is his preferred platform.
Interviews
In total, we conducted 12 interviews.
Competitor Analysis
Market research, conducted after surveys and interviews, identified Soundcloud's main competitors as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp. Our findings showed that Soundcloud offers a unique value to users by combining original and user-generated content.
Affinity Diagram / Empathy Map
We analyzed survey and interview results to create an Affinity Diagram and Empathy Map, revealing users' pains and gains.
Survey I
We had 73 participants.
Key Insights from Survey I:
- All participants used music streaming platforms
- Most familiar with Soundcloud, but preferred Spotify
- Friend recommendations most important in choosing music
- Over half liked platform-curated playlists
- A/B test showed interest in genre and mood-based playlists
- Over 70% preferred single tracks over albums
Competitor Analysis
Market research, conducted after surveys and interviews, identified Soundcloud's main competitors as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp. Our findings showed that Soundcloud offers a unique value to users by combining original and user-generated content.
Affinity Diagram / Empathy Map
We analyzed survey and interview results to create an Affinity Diagram and Empathy Map, revealing users' pains and gains.
Mina / The Tourist
Our main persona, Mina, is an infrequent user who is not familiar with the app's functionality and can become easily overwhelmed. She relies on friend recommendations for discovering new music and is impatient when it comes to finding new tracks.
Personas
We used the data collected from surveys and interviews to create three personas. These personas were designed to represent different approaches to the Soundcloud app, reflecting the needs and behaviors of different user groups.
Elias / The Visitor
Elias is interested in discovering new and unique music and values user-generated content. He takes his time exploring different genres and wants to be more aware of the music he listens to. Therefore, Soundcloud is his preferred platform.
Mina / The Tourist
Our main persona, Mina, is an infrequent user who is not familiar with the app's functionality and can become easily overwhelmed. She relies on friend recommendations for discovering new music and is impatient when it comes to finding new tracks.
To better understand Mina's frustrations, needs, and goals, we created her User Journey Map.
Moritz / The Local
Our third persona is Moritz, the Local. He is a music producer. Therefore, discovering new music is a necessity for him. Her uses Soundcloud very often, however, struggles a lot with the unorganised and repetitive content. He desires a well-structured platform to easily find new sounds and music inspiration. He also wants to showcase his own music and connect with other music producers.
For this 2-sprint project, our primary focus was on Mina, as Soundcloud aimed to enhance the engagement of occasional users through improving the search landing page experience.
Ideate
After defining stage, we employed the "Crazy 8" Design Sprint method to ideate and come up with a Moscow diagram and low-fidelity sketches.
Affinity Diagram / Empathy Map
We analyzed survey and interview results to create an Affinity Diagram and Empathy Map, revealing users' pains and gains.
Elias / The Visitor
Elias is interested in discovering new and unique music and values user-generated content. He takes his time exploring different genres and wants to be more aware of the music he listens to. Therefore, Soundcloud is his preferred platform.
Moritz / The Local
Our third persona is Moritz, the Local. He is a music producer. Therefore, discovering new music is a necessity for him. Her uses Soundcloud very often, however, struggles a lot with the unorganised and repetitive content. He desires a well-structured platform to easily find new sounds and music inspiration. He also wants to showcase his own music and connect with other music producers.
Prototype and Test
We designed prototypes for each idea and tested them using Maze with 43 participants. During the testing process, we analyzed the success rate of each flow and also gathered feedback on which design the participants preferred.
- 1st flow received 22 votes
- 2nd flow received 21 votes
As the voting results were close and both designs received positive feedback from the product owner, we decided to create high-fidelity prototypes for both concepts.
Following the empathy stage, we advanced by defining the problems and proposing potential solutions to address them.
Moritz / The Local
Our third persona is Moritz, the Local. He is a music producer. Therefore, discovering new music is a necessity for him. Her uses Soundcloud very often, however, struggles a lot with the unorganised and repetitive content. He desires a well-structured platform to easily find new sounds and music inspiration. He also wants to showcase his own music and connect with other music producers.
For this 2-sprint project, our primary focus was on Mina, as Soundcloud aimed to enhance the engagement of occasional users through improving the search landing page experience.
To better understand Mina's frustrations, needs, and goals, we created her User Journey Map.
The first flow was named "Infinite Playlists" with the aim of allowing users to easily discover new music by swiping through continuously recommended playlists until they find something they like.
Our second flow was called "Inspire Me", allowing users to discover new music by selecting their desired genre or mood and receiving instant playlist suggestions.
How Might We?
How might we select and organize the relevant content for the “Search Landing Page” to create a space for tourist personas to discover new music?
How might we keep the tourist personas more engaged with the platform once they are on the “Search” section?
As we progressed through the ideating stage, we came to the realization that we have two main design concepts to present for the opening module of the new search landing page.
Both of these ideas aimed to satisfy the needs of impatient and indolent tourist users by making it easier for them to discover new music in just a few clicks. Furthermore, we structured the rest of the modules based on the specific needs, desired outcomes, and pain points of the tourist persona.
High Fidelity Prototype
We utilized the insights gathered from the testing phase to develop our high-fidelity prototypes and conducted further testing with 37 participants using Maze.
Survey I
We had 73 participants.
Key Insights from Survey I:
- All participants used music streaming platforms
- Most familiar with Soundcloud, but preferred Spotify
- Friend recommendations most important in choosing music
- Over half liked platform-curated playlists
- A/B test showed interest in genre and mood-based playlists
- Over 70% preferred single tracks over albums
Moscow Method
We were tasked to create 3-4 new modules for the new design of the search landing page. With an additional module, “must have” section consists of five key concepts.
Additionally, we named the search landing page "Explore" to reflect the aim of providing an easy-to-use platform for discovering new music.
As we progressed through the ideating stage, we came to the realization that we have two main design concepts to present for the opening module of the new search landing page.
The first flow was named "Infinite Playlists" with the aim of allowing users to easily discover new music by swiping through continuously recommended playlists until they find something they like.
Our second flow was called "Inspire Me", allowing users to discover new music by selecting their desired genre or mood and receiving instant playlist suggestions.
Both of these ideas aimed to satisfy the needs of impatient and indolent tourist users by making it easier for them to discover new music in just a few clicks. Furthermore, we structured the rest of the modules based on the specific needs, desired outcomes, and pain points of the tourist persona.
2. Define
2. Define
Following the empathy stage, we advanced by defining the problems and proposing potential solutions to address them.
For this 2-sprint project, our primary focus was on Mina, as Soundcloud aimed to enhance the engagement of occasional users through improving the search landing page experience.
Problem Statement
We have observed that SoundCloud is not meeting the needs of users to discover new music easily or to find what they are looking for. This causes a decrease in user numbers and revenue.
How Might We?
How might we select and organize the relevant content for the “Search Landing Page” to create a space for tourist personas to discover new music?
How might we keep the tourist personas more engaged with the platform once they are on the “Search” section?
Hypothesis Statement
We believe that optimizing “Search Landing Page” by placing relevant content for music discoveries, we will encourage the tourist personas to spend more time on the platform and to get more engaged with the content SoundCloud offers.
Next Steps
- Improve the confirmation process when a card is pinned
- Make buttons more interactive for a better user experience
Problem Statement
We have observed that SoundCloud is not meeting the needs of users to discover new music easily or to find what they are looking for. This causes a decrease in user numbers and revenue.
Hypothesis Statement
We believe that optimizing “Search Landing Page” by placing relevant content for music discoveries, we will encourage the tourist personas to spend more time on the platform and to get more engaged with the content SoundCloud offers.
4. Prototype and Test
After defining stage, we employed the "Crazy 8" Design Sprint method to ideate and come up with a Moscow diagram and low-fidelity sketches.
We designed prototypes for each idea and tested them using Maze with 43 participants. During the testing process, we analyzed the success rate of each flow and also gathered feedback on which design the participants preferred.
- 1st flow received 22 votes
- 2nd flow received 21 votes
As the voting results were close and both designs received positive feedback from the product owner, we decided to create high-fidelity prototypes for both concepts.
Ideate
Ideate
After defining stage, we employed the "Crazy 8" Design Sprint method to ideate and come up with a Moscow diagram and low-fidelity sketches.
Moscow Method
We were tasked to create 3-4 new modules for the new design of the search landing page. With an additional module, “must have” section consists of five key concepts.
Additionally, we named the search landing page "Explore" to reflect the aim of providing an easy-to-use platform for discovering new music.
As we progressed through the ideating stage, we came to the realization that we have two main design concepts to present for the opening module of the new search landing page.
The first flow was named "Infinite Playlists" with the aim of allowing users to easily discover new music by swiping through continuously recommended playlists until they find something they like.
Our second flow was called "Inspire Me", allowing users to discover new music by selecting their desired genre or mood and receiving instant playlist suggestions.
Both of these ideas aimed to satisfy the needs of impatient and indolent tourist users by making it easier for them to discover new music in just a few clicks. Furthermore, we structured the rest of the modules based on the specific needs, desired outcomes, and pain points of the tourist persona.
Surveys and Interviews
Prototype and Test
We designed prototypes for each idea and tested them using Maze with 43 participants. During the testing process, we analyzed the success rate of each flow and also gathered feedback on which design the participants preferred.
- 1st flow received 22 votes
- 2nd flow received 21 votes
As the voting results were close and both designs received positive feedback from the product owner, we decided to create high-fidelity prototypes for both concepts.
