Groove
A Music Playlists Sharing App
Introduction
Groove is a Music Playlists Sharing app I had designed as one of my course projects, a creative endeavor that allowed me to apply the skills and knowledge acquired during my coursework. This project enabled me to delve into the world of user experience (UI/UX) design, a domain where form meets function, and where the user's journey takes center stage.
Project Overview-
The main goal of Groove was to create a user-centric application that fosters a vibrant music-sharing community. It aimed to empower users to discover new music, curate personalized playlists, and seamlessly share them with friends and the broader Groove community. The app was designed to make collaborative playlist creation a breeze, enabling users to come together and edit playlists in real-time.
Problem Statement-
An application that allows users to discover new music, create playlists, and share playlists, and suggestions from the app community.
Tool Used In this Project-
Scope of the Project-
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Competitive Research & Best Practices
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User Research
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Wireframing
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Design Elements & Styles
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Final UI
Competitive Research & Best Practices
Competitive Research
In my research, I looked at some of the top music streaming platforms like Gaana, Spotify, YouTube Music, and JioSaavn to understand what they offer. These apps are available on phones and computers, and you can use them for free or pay a little extra for special features.
Here's what I found:
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All of these apps work on your phone, which is great for listening on the go.
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They offer different ways to pay for extra features, like an ad-free experience or downloading songs to listen offline.
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Some work outside India, while others don't.
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You can listen for free on most of them, but there might be ads or restrictions.
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They all let you make and share playlists with your friends.
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You can download songs for offline listening on some, especially if you pay for a premium plan.
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Most of them have podcasts, which are like radio shows you can listen to whenever you want.
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You can use them on different devices, like your phone, computer, or tablet.
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Some of them also show videos, but not all.
Understanding what these apps do helped me figure out how to make my own app special and easy to use.
Best Practices
Creating a great music app means organizing songs and artists neatly, making it easy for everyone to find what they like. The music player should be simple to use, with features like shuffling songs and making playlists. A good music app offers lots of different kinds of music, even podcasts and live shows.
One should be able to share their favourite songs and playlists with their friends, and the app should give them great suggestions. It's important that all of us can find music easily, and the choices should work on all or most devices. If one wants to sing along, the app should show them the words. And also the usage of the dark theme in the music app is also a trend and most apps use it as their primary theme. All of these things together make a music app awesome!
Who uses this?
In this section, I'll introduce you to the user personas I created for this app. These personas are like profiles of the people who would use the app. I've gathered important details about them, like their age, interests, challenges, and goals. These profiles were super helpful in shaping the app to make sure it's just right for the people who will use it.
I have crafted user personas to better understand and serve for this diverse community, ensuring their goals and pain points were given proper attention which helped me to craft the main flow of the app.
User Persona- 1
Here's what I've learned from this Persona:
Playlist Perfection:
Aryan is all about creating the ideal playlists for different events. This tells us that the app needs to make playlist creation easy and versatile, so anyone can be a DJ at their own event.
Party Enthusiast:
Aryan loves to party, which means the app should be excellent for party playlists. It needs to offer a wide range of tracks that can keep the party going.
Collaboration:
Aryan wants to collaborate with friends to create playlists. So, the app should have features that let friends work together on the perfect party soundtrack.
Recognition:
He also wants to be recognized for his playlist skills. This tells us that the app should let users share their playlists and music suggestions with their friends, helping them become music heroes in their social circles.
Impact On the Project
Aryan's insights helped me understand that the app needed to make playlist creation a breeze, especially for parties. I made sure that he can collaborate with friends and share his music ideas easily. By focusing on these things, I making an app that Aryan and others like him will love to use.
User Persona- 2
Here's what I've learned from this Persona:
Music Explorer:
Neha is all about finding fresh and lesser-known tracks. This means the app should make it easy for users to discover new music, especially in her favorite genres.
Playlist Curator:
Neha creates playlists for different moods and activities. So, the app should have user-friendly tools for playlist creation.
Sharing Enthusiast:
Neha likes to share her music discoveries with a wider audience. This tells us that the app should allow users to share their playlists and favorite songs easily.
Impact On the Project
Neha's insights have been invaluable in making sure the app is a treasure trove of music discovery. I've focused on making it easy for her to explore new tracks, connect with music communities, and create various playlists. The aim is to offer an app where Neha and others like her can easily find and share the music they love.
With the valuable insights gained from the personas of Aryan and Neha, I have been able to craft a user story that resonates with Aryan's situation.
User Story
Aryan is a Party Guy and he is always the one who is like an in-charge of selecting music for the party or any kind of event. But he always wants to know the opinion and suggestions of his other friends too so that that the party becomes more livelier when the interests of others are taken into consideration too.
He also wants to search for party specific playlists available in the music platforms so that the process is quick and easy.
Currently, Aryan wants to create a playlist for an upcoming house party he's attending, and he's eager to incorporate his friends' suggestions to make it an epic night. So he wants a music playlist sharing app which can help him to listen discover, share music and also create playlists and share them with others with the feature of collaboration
The user story, has guided the creation of user flows that ensure users can easily create, share, and collaborate on the perfect playlists for any occasion.
User Flows
Wireframes
After creating the user flows, the next step was to transform them into wireframes, which essentially serve as early-stage blueprints for how the app's structure and layout will look. These wireframes played a crucial role in planning and determining the placement of various elements like buttons, menus, and content on each app page. Think of wireframes as a schematic representation, which also provides a visual guide for the app's of the final design. Below, you'll find the wireframes aligned with the user flows: Onboarding & Personalisation, Create New Playlist, Invite Collaborators, and Adding/Removing Songs from Playlists. Feel free to explore them by clicking on each one
Design Elements and Styles
In the world of any design, the elements that shape its visual and interactive identity are of utmost importance. These design elements not only influence how users perceive and engage with the app but also play a crucial role in delivering a consistent and memorable user experience.
Colour Palette
I opted for a dark mode theme (#1A1A1A) to stay in line with the current trend in music apps. The dark background not only looks sleek but also reduces strain on users' eyes, especially in low-light conditions. For the primary color palette, I selected soft and soothing shades:
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Teal (#1CB4BC)
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Cyan (#0FCAD3)
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Light Cyan (#7EEEF3)
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Pale Blue (#E6FCFD)
I opted for neutral colours to create a clean and uncluttered appearance. Neutrals provide a versatile background that complements the app's content, helping it stand out. The use of dark mode and neutrals ensures a balanced and visually appealing user interface.
These colours not only provide an aesthetically pleasing visual experience but also enhance the overall readability and usability of the app, creating a harmonious and user-friendly environment
Iconography
I opted for Google's Material Design Kit for the icons. It's a handy choice because it offers a clear and consistent set of icons, making it easy for users to recognize and understand various functions in the app.
Typography
I chose the Poppins font for the app because of its modern, trendy, and clean design, which aligns well with the app's aesthetics. Poppins offers versatility, readability, and a range of font styles and weights, making it the ideal choice for a visually appealing and user-friendly interface. This font enhances the overall user experience by combining aesthetics with usability.
The Final UI
Seamless Onboarding and Personalization
The onboarding and personalization process in the app is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly. It all starts with a seamless welcome screen that guides users through the initial steps.
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Users can choose to sign in or sign up in a few simple taps, making registration a breeze.
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The real magic happens during personalization, where they get to pick their favourite artists, preferred music genres, and mood preferences.
This ensures that the app caters to your unique music taste right from the start. With smooth navigation and clear instructions, getting started with the app is a breeze, allowing the user to dive into the world of music.
Creating Playlists Made Easy
The users are easily able to create a new playlist. Specifically, if they are searching a readymade playlist that caters to various moods or activities, they can discover a rich collection of ready-made playlists. They can effortlessly search for themes such as 'Party Playlists,' 'Workout Jams,' and 'Relaxing Melodies.'
Upon finding a suitable playlist theme, users can add it to their library with just a few taps. This readymade playlist can serve as a foundation for their unique music collection.
If user want, they can either make the playlist 'Public', which will be accessible and shareable with the entire app community or make it private 'Private' which will be exclusive to themselves.
Collaboration Made Simple
The users are able to easily collaborate with others, and curate their playlists together by simple clicking on collaboration icon or select through the menu options. When possible, users should be given more then one way to do the tasks.
In- App Invitations
One of the standout features of the app is the ability to send In-app invitations. With this option, users can send direct invitations to their friends who are also using the app. When they receive an in-app invitation, others will be notified through push notifications on their mobile and they can easily accept it, making the collaboration process smooth and hassle-free.
The app also offers a range of other invitation methods, including popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and sharing options via social media and other options.
Smooth Customization of Playlists
The app empowers users to personalize their playlists by adding their favourite tracks, selecting songs from recommended playlists, or searching for specific tunes, simultaneously they can remove songs also.
This step allows them to curate their playlist according to their unique preferences. It's also a good way to curate their desired playlist with friends, or we can say fellow members of the collaborated playlist.
