Pluto Music App
In the rapidly evolving landscape of music creation and consumption, the Pluto Music App emerges as a response to the unmet needs of musicians and music enthusiasts seeking a dedicated platform for cross-genre collaboration. Pluto aims to redefine the way musicians connect, share, and collaborate, creating a harmonious space that transcends musical boundaries.
Product Designer
Year
2022
12 weeks
Figma for interactive prototyping
Asana for collaboration
Adobe XD for visual design
UserTesting for usability testing
Notion for project documentation
Project Goals
The core objective of the Pluto Music App project was to design an innovative platform that facilitates seamless collaboration among musicians from diverse genres. The app aspired to provide musicians like Ella, the independent artist, and Alex, the music producer, with the means to effortlessly find collaborators who complement their styles. Additionally, the platform aimed to empower music enthusiasts like Jordan, fostering interactions that nurture emerging talent while enhancing their musical experience.
Challenges
Pluto's inception stemmed from the challenges identified within the existing music collaboration landscape. Musicians often struggled to connect with collaborators outside their immediate circle, hindering the potential for creative exploration. The lack of a unified platform for cross-genre collaboration led to fragmented communication and hindered the realization of innovative musical projects. This project sought to tackle these challenges head-on, reimagining the collaborative music journey from discovery to creation.
Approach
To tackle these challenges, a comprehensive user-centered design approach was adopted. This encompassed empathetic user research to deeply understand the needs of musicians and music enthusiasts, iterative ideation sessions to generate creative solutions, and meticulous testing phases to validate and refine the designs. By closely involving the user community throughout the process, the Pluto Music App design aimed to seamlessly align with the aspirations and workflows of its diverse users.
User Interview and Analysis
Initially, I performed a series of 30-minute semi-structured interviews with 7 musicians and music aficionados. These interviews explored their musical history, collaborative experiences, challenges, and goals. Prominent observations included:
Ella, a singer-songwriter: Disappointed by the difficulty of finding producers who share her musical preferences.
Alex, a music producer: Had trouble finding vocalists and lyricists suitable for his projects.
Jordan, a music lover: Expressed enthusiasm for discovering and connecting with artists from various genres.
Subsequently, I shared a digital survey with 50 participants via social media, online forums, and musician communities. Significant conclusions were as follows:
78% indicated a wish for collaboration across diverse musical genres.
62% depended on disjointed tools such as messaging applications and file-sharing services for cooperation.
Competitive Analysis: Thoroughly analysed music platforms (Spotify, SoundCloud) and collaboration tools (Dropbox, Google Drive), identifying gaps in cross-genre music collaboration tools. This highlighted the need for a dedicated platform.
User Personas
Crafted detailed personas to embody users' motivations, goals, behaviors, and pain points:
Ella
The Independent Artist
A 25-year-old singer-songwriter, balancing music with part-time work, seeking collaborative indie folk opportunities.
Alvin
The Music Producer
A 30-year-old electronic music producer keen on diverse vocal styles for collaborations.
Jordan
The Music Enthusiast
A 21-year-old college student passionate about discovering and supporting emerging artists.
User Journey Map
In shaping the Pluto Music App, I embraced an iterative approach to ensure a seamless experience. I began by crafting user journeys aligned with pain points identified during empathetic research. Subsequently, I prioritised features through brainstorming sessions, refining user flows to accommodate these enhancements.
I Mapped out comprehensive user journeys for each persona:
Ella: From discovering Pluto to collaborating on a track with a producer.
Alvin: From signup to initiating a project with a vocalist.
Jordan: From exploring cross-genre music to engaging with artists.
Brainstorming Sessions
Feature Prioritisation
Utilised the MoSCoW method to prioritise features:
Must-Haves: User profiles, project boards, direct messaging with audio sharing.
Should-Haves: Collaborative playlists, virtual jam sessions.
Could-Haves: Integration with popular DAWs for seamless project transfer.
Won't-Haves: In-app music streaming, focusing on collaboration.
Wireframes
Designed low-fidelity wireframes showcasing key screens: user registration, profile creation, project board, and direct messaging. Emphasized simplicity and intuitive navigation.
Developed interactive prototypes using Figma, allowing users to experience key interactions like creating a project, sending collaboration requests, and sharing audio samples.
User Testing and Iteration
Conducted usability testing with five participants who matched user personas. Observed their interactions with the prototypes, noted pain points, and gathered qualitative feedback.
Based on usability testing feedback, refined the prototypes by improving navigation clarity, enhancing messaging features, and simplifying collaboration workflows.
Basic profiles, limited chat, fragmented project communication, generic notifications, linear user journeys.
Enriched profiles, enhanced chat with calls, integrated document sharing, personalised notifications, refined user journeys.
Conclusion
The final phase of the Pluto Music App's development involved a second round of usability tests with a fresh group of participants. This validation step demonstrated that the design improvements made during iteration effectively addressed the initial pain points identified in the user research phase. The new set of participants confirmed that the enhancements led to a more user-friendly and impactful collaborative music experience.
Challenges and Lessons Learned: Throughout this project, I encountered challenges that ultimately enriched my design process. Navigating the complexities of creating a cross-genre music collaboration platform required a deep understanding of diverse user needs. Balancing the desire for visual representation in wireframes with the need to convey detailed design thinking without them was a delicate challenge. I've learned that transparent communication about design stages and decisions is vital to showcasing my dedication to delivering well-crafted solutions, even when visuals are in progress.