Musician Mobile/Tablet

This app is a tool that is used to help fellow musicians connect. The goal was to make the connection process easy and enjoyable.

The Problem

Currently, musicians have a difficult time finding other fellow musicians. Current music connection tools have cluttered information, plus comparing and keeping track of musicians is tough.

The Solution

I solved this issue by compiling the user’s profiles into summarized profile cards. The user can use a filter to narrow down candidates and find a compadable match. The users can save these cards and then message the fellow musician once they are ready. Overall this design layout significantly increases the chances of the musician finding the right connection and it saves the user a significant amount of time finding a musician.

Understanding the user

User Journey

I wanted to get an idea of what the user was experiencing when going through the process of connecting with a fellow musician. One idea I got out of this study was having users scroll instead of swipe through users. Unlike traditional connection applications that rely on swiping, scrolling through profiles allows users to compare and contrast different musicians.

Compedative Audit

I did a competitive audit to figure out what direct music connections applications are doing well and what they need to improve. To the right is a shortened version of the audit. One edge that my device would have would be giving the user the ability to save musicians before connecting with them. This would help users sort and compare candidates.

Persona

Age: 28

Education: Bachelors

Hometown: Derry NH

Family: Parents

Occupation: Cabinet Designer

Pat is an experienced musician who needs to find a band because he enjoys playing music with other people.

Pain Points

Navigation:

Other musician connections apps try to fit too much text and features on one page. This makes the screen harder to scan.

Features:

Users can’t compare and save users. This increases the chance of not being connected with the right musician.

Time:

Users spend a significant amount connecting with bandmates who don’t have matching interests.

Research Summarization

Most users play music as a hobby or as a part-time job. Most that want to meet with other musicians that have a strong passion for music. I’ve concluded that users are frustrated when they get matched with incompatible musicians. Users want to know the level of commitment that another musician is willing to make and where their passion for music lies. Users are frustrated with how cluttered the information can be on some music sites and how they can't compare and contrast other musicians.

Starting the design

By letting users view multiple profiles simultaneously, they can effortlessly compare and contrast different musicians. If the user wants to know more about a musician, all they have to do is click on the card, and it will take them to the user's profile.

Wire Frames

Sitemap

For other music connect apps, one the main issue was navigation. I purposely wanted to make sure that the musician page was only a summarization page. By placing the detailed information about each musician on separate pages, the application becomes much easier to read and navigate.

Usability Study

After creating Wireframes and a Prototype, the next step was to do unmoderated usability. I asked 4 participants to complete different tasks in the app. The goal was to gather feedback from participants to figure out what in the design worked well or what didn't.

Filter

Need to cleanup filter design elements so user can easily scan the page.

Connections

Need to simplify the user connection page navigation.

Main Findings From Usability Study

Text

The text on the profile page needs to be enlarged to allow for easier readability.

Prompt 1: Add a skill to your search filter

Observations

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Clicked on the filter option quickly
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 Took awhile to find the skills section
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Prompt 3: Find a signer and send a connection request to a profile

Observations

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Got back to the main page without issue
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Found and connected with a singer quickly

Promte 1 Quote

" The search fields through me off a little bit. Didn't realize they were search fields at first.""

Promt 3 Quote

"The process was easy and striaght forward."

Prompt 2: Add a skill and a audio recording to your profile

Observations

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Got to the profile without any issue
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Was was moving closer to the screen to view the content

Prompt 4: Message a user named The Strokes

Observations

Clicked on connection sent page by mistake

After going back to connections made user didn't have any stopages

Promte 2 Quote

" I had a hard time reading the text on this page."

Prompt 4 Quote

" Accedently clicked wrong page, other than I didn't have any issues."

What Changed?

Getting rid of the user sent page simplifies the user’s path to sending a message. I also added an option to delete messages to help the user clean up the screen and stay organized.

What Changed?

I used contrasting colors and changed the shape of the search fields to help the user distinguish the text fields from the buttons. I also added more space between the filter categories so it’s easier for users to tell them apart.

What Changed?

Enlarging the text on the user profile page enhances readability, making key information easier to absorb at a glance. Additionally, relocating the location search field to the top of the page and grouping the Skills, Genre and Looking For categories together creates a cleaner layout and significantly improves scannability.