Duration10 weeks
roleresearch
product design
user experience
toolsfigma
mentorBrendan Elliot
Spotify PodcastsIn 2015, Spotify introduced podcasts onto their music streaming app, shifting the direction of the platform to a multi-audio consumption service. Spotify has invested over $500 million alone in 2019 acquiring top name creators and networks into their ever building empire to rival competitors like Apple Podcasts.
ChallengeSpotify is clearly building its massive empire with the best players, but the current design does not seem to reflect this shift. What changes could be made to better reflect their product and meet user needs?
SolutionMy design concept solution is to build upon what is already there and make an essential feature(s) more accessible for a seamless listening experience.
User researchI wanted to dive deeper into users’ relationship with Spotify’s podcasts feature and gain insight on listening habits and preferences. User research was done through individual interviews, Instagram polls, and a survey. Here are some key insights:
Podcasts allow users to have some sort of a dialogue, where they are can listen to someone talk about a range of topics
Spotify users are already using the app for music, but also use it for podcast because it’s there.
ideationAfter gathering insight, I gathered a couple friends (Anika and Aileen) to brainstorm solutions through affinity mapping. We then consolidated our ideas, categorized them, and reorganized any repeated or redundant post-its. After some filtering, we decided to explore 3 major opportunity areas; Discovery, Organization, and Efficiency.
Discovery: How might we increase podcast engagement and allow users come across new shows organically?
Organization: How might we improve organization by allowing users to locate and group shows to their liking?
Efficiency: How might we reduce browse time through proper organization?
The common user flow
I learned that users found accessing the queue as quite a tedious process and not too many users are familiar with the feature or how to even get to the feature.
Pain point:
The frustration for many began when asked to find the queue list. It took some time to figure out, one user actually had to google how to find it.
Dedicated Queue for podcasts: A visible queue for podcasts is a quick, efficient way to organize a sort of playlist as opposed to an actual playlist.
The queue feature will allow users to control when and what they want to listen to before hand.
Podcast Stations: Building on what is already thereWhile designing the Queue, I felt that it the design could be pushed further to meet user needs. I began exploring a new feature, Stations, which behave like playlists, but group shows instead of individual episodes that are updated according to the latest episode.
low/medium fidelity mockups of Station creation
Exploring the idea led me to think of different possible entry points, and how a user might interact with it. I built the feature based on Spotify’s current playlist creation for Music, so users can approach it with familiarity.
Cards with podcast suggestions based on user’s listening patterns.
Redesigning Your Podcast LibraryThe final interaction showcases the redesigned library to include both features with clear call to action.
Conclusion + ReflectionsMost Spotify users are more or less casual listeners who require basic functions to listen to the few shows they follow. Having easy-to-access features is incredibly important and can greatly improve the overall podcast experience.
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