Case Study: Folk Star album pre-order app
My role: UX Designer
Tasks included conducting user research, completing a competitive audit, creating user personas, visual design, wireframing, & low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototyping.
Project goal: Create an app to allow music fans to easily pre-order music in their preferred format for their favorite band. Users want to be able to pre-order albums to make sure they don’t miss out on the band’s new release. Additionally, users prefer different music formats and want to make sure they can get the music in their chosen format (vinyl, etc) before they sell out as they are more limited in their release.
Target audience: The primary target audience is busy professionals who like to listen to music at home and want an easy way to get the music they love. The secondary target audience is young adults who like to listen to music and use it to connect with others.
• Per Statista, 2/3 US population age 12+ listens to music every day. Teens listen to the most music. Adults age 45+ purchase the most.
• Vinyl sales are on the rise among younger listeners. Per Statista, Gen Z and Millenials (age 18-35) comprise 45% US vinyl sales.
User personas:
Two user personas were created based on the target audience:
Janelle is a busy professional and avid record collector who likes to spend her free time at home listening to music. She would like to easily order music and support the musicians that she likes.
Pedro is a first generation college student who has recently emigrated with his family to the US. He enjoys going to concerts and finding music that helps connect him to other people.
Competitive Audit:
A competitive audit was conducted to understand the current marketplace. Companies compared were: Bandcamp, iTunes, Rust&Wax records, and the Tattered Page bookstore.
Gaps identified:
- Competitors did not allow for In app purchasing
- Limited formats available for purchase (iTunes/Rust&Wax)
- Genre specific focus (competitors tended to cover a huge range, being overwhelming at times)
Opportunities discovered:
- Create a more fun experience with branding and tone
- Offerings for digital and physical albums (only Bandcamp was comparable for music)
- Ordering experience in app
- Create a more focused experience (one genre), and focus on 1-2 key features
User Research: Two moderated usability studies were conducted, surveying 5 participants each. The studies were conducted in participants homes for 10-15 sessions.
Findings from the first study were used to inform design modifications for refined visual mockups and a high-fidelity prototype.
Sketches and wireframes:
Based on the paper wireframes, digital wireframes were created and turned into a low-fidelity prototype for the first round of user testing
Improvements implemented based on User Testing:
Design and layout of the home page was simplified based on usability studies to clarify the user flow and primary objective of pre-ordering an album.
Color palette, iconography, and Gestalt principles were adjusted and applied based on user feedback to make the final design easier to follow and navigate through.
Final Designs:
Key Mockups:
Conclusions:
The Folk Star app provides an easy solution for users who want to pre-order a music album in a variety of formats.
One quote from usability testing:
“I wish they had this in real life. Do they have this in real life?”
Next steps for the project:
• Build out and test additional functionality including ability to order multiple items at a time.
• Another round of usability tests post-launch to make sure user pain points are being met.