Spotify is a popular music streaming platform that offers a user-friendly interface & a vast library of tracks, albums, and playlists. Users can enjoy personalized music recommendations based on their preferences. Their social features allow users to follow friends, share music, and collaborate on playlists.

Role

Product Designer

Tools

Figma, Maze

Timeline

2 months

Overview

BACKGROUND

Spotify is known for its extensive library of tracks spanning various genres. However, due to the vast catalog, effective music discovery & navigation can be challenging.

PROBLEM

How might we create a more efficient process for users to explore & learn about new music?

GOAL

By adding genre tags, Spotify can enhance the user experience while providing a streamlined way for users to explore & discover music based on their preferred genres, creating personalized playlists & receiving targeted recommendations.

Discover

RESEARCH PLAN

Our aim is to explore the implementation & potential impact of introducing genre tags as a feature on Spotify. The focus is on understanding user preferences, behaviors, & expectations around genre categorization, filtering, & discovery to inform a solution that enhances music navigation and personalization.

A few objectives to keep in mind:

Understand user needs and preferences regarding genre categorization and organization.
Identify existing challenges or limitations in music genre discovery and navigation.
Explore best practices and successful implementations of genre tagging in other relevant industries.
Evaluate the impact and effectiveness of genre tags on user satisfaction and music discovery.

COMPETITICE ANALYSIS

We looked towards other apps within the music industry as well as overlapping fields for genre tags.

Genre tags across these platforms aim to enhance content discovery by providing users with targeted recommendations and facilitating exploration within preferred genres.
Users can browse, search, or filter content based on specific genres of interest.
Most of the time, genres are concealed or revealed upon a deeper search by the user.

USER RESEARCH

Surveys were done with users who have or are currently using Spotify. Most of them seek new music discovery and enjoy listening to playlists.

Most participants want to learn more about the music genres they listen to
Genre tags need to cover a large variety, subgenres within the larger ones would help users hone into what they are looking for when discovering new music similar to what they like.

After finding the participants’ common pain points & needs, a clearer picture forms in who will be using this platform.

How might we create a more efficient process for users to explore, identify, & organize new music while expanding their knowledge of different genres?

Ideate

Solutions

Based on our research findings, we were able to narrow down a few solutions for genre tags.

Filter system within playlists that will allow users to identify and organize to their taste.
Construct informative pages on genres, offering subgenres, information on history and evolution.

SITE MAP

We implemented additional pages with the new feature. This includes a revised genre page that also has the option to explore the history.

TASK & USER FLOWS

User flows helped translate our users’ needs & goals into steps inside of the product. Task flows formed the structure of the product by creating a direct path to our users’ goals. This prioritizes the key screens needed to start wireframing.