The Problem:
Independent musicians lack access to their sales and outreach data.
The Goal:
To design an application for independent musicians that enables real time monitoring of useful sales information.
My Role:
- Product Designer: facilitated the development of an MVP via close collaboration from concept to delivery.
My Responsibilities:
Constructed paper & digital wireframes along with low & high fidelity prototyping
Conducted usability studies accounting for accessibility and an iterative design process
User Research
An important part of my process is creating in-depth empathy maps via the personas to better understand the needs of the users I was creating for.
During my user interviews, I came across my primary user group – Independent musicians who wanted more metrics on their performances, and thereby needed access to their album sales information.
The user group validated my hypotheses regarding Criterion’s role in the music market, but the research confirmed the need for users to track the desired information in real time.
The other issues I identified during my research pertained to uncertainty around sharing options and demographic information of listeners, alongside obstacles to understanding the purchase patterns and interests of artist fan bases.
Pain Points
Accessibility:
- Artists lack access to platforms that enable monitoring of album sales.
Time:
- Potent demographic data tracking features have not been consolidated in one product, and proposed wait times to access this service could impact album cycles for artists.
Data:
- Real time monitoring is a prominent need for this user base.
Persona
User Journey Map
Mapping Brian’s user journey revealed how helpful it would be for users to track their album sales information in real time.
Paper Wireframes
Drafting out iterations of each screen for the application ensured that the final versions of digital wireframes were well suited to address user pain points. For the home screen, I displayed information that the user valued most for time-saving purposes.
Digital Wireframes
As the initial design phase continued I made it a point to base the screen designs on findings and feedback from user research. Easy sharing options came in handy while creating these wireframes, seeing that users prefer having options to relay that information.
Low-Fidelity Prototype
The low-fidelity prototype consolidated data pertaining to the primary user flow of searching and populating sales data for given artist albums. These connections were made based on the user interactions with the application during the usability study.
Usability Study: Findings
The findings obtained from the first usability study I conducted helped convert the initial wireframes into mockups. The second usability study involved the high fidelity prototype, and showcased the areas of the mockup that needed revision.
Round One:
- Users want the ability to customize their profiles
- Users want to view sales data in real time
- Users want more sharing options
Round Two:
- Users are picky about what sharing options they use
- Album selection can get confusing
- Landing on the confirmation page should be the end of the user experience
High-Fidelity Mockups
I provided a way for users to customize their profiles on the landing page after interpreting findings from usability studies that indicated the benefit of this feature.
The second usability study revealed frustrations with the sales data. I consolidated both “sales data downloads” and “demographics” into one screen.
Final Mockups
High-Fidelity Prototype
The final hi-fi prototype presented cleaner user flows for tracking album sales. It also met user demographic needs.
Accessibility Considerations:
- Used detailed imagery and chart flows to help musicians understand their sales data in real time.
- Aided the visually impaired by adding alternative text to album titles and sharing information via screen readers.
- Included the use of globally recognizable icons to assist with navigating the application. Users want more sharing options
Takeaways
Impact:
- Criterion makes users feel like they can finally gain a better understanding of their user base.
- "this app is so intuitive with helping me understand my fanbase and how they consume music; makes for even better consideration when selecting what projects to release".
What I Learned:
- While designing Criterion, I was able to understand the importance of putting the end user in mind because ultimately, that’s who you’re designing for.
Next Steps
- Conduct more user research to better determine new areas of need.
Monitor how users engage with the application via KPI’s like – average time spent, how many downloads per hour, average chart runtime and how many user accounts were created.
Conduct a second round of usability studies to see if the initial pain points since launching the application have been addressed.