Course Project
Product Design
UX Research
Prototype Design
OVERVIEW
Understanding the context
PROJECT GOAL
Our primary focus
RESEARCH
Understanding the existing iHeart Radio app
To understand the user's experience with current iHeart Radio app, we conducted primary research within the existing mobile app in two parts;
What did i do?
Key insights from research
Based on overall research and the data we collected, we found experience roadblocks faced by the younger users of existing iHeart Radio app. Later on we narrowed down the scope of our project and chose to address the following;
Navigation
Users found it difficult to understand the functionality of the features because of the complex navigation.
The top 'Playlists' and the bottom 'Playlists' tab both have different functionalities.
Engagement
Podcasts/Radio listeners were unable to interact with the hosts/radio jockeys which caused a disconnect.
Overall UI
The user found the overall UI disengaging and cluttered.
Where users need to select their gender during onboarding
DESIGN EXPLORATION
Brainstorming and sketching new ideas
We let out creativity run wild by sketching out whatever was in our mind. Along with fixing the existing UI, our main task was to improve the retention of young users (users under 35).
Onboarding and in App Features Intro.
Podcast Live Chat
Curated Radio Playlist | Personalized Recommendations
Melody Match
Hands Free Mode
Live Event Participation
SOLUTION
Narrowing down our scope
Post brainstorming, we presented our initial concepts to our sponsors and discussed the logistics and potential impact of them all. We also cross-checked their relevance with the user and business needs we planned to address.
As a result, we decided to narrow down our design features and started developing wireframes to serve as the foundation of the final solution.
Offer customized recommendations and features that resonate with user preferences.
In “My Library", users can manage all their liked and downloaded content. Additionally, they can now customize their genres and artist selection
Incorporate playful and engaging features to enhance user participation and encourage interaction.
The “Call Your Host” feature enables the audience to call the show host and go on air and engage in a live discussion.
The "Live Chat" feature allows listeners of the current radio program to connect and engage in real-time discussions.
The "Song Dedication" feature allows listeners to dedicate a song to anyone live on air and also send out a personalised message to them as a special gesture.
FINAL CHANGES
Incorporating the usability test insights
Eliminating confusion
For the Live Radio, users assumed dedications were limited to the 'currently playing' song. Moving the feature to the main radio station page improved clarity and usability.
Clarifying button functions
Supporting text is added to the button “Mark as Played” since it was a little bit confusing for users to understand its function without annotation
