2024
Case Study
The Sound Room
Background
The Sound Room is a social media application conceptualized to empower musicians and music enthusiasts by fostering creativity, collaboration, and access to live music experiences. The project aimed to create a platform to help users overcome creative blocks and connect with others in the music community.
Role: Led the mobile app design case study, including ideation, user research, UX/UI design, and user experience creation. Presented the final app to stakeholders.
Core problem
The market lacked a dedicated platform that effectively combined collaborative features, a strong community, and tools specifically designed to help musicians overcome creative blocks. Additionally, parents of musically inclined children expressed concerns about online safety.
Our Process for The Sound Room
The design process involved ideation, user research (including interviews and surveys), UX/UI design, and user experience creation. Usability testing was conducted with 10 participants to evaluate the app's features and overall user experience. Feedback was gathered and analyzed to inform iterative design improvements.
Key Actions Taken
Conducted user research to identify target audience needs and pain points.
Designed user-friendly onboarding, including an optional questionnaire for personalized content.
Implemented a mandatory app tour to familiarize new users with features.
Developed collaborative tools, feedback mechanisms, live performance options, rehearsal spaces, and a Learning Arcade.
Adopted a familiar design philosophy, drawing inspiration from popular platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Key Features Introduced
Collaborative tools: Features enabling musicians to work together on projects.
Feedback mechanisms: Tools for providing and receiving constructive feedback.
Live performance options: Virtual spaces for live music performances.
Rehearsal spaces: Digital environments for practicing and refining music.
Learning arcade: Engaging games designed to overcome creative blocks.
Onboarding questionnaire: Optional questionnaire to gather user information for personalized content.
User journey map
Wireframe, sketches, paper prototyping.
Mid-fidelity prototype with annotations.
High-fidelity annotation for iOS featuring Open Mic with dynamic island concept.
Results and Impact
Positive feedback and high task completion rates during usability testing indicated a successful project.
The Learning Arcade, Forms, and "practice before producing" concept received particularly high praise.
Identified opportunities for feature optimization, such as merging the Lobby and Discovery features.
Reinforced "The Sound Room" as the preferred name for the app.
Discovered low interest in the live-streaming feature, suggesting a need for re-evaluation or replacement.