SPOTIFY
Plan Your Night
Spotify recently introduced a Live Events Feed feature, allowing users to discover upcoming concerts and live events tailored to their music preferences. Integrated within the app, this feature provides personalized concert recommendations while users listen to their favorite artists. Additionally, Spotify has partnered with leading ticketing companies to offer a comprehensive list of concerts in major markets.
Despite these advancements, there was a gap in helping users plan pre- and post-concert activities, such as coordinating meetups and discovering nearby venues. Our project aimed to address this by extending the Live Events Feed to facilitate social gatherings, offer exclusive deals at local venues, and enhance the overall concert experience for users.
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Introduction
The Problem
Spotify's current Live Events feature offers personalized recommendations for upcoming concerts based on users' taste profiles and who they follow, but it lacks a seamless way for concert-goers to plan and enjoy the full event experience together before or after an event.
The Solution
By integrating features that facilitate meetups at local bars and restaurants before and after the show, Spotify has the potential to elevate the concert experience, increase user engagement, and bolster its brand reputation and industry partnerships, creating new opportunities for growth and collaboration.
The User
The target user for this project is primarily concert-goers who seek a more immersive and social concert experience. These users range from avid music fans who attend concerts regularly to casual listeners who may go to a few shows per year.
Objective
Increase user engagement with the Live Events feature.
User Research
OBJECTIVES
01
Identify the competition
02
Determine motivations for going to a live events through interviews
03
Find any painpoints and key insights
Competitive
Audit
This competitive analysis revealed a gap in the market for platforms that provide pre- and post-concert planning and meetup coordination. Most competitors were solely focused on ticket purchasing and event discovery, while Spotify could fill the gap by creating a holistic concert experience.
Through this analysis, it became clear that Spotify has the potential to dominate the live events space by offering a more immersive and social experience than its competitors. Spotify’s ability to leverage its user base, partnerships with ticketing providers, and local businesses gives it a significant advantage over other platforms that only focus on one aspect of the concert-going journey. Spotify can position itself as the go-to platform for not just discovering live events, but also for creating memorable social experiences.
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To define the problem and understand the audience, I conducted interviews with five concert-goers using both in-person and remote methods to uncover their habits and frustrations. The questions focused on their use of Spotify, concert planning habits, and openness to social meetups before and after concerts
Interviews
Define
After completing our research, I gathered the shared user needs and pain points and organized them into an affinity map, which helped shape a universal persona. From there, we used POV and HMW statements to guide and refine our design approach
Affinity Mapping
The affinity map reveals that awareness of Spotify’s live event feature is generally low, with many users unaware of its existence or not having explored it despite receiving concert notifications. Spotify is used daily by many, particularly during commutes, with some users also relying on Apple Music for specific purposes like curated playlists. There is a high level of interest in a meetup feature, as many users are keen on meeting fellow concertgoers before or after events, especially for post-show socializing.
Challenges in concert planning often involve coordinating schedules with friends, and users appreciate features that help streamline this process. Overall, the proposed enhancements to Spotify’s live event feature are seen positively, with users believing it could significantly improve their concert-going experience.
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Pain Points
Time Management
Efficiency in learning and time management is a common concern. They all want resources and tools that help them make the most of their limited free time.
Pain Points
Flexibility
All participants appreciate flexibility in their learning approach. They have busy schedules and need learning resources that can adapt to their availability and preferences.
Pain Points
Stress of Learning
Several participants mention experiencing stress during the learning process. Overcoming this initial stress is a shared challenge, and addressing stress management could be a key consideration in designing learning resources.
Pain Points
Work life balance
Several participants mention experiencing stress during the learning process. Overcoming this initial stress is a shared challenge, and addressing stress management could be a key consideration in designing learning resources.
Lets Explore
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I'd like to explore how to increase awareness and engagement with the live events feature on Spotify to enrich users' concert experiences and foster a stronger connection to artists.
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I'd like to explore how to streamline the process of organizing pre and post-concert meetups to accommodate diverse schedules and preferences among concertgoers, fostering stronger social connections within the community.
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I'd like to explore how to improve Spotify's notification and reminder systems to ensure users don't miss out on concert opportunities
How Might We
optimize the visibility and appeal of Spotify's live events feature within the app to make it easier for users to discover and encourage greater engagement with the platform?
How Might We
develop a concert planning tool within Spotify that integrates location-based suggestions, and real-time updates to simplify the coordination of meetups before and after events?
How Might We
enhance Spotify's notification and reminder systems to ensure users are promptly informed about concert opportunities, minimizing the chances of missing out on live events
The design process began with User Flows and low-fidelity wireframes for a new "Plan Your Night" feature, which allowed users to discover nearby venues, claim exclusive offers, and organize meetups in a streamlined interface. This feature became the central element of the redesigned Live Events experience.
PROTOTYPING
Design
OBJECTIVES
01
User Flows
02
Low Fidelity
03
High Fidelity
04
Key Design Choices
User flows
In the main flow, users navigate through the app, accessing live event recommendations and using Google Maps to explore nearby venues. After selecting a venue, they can view restaurant recommendations, choose tickets, and redeem exclusive QR code deals at the event. The notification flow shows how users interact with live event pop-ups and reminders. The saved event flow details how users can add events to their calendar and receive notifications closer to the event date. Overall, these flows emphasize seamless navigation, event discovery, and integration with calendar features, offering a streamlined and engaging experience for concertgoers.
Low Fidelity
Started to sketch and plan based on the research.
High Fideltiy
Screens shown:
- Plan your night
- QR codes for deals
- Home, Library and Notifications
Key Design Choices
Live event accessibility
We adopted a dark theme with bright accents to match Spotify’s branding and highlight important elements like exclusive offers and venue recommendations.
Visual Hierarchy
The "Plan Your Night" feature was prominently displayed in the Live Events section to make it easy for users to plan their evening.
Color Palette
We adopted a dark theme with bright accents to match Spotify’s branding and highlight important elements like exclusive offers and venue recommendations.
Google Maps Intergration
The design also integrated Google Maps for location-based recommendations and allowed users to access special deals through QR codes, making the experience both functional and fun.
Lets see it in action!
See the "Plan your night" feature in action!
QR code for deals
Map intergration for deals around venue
Challenges Identified
We conducted usability tests with five participants, focusing on how intuitive and user-friendly the "Plan Your Night" feature was. Users gave the feature an average score of 9/10 for its ease of use and functionality.
QR Codes
Users wanted QR codes for exclusive deals to be more visible and easily accessible from the home screen.
Notifications
Users suggested improving notifications for live events and exclusive deals to ensure they didn’t miss important opportunities.
Pop-Ups
Users wanted more detailed information within the live event pop-up, especially about the new feature.
Based on the usability testing feedback, we made the following changes:
Live Events Easier to Find
Adding live events directly to the home page and moving the "Live Events" icon to the top navigation, attached with a "New" label, lets users quickly find and explore events without having to search, making the discovery more user-friendly and accessible.
Boosting Feature Discovery
Adding a "Plan Your Night" icon to the Live Event page draws users in to explore more options, giving them an extra reason to engage. This simple addition makes the event experience more fun and convenient, while also increasing the chances they'll buy tickets and plan their night through the platform.
Pop-Ups More Informative and Appealing
Adding more details to the "Plan Your Night" pop-up, like event info, and special offers, helps users plan their evening with ease. This extra info makes the experience more fun and encourages users to dive in and engage more with the feature.
A Fresh Notification Screen
Based on user feedback, we incorporated a "New" notification screen for live events, making it easier for users to engage with the feature by highlighting upcoming shows. With more information upfront, users are more likely to interact with the live event feature—whether by exploring events, purchasing tickets, or planning their night
Lessons and Revisions
One of the key challenges was ensuring that the feature catered to different types of concert-goers. It taught me to strike a balance between usability and maintaining the visual aesthetics outlined in the company’s brand guidelines.
The final product not only improved user engagement with Spotify’s Live Events feature but also fostered a sense of community among concert-goers, driving traffic to local businesses and enhancing the overall event experience.
If I were to revisit the project, I would further explore community-driven elements, such as allowing users to coordinate larger group meetups. Next steps could include expanding the “Plan Your Night” feature to include more personalized recommendations based on users’ favorite concert genres. This case study highlights my ability to create user-centric solutions that address specific needs and enhance user experiences across multiple touchpoints.
Pain points & Key Insights
Lack of Awareness of Spotify’s Live Events Feature
Many users were unaware that Spotify offered a Live Events feature, missing out on opportunities to discover and attend concerts through the platform.
Coordination Struggles
Concert-goers faced difficulties in organizing pre- and post-concert meetups, especially when coordinating with friends or other attendees. Logistical challenges, such as finding nearby venues or agreeing on a place, often added to this difficulty.
Exclusive Deal Enthusiasm
Concert-goers expressed interest in exclusive deals at nearby bars and restaurants.
Google Maps Integration
Participants expressed interest in integrated maps to quickly find venues near concert sites. This would simplify coordination and enhance the overall night-out experience.