MY ROLE
This was my first project in Singapore and I was learning the ropes of working as part of an international crew with a Singaporean client with delivery out of India.
It was exciting, challenging and truly a learning experience and was very grateful for the very talented team I had around me.
It was exciting, challenging and truly a learning experience and was very grateful for the very talented team I had around me.
THE CHALLENGE
TURN A DISJOINTED AND INCONSISTENT EXPERIENCE INTO SINGAPORE’S FIRST MUSIC STREAMING APP
The app in it’s first version was a "download-only" music player with very limited opportunities to discover and explore new music or share playlists with friends. The app had no social or community elements and to top it off several usability issues such as a disjointed search flow and an inconsistent experience across the platform.
We wanted to change things up and turn all of these gaps into the app’s biggest strength.
THE APPROACH
SHARE YOUR LOVE FOR MUSIC
Music is inherently social and we wanted to hero this and create a music experience that helps you discover and enjoy great songs, and if you like, you can share that with your friends.
To anchor the experience we crafted three themes that we built the platform around:
MUSIC IS A CONVERSATION
We wanted to enable people to connect across a AMPed integrated social network and empower users to help their favourite artists go viral.
We wanted to enable people to connect across a AMPed integrated social network and empower users to help their favourite artists go viral.
EVERYONE IS A BROADCASTER
Why not tune into public playlists, discover new songs and expand your horizons. Share your mixes and grow your own fan club.
Why not tune into public playlists, discover new songs and expand your horizons. Share your mixes and grow your own fan club.
A MODE FOR EVERY MOOD
Based on what music you like, we created a one-touch automatic mixer go get you inspired and listening to new tunes. We also added a recommendation feature as well as an improved search experience.
Based on what music you like, we created a one-touch automatic mixer go get you inspired and listening to new tunes. We also added a recommendation feature as well as an improved search experience.
Case-study of AMPed
This approach lead to the following screens and key features:
HOME
- Organised layout that puts all functionality within easy reach.
- Create shortcuts to favourite artists or friends.
- Smart Mix button starts music instantly
- Promotional banner space allows SingTel to offer users exclusive promotions or featured music
MUSIC PLAYER
- See what’s “Now Playing” with vibrant album artwork and accessible media controls
- Swipe to the right to easily discover similar songs
- View artist bios and discographies with an additional swipe
SOCIAL NEWSFEED & PROFILES
- See friends’ activities at a glance and know what music they like
- Send songs, playlists, and albums to others
- Express yourself by sharing activities such as rating and favoriting
- Share what you’re listening to with friends on Facebook, email and SMS
MUSIC BROWSING & ACTIONS
- Touching any song instantly streams it
- Quick contextual controls allow users to make playlists, save for later listening, share, and find out more
- Unique multi-touch gesture for batch selection and editing
UX SNAPSHOT
To get to this point myself and my colleague created a large collection of wireframes, flows and annotations across PC, app and web. Below is a snap-shot of wires for PC and the app.
THE IMPACT
SINGAPORE IS STREAMING!
With the launch of AMPed v2.0 we allowed Singaporeans to discover new music through recommendations, featured songs and by viewing friends’ favorites & playlists within the AMPed social network. They could stream songs seamlessly and with a single touch get automatic mixes tailored to suit their mood.
We also optimised the search functionality, the Library storage spacing and implemented live song recommendations based on tracks the user listens to. We added a track-rating feature so popular songs could surface within the network as well as within the public playlists to further invite exploration and prominence to popular artists and playlists. We even hooked into external social network to allow sharing of songs and albums to friends not yet on AMPed.
