2021, SYSTEM DESIGN, UIUX DESIGN
7 Minute reading time
I contributed to the overall design process including user research, ideation, prototyping, and user testing.
Within the final design features, I was primarily responsible for the machine interface and card design.
Two UX designers, one industrial designer
March 2022 - May 2022 (8 weeks)
Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, Rhino, Solidworks, Keyshot
If you use public transit, you likely share your daily commute with the same group of people each morning and evening. Yet, despite being in close proximity daily, how well do we really know those around us? Although there's an unspoken agreement to keep to ourselves on public transit, could fostering this hidden community enhance the otherwise monotonous commuting experience? These questions led us to ask ourselves —
Music from everyone to you
Tracks is a public transit music-sharing platform that connects commuters through daily music prompts and curated playlists sourced from their fellow travelers.
Every day Tracks provides a fresh new song prompt for commuters to answer. To add a song, users can either scan the song's Spotify code or manually type it in.
Based on the user's song choice, Tracks' algorithm finds commuters with similar tastes and compiles their songs into a personalized playlist, which is then printed on the Track Card.
The Track Card features a QR code that directly opens the customized playlist on Spotify. Simply scan, hit play, and enjoy a 20-minute playlist during your ride.
Tracks is designed to bring joy and fun to daily commutes while also fostering connections, sharing experiences, and highlighting communities.
We began our research by establishing a baseline understanding of the level of interaction commuters feel comfortable sharing with strangers. Through a survey posted throughout the Boston subway, we gathered over 70 opinions from commuters of various ages and backgrounds.
Most people during their commute keep to themselves on their devices, expressing that they don't want to be approached.
It's not common practice to strike up conversations with strangers on public transit.
Since our goal was to create positive interactions between strangers on a commute, we asked people to tell us their stories about when they felt a positive interaction with a stranger.
It's easier to strike up a conversation with someone when they share a common interest because it's an easy icebreaker.
A little honesty and vulnerability goes a long way when creating a meaningful interaction with someone else.
Our surveys revealed that many people enjoy listening to music during their commute. We hypothesized that sharing music, with its universal appeal, could foster connections. To validate this, we decided to test our idea.
To explore the potentials of using music to connect a community, we conducted a simple experiment where people came up and recommended music for 6 playlists created by other people. In the span of 2 hours, we had a turnout of over 260 participants (we ran out of donuts after 100 people) who were just eager to share their music tastes.
Many people didn't want the donut — they were just happy to share their favorite songs.
Both parties were curious about the personality and characteristic's of the music sharer and receiver.
Recommenders felt satisfied of their contribution and receivers were grateful for the recommendations.
We then began ideating some potential ideas and brought to the table sketches and wireframes. We ultimately settled on two main possible directions that we could take.
We wanted to test people’s reactions to the kind of interactions we were facilitating in our first idea. To simulate the app's user flow, we used google slides to create deck of music profiles and google forms to moderate the likes, recommendations, and comments being sent.
Users didn't want to engage with strangers at the level in which our concept was asking them too.
The experience had too many steps, and users felt the payoff wasn't worth it.
To test our second idea, we created a works-like model and took to campus to test with students. We used an arduino, receipt printer, and Google form to simulate the action of inputing music into the machine and receiving a printed playlist generated from other people's inputs. After, we asked each person to fill out a survey about their experience.
Users enjoyed receiving a physical token of their experience.
Users felt that the information they shared and received were an appropriate level of personal.
The line moved more slowly than expected; the more succinct the kiosk is, the more users it can reach.
After our MVP test, we sketched out a storyboard to reflect our design goals and help us refine the experience, taking into account the feedback we received from our most recent user test.
With numerous ticketing kiosks at subway stations, we aimed to ensure our design stood out. To avoid blending into the environment, we embraced a playful identity and drew inspiration from retro arcade game interfaces.
Creating a quick form was crucial for maximizing outreach, so we streamlined the user flow to be as concise as possible. Sticking with the retro theme, we chose arcade controls over a touch screen, which helped keep the interface simple and engaging.
When designing the receipt, we aimed to present essential information in a compact format. We considered the playlists length, and whether to emphasize the contributor’s name or the song title. We chose to highlight the contributor’s name to make the recommendations feel more personal.
We then constructed a looks-like model with a high fidelity interface mockup. During the test we measured the length of time it took people to fill out the form, and where the points of friction were.
Manually typing in their song choice often caused errors, making the process longer.
Some people struggled to understand how the card related to their experience with the machine.
Having to manually search for the songs in their phone made people less willing to listen to the songs.
Given Spotify's popularity among music listeners, we decided to incorporate its music sharing technology by allowing users to scan their song's code as an alternative to manually typing it in.
While the Track Card prints, we added filler screens to explain how it works. Once printing is complete, the machine confirms the process and provides a brief overview of the card's contents.
We added a QR code to the card that opens the playlist on Spotify, simplifying access to the songs and reducing the need for manual searches.
1. Explore creative research methods!
This project was my favorite because we aligned our research approach with the playful nature of our product. Although surveys and interviews provided valuable information, our experimental concept test offered the deepest insights. It enabled us to engage with hundreds of individuals one-on-one, providing both quantitative and qualitative data in a short time span. Plus, the participants had a lot of fun with it!
2. Take into account the business perspective
Once we decided to integrate Spotify technology into our product, we should have delved deeper into how this collaboration would influence our branding and objectives, ensuring alignment with Spotify’s brand identity and goals to make our concept even more feasible.
3. Test, test, test!
Even if our target audience is difficult to reach, testing at every stage could offer valuable insights. Knowing that efficiency was crucial for user engagement, we should have explored additional methods to simulate user scenarios and better measure time and interaction.
