Create an 80's themed music app

• My Role: UI Designer

• Target Audience: 35-50 year-olds

• Social Blend: A music platform that also allows blogging and community

• Tools: Figma

The design caters to 80's digital aesthetics, queer adults, and social music experiences

Competitor Research

To begin I sought out fellow music apps to compare what is presently available to users

Discoveries

• Music App Standards regarding listening, playlist creation, and social media sharing

• Different app's ability to upload your playlists

• Compared search functions

User Journey

I decided the most exciting combination would be an app that enables users to not only listen to and share music on other platforms but to blog in-app about the music they love. The ability to blog about the music they love would allow users a communal atmosphere that was so key to music cultures in the 80s.

Guiding Questions:

• The app would allow users to have a homepage filled with friends' posts

• The app would allow users to direct message their mutual friends

• The app would have staff-curated playlists featuring queer music

• Commenting would be enabled on posts and playlists

Sketches

I started my process with low-fidelity paper wireframing. This allowed me to explore the idea of my app in a quick and easy format.

Intentions:

• To discover the best flows for a social music app

• I made four different versions

• I chose the layout that included chats and staff recs

• My competitor research influenced my flows by combining styles inspired by Tumblr, 8tracks, and Spotify

Inspiration for this app came from digital fonts of the time, neons, and various queer creations. Inspirations were drawn from zines, music, art, and fashion of 80s queer subcultures.

Wireframes and UI Design

Once I moved on from paper I started designing in Figma. I then made mid-fidelity wireframes before moving on to high-fidelity

As I was moving from mid to high fidelity I went through a few different color palettes. The 80s were an exciting time for color, and I was particularly inspired by neons. Eventually, I landed on a cream background to balance out the neon highlights.

What did I learn on this project?

I had a fantastic time on this project. The brief's requirement for 80's aesthetic was perfectly aligned with my sensibilities. Along the way, I learned a lot about bringing a digital design from concept to professional mockups.

• I learned to keep different files for different iterations.

• As I moved through this project I had a handful of different color palettes that user testing was able to narrow down via thorough feedback

• Balancing muted and neon colors