Roadie

Giving hobbyist musicians control of their sound

Role

Product & Visual Designer, UX Researcher

Team

Arsh Saroya, Reine Abubakar, Pari Gabriel, Sierramatice Karras

Timeline

October – December 2017

The brief

For this project, our prompt was simply to choose a user group, find a problem they face, and solve it. My team and I chose hobbyist musicians, who we defined as people who play music in their spare time and don’t make a living by performing, but occasionally play at small venues.

Research

Interviews

We spoke to six hobbyist musicians about their performances and practices to understand their characteristics, problems, and needs. We learned that:

Recording with a phone is much easier than setting up a professional mic
Miking is the most frustrating part of performing, incorrect sound levels are common
Sound technicians don't do a good job
As artists, being able to control their sound is very important

Personas & Journey Map

Defining the problem

Hobbyist musicians need better control over how they sound during performances because inconsistencies in sound lead to decreased confidence.

Design goals

Drawing on our research, we decided our product should:

Suggest settings based on artist type and venue
Save users’ settings based on location and equipment
Allow users to input equipment available to them
Interface easily with mixing consoles
Be easy to use regardless of technical knowledge

The Creation of Roadie

Storyboards

We created storyboards with solutions like an app, a wearable, and a physical device. We decided a mobile application would be the simplest, most accessible platform, as it prevents the need to purchase additional equipment.

Bringing Roadie to Life

To define the app, we created an information architecture diagram. As we refined our concept, it became clear that the app would utilize machine learning to give users better suggestions over time. We decided that giving an identity to our AI would help us brand and explain our product.

Thus, Roadie was born. To explain how Roadie creates suggestions, we created a graphic.

Roadie takes shape

Paper Prototype

Usability Testing

We asked users to complete three tasks with Roadie. We found:

Users wanted to test their settings multiple times
Listening to Sound Check screen did not prompt user to complete an action
Confusion between Recommended Settings and Saved Settings

Wireframes

With usability testing feedback, we created wireframes, which our class critiqued.

Finishing touches

Visual Design

Our visual design was informed by two key principles: simplicity and context of use. Hobbyist musicians can tweak various settings without being overwhelmed. A dark grey background and bright amber accents make it easy for users to interact with the app in dimly lit venues without distracting people around them.

Final Mocks

Home

From the home screen, users can switch profiles, edit their location, generate new settings from Roadie, or use settings from a previous performance.

Sound settings

To create familiarity, we mimicked the visual design of music production software, such as Logic Pro and Ableton Live. Roadie generates settings while allowing more advanced users to tweak to their liking.

Review

To organize feedback, I designed a card that launches a pop-up to allow for precise feedback. This layered feedback helps Roadie improve for future performances.

Reflection

Given more time, I would have conducted usability tests with our high-fidelity mockups to further refine the product. Additionally, we would have interviewed more hobbyist musicians to have multiple perspectives on the performance experience.

This project was my first dive into the design process of creating a product, and I realized that my true passion lies with design rather than research. I have always been a hands-on learner, and this project further reinforced my desire to create.