Apple Podcasts
FEATURE DESIGN (SELF-INITIATED)
Objective: As an avid podcast listener, I set out to design a feature for Apple Podcasts that seamlessly integrates into their existing design system and architecture, enhancing the user experience.
MY RoLE
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UX/UI Designer: Designed user-centric prototypes while adhering to Apple’s design standards.
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Interaction Designer: Developed intuitive task flows and user interactions.
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UX Researcher: Conducted interviews and usability testing to inform and refine the design.
KEY DELIVERABLES
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Feature design integrated into Apple’s existing architecture.
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Competitive analysis to identify opportunities for differentiation.
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User interviews and persona discovery to define user needs.
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Task flows, wireframes, and prototypes to visualize and iterate on the concept.
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High-fidelity prototypes validated through usability testing and iterations.
TOOLS
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Design Tools: Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
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Research Tools: Google Forms, Zoom (for interviews)
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Prototyping Tools: Final-Cut Pro for interactive presentations
Process Highlights
research: Conducted competitive analysis and user interviews to uncover unmet needs in podcast listening.
Information architecture: Developed task flows and site maps for seamless navigation and feature Integration.
Interaction design: Created intuitive flows to ensure a frictionless user experience.
UI design: Crafted high-fidelity prototypes aligned with Apple’s design standards.
iteration: Performed usability testing and refined prototypes based on user feedback.
FINAL PROTOTYPE: Delivered a polished, interactive prototype ready for presentation.
Takeaways: This project sharpened my ability to integrate user insights, iterative design, and brand consistency into a cohesive feature concept.
1. Research
competitive analysis
I focused this research on the industry leaders in the podcast space. Through market research, I found that Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts were the top apps in this market niche. I went through these apps along with conducting various searches through online searches and within sub-reddit.
summary of findings
After conducting some initial market research, I found many different apps for listening to podcasts. The most successful ones had UI/UX, which made it super easy for users to find the episodes in which they were interested.
Users will stick with their current app because it comes on their phone and it’s easy to find and use.
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Users find new content through plugs made by their favorite podcasters while listening.
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Users also google the subjects they are interested in and can find new podcasts that way.
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Users want to be able to curate their playlists of content so they can easily listen to one after the other.
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Users will stick with their current app because it comes on their phone and it’s easy to find and use.
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Users were quite frustrated by the new update to apple podcasts because of the inability to access their content quickly.
RESEARCH SYNTHESIS
USER SURVEY
I conducted a user survey with 14 people regarding their podcast experiences.
INSIGHTS
After combing through all the data points and clustering them into groups, I found these insights emmerge.
Users want to be able to follow people they respect to see their perspectives
Example: friends, influencers, podcasters
Podcasts help users to feel less alone in their lives whether doing tasks, traveling or passing time with entertainment.
There is currently no feature on the apps allowing for users to feel connected to both their friends and influencers, podcaster, etc.
Users want to easily access their content on the apps. It’s frustrating to have to click through a bunch of spots to find their episodes.
User Persona
After going through and synthesizing all my research and data, I identified the following behavior patterns that make up this user persona.
2. Information Architecture
Because the design system for apple is well established, I didn’t need to do a site map. Instead, I began planning out the Information Architecture.
USABILITY TEST
After conducting a usability test with 5 participants via Zoom, I could see where they naturally would go to complete each of my task flows.
Wireframe Iterations
PLAYLIST
When I asked the participants to add an episode to their playlist, they were unsure if it had been added to their playlist because there was no indication after they clicked. I decided to see how the architecture looks in Apple Music (I’m not currently a user) and I found out that some of the things my users were requesting were already Apple patterns.
ACCOUNT
I asked my participants to set up their accounts, and they could easily find where to do that in the header. The problem is that many didn’t see “Set up Profile” since it was buried below the top section.
I agreed with them, but I still decided to keep the button in the middle, following Apple Music’s pattern for consistency.
FRIENDS
All the participants went to their library and then to their profile when I told them that this is how Apple Music handles this task. I decided I would also add a section under their playlists so they have easy access.
Because this new feature aims to create access to your friends and what they are listening to, I also wanted to add it to the library section.
5. Iterations
FINDING FRIENDS
When I asked my new participants to find friends, four out of the five wanted to hit the search icon first, which was very interesting. When I tested it again with a “Find Friends” button on that screen, the participants could easily find and follow their friends.
FROM PROFILE
FROM SEARCH BAR
SHOWING PLAYLIST CONTRIBUTORS
Once my participants had created a playlist and added some of their friends’ content. As they were doing this task, we discussed how it would be nice to see which friend the content came from. I looked through the Apple Music Pattern and found out how they solved this problem.
ACCESSING PLAYLISTS
After creating Playlists, my Participants wanted to be able to access them from their profile as well as their library. When looking through Apple Music, I noticed that they also include playlists under the profile section and so I added access to the playlists from the User profile.
APPLE MUSIC
APPLE PODCASTS
7. Final Prototype
8. Takeaways
This self-initiated project allowed me to:
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Innovate within established design constraints, creating a feature that aligns with brand standards.
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Leverage user insights to design a feature that addresses real-world pain points.
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Hone my ability to integrate research, design, and iteration into a cohesive product vision.
"Crystal has a remarkable combination of warmth and empathy, alongside being driven and focused. A company would add substantial value to their organization by bringing her to a role that utilizes her many strengths."
— Grace Pineda • EVP of Franchising at Xponential Fitness