Stylus
Stylus is an online community where audiophiles can come together to discuss, listen, discover, and help each other.
Duration September 2020 - December 2020 (4 months)
Individual Project for UMSI’s Introduction to Interaction Design with Tonya McCarley
Process & Tools Competitive Analysis, Personas and Scenarios, Sketches and Storyboards, User Flow Diagrams, Paper Prototyping, Wireframes, Digital Prototyping (Adobe XD)
My Role Develop a solution that brings a community together.
Overview
In the audio industry, there are industry professionals and audiophiles. There are many opinions regarding the term audiophile, but it is best described as a music lover in pursuit of the most life-like (as if it were played live in a studio) sound. The primary age of the audience is 25-65, with most being towards the upper end. The community already has several forums where they can discuss and interact with others. However, these popular forums do not create a high-quality experience with their generic customization. Audiophiles hold a high standard for their user experiences in these forums, similar to their taste for listening experiences.
Study Design
Several issues exist with the community forums. First, there are many different forums available that require users to sign up to multiple forums. Since there are multiple forums, this creates a very fragmented community. Second, these forums all provide the same generic experience – they are made for the masses. They do not create a high-quality music experience that audiophiles prefer, as they do not provide many options for customization and music discoverability.
Hamburg Menu
Homepage Add Post
Draft and Submit Post
Prototyping
These current issues in the audiophile community can be addressed by combining all the aspects from the existing forums into one application. The key feature that these forums lack is a focus on music and discovering music. The listen-along feature will allow users to be able to connect with popular music services such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Deezer, QoBuz, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Tidal. This allows members to listen along to other users creating interaction and discussions. Stylus will have to house the following features: forums, reviews, listen-along with other users, a marketplace for purchasing and selling, and meet up for events. Combining all these features in one place will allow the community to constantly engage each other and reduce the current fragmentation that comes from jumping between different communities. It is also important to note that the application should be accessible on computers and phones, due to the demographic. Additionally, to attract members, Stylus must have a high-quality user experience. Taking inspiration from Tidal, the appearance should feature a white and dark mode, with a minimalistic appearance.
Product Features
● Listen along to other members
● Combines other forums into one place (forums, product reviews, marketplace, meetups)
● Accessible on multiple devices (mobile, tablets, desktops)
● Combines other forums into one place (forums, product reviews, marketplace, meetups)
● Accessible on multiple devices (mobile, tablets, desktops)
Select Music Service
Spotify Player
Group Chat
Findings
Stylus is built for Audiophiles; it is a place where audiophiles can come together to discuss, discover, and help each other. There is no membership required for access, but membership will be required for any additional interaction other than just viewing. Members are allowed to post in the forums, create product reviews, and rate products. Users can rate products, not only by stars but how they sound and compare to price. Posts can be a question, photo, poll, or how-to guides. Since this is a community that is passionate about music, users and members will be able to discover new music while listening to active members. They can bookmark songs, which will in turn be added to a list to be discovered later. The community market function will be for members to directly purchase and sell products with other members. They can sell albums (CDs, Vinyl) as well as gear and equipment. Members in the community will be able to organize local meet-up events and search for people within a radius to find other members. Combining these functionalities housed into one forum will bring the divided community together and create unity.
Note: The primary study focused on the listen along with feature.
