Spotify is used by millions of people every day, all over the world.
With that kind of reach, a lot can be done.
As someone who has always been around World Music thanks to a father fond of Global Village, Spotify has been an amazing tool for me.
And as an avid language learner, Spotify has improved my oral comprehension and exposure to my target languages.
With over 70 available languages, Spotify is a great tool for those interested in other cultures. However, an artists true meaning is often locked behind a language barrier
I took my passions for music and language and sought to help listeners get more out of their lyrics.
With the data in front of me, I began exploring themes, and finding connections between my interview participants and their issues
Two personas were developed, each with a problem they were facing with the lyrics function on Spotify.
Research
There were numerous translation apps, and some even that would translate anything you had on your screen. There was a lot to keep in mind and a lot to draw from for inspiration.
With all that I had learned I couldn't help but brainstorm potential solutions to problems I wasn't even sure existed
I knew there was a gap in the market for quick, intuitive translating, and to have it integrated into Spotify seemed like a no brainer.
I turned to user interviews to further validate the problem. Recruiting people at all levels of language learning, from no skill at all, to fluent in multiple, I designed questions to better understand if this was a struggle for them as well.
Motivation. Painpoints. Needs.
An amalgamation of the Interview results, and a solid framework to design personas from.
On one hand, there were clear language learning issues to be addressed, and on the other hand, there was an opportunity to bridge cultural gaps, and foster a more global listening community. Both were things I hoped to achieve.
Design
It was a simple concept, but that didn't mean its implementation was easy. There was a lot to think about.
The deeper I got into this, the more questions arose.
Button placement? Swipe or tap to activate? Where would the settings go? How to change languages?
A flow was designed based on competitor research and interview data
A toggle for translation mode
line by line translation or swipe for entire song
Potential settings
Users testing was completed with participants running through the prototyped wireframes and getting familiar with the new feature
Overall users found the interface very intuitive, easy to navigate, and seamlessly integrated. So much so that often the new button wasn't noticed.
There were some small issues with initially knowing how to interact with the 'swipe to translate' feature, and the specific wording of the settings could do with some tweaking as well.
These changes were successfully applied to the prototypes, and the Mid/Hi fidelity wireframes were ready to go
Button color was altered to better match the existing UI.
Swipe indicator, instead of disapearing after a second, now hides along the side of the screen to indicate a swipe action is present.
Lo-fi v1
Iterated v2
Lo-fi v1
Iterated v2
With a tweaked UI, and clearer indicators, the wireframes were brought to the highest quality, with connection animations and transitions. The project was then re-tested on the initial group and the improvements were well received.
Deliver
With the functionality of the additional feature perfected, and the problem that this feature solves verified, a viable market and audience for this feature had been solidified.
Artists from all over the world, regardless of language spoken, could now be highlighted to deepen global connections.
Bridges between cultures could now be constructed through a cultural exchange of ideas through music
New worlds of potential favorite artists were now open to Spotifys listeners, no longer put off by the slow process of swapping apps and looking up individual lyrics.
What started off as a simple idea, turned out to have far reaching potential, connecting communities all across the world through music and the stories artists tell
