B
oombox App
I helped to create social music discovery app called Boombox where users play in song selection contests with friends to find new music and create great playlists. Starting as a makeshift game among friends, the game grew into an app with thousands of users around the world. Boombox is no longer active but was available in the App Store and Google Play marketplace from 2020 to 2022.
ROLE
Co-founder and Designer
FOUNDING TEAM MEMBERS
Mike Weider, Nick Gagnon, Jonathan Macaskill
TIMELINE
September 2019 - May 2022
Problem
There did not exist a major platform whose sole purpose was to allow people to share and discover music in a social way.
Solution
Boombox allowed people to share music in a fun and social way. It ‘gamified’ the music discovery process and helped connect people through shared music taste.
IDEATION
Building the solution
Throughout the process of building the initial prototype and as we continued to make changes and ship new features, this process has been essential in creating a positive user experience efficiently.
IDEATION
Identifying target users
Through user testing and market research, we observed gaps within the music community that Boombox could fill. This has helped pinpoint who our users are, and how their needs shape the design of the app.
Target user #1 - “Avid Listener Adam”
Adam goes out of his way to find new music - his ratio of music to social interest in Boombox is 80:20. He is 25 years old and spends his free time on platforms like Reddit, where he engages in music-related threads. He is tech savvy, and has no difficulty navigating new applications but won’t spend time on an app that doesn’t help him discover that much music.
Target user #2 - “Social Butterfly Sarah”
Sarah is most interested in social apps - her ratio of music to social interest in Boombox is 20:80. She is a second-year university student who listens to similar genres that her friends do and is using Boombox after being invited by a friend. She spends her free time on social platforms and rarely goes downloads other apps unless they allow her to have fun with her friends in a social way.
DESIGN DECISIONS
Key product requirements
Submitting & Voting
In a Boombox game, players submit songs for a given theme and vote on their favorites. This is the most important functionality in the app. The competition details page is designed to make this process intuitive and easy.
Viewing competitions
Players who are in multiple games have to keep track of what actions are required of them and what the deadlines are for those. I designed the competition list page to make it as clear as possible what the user needs to do and when. The ‘submit’ and ‘vote’ buttons act as shortcuts for those actions.
Learning the game
One of the biggest challenges we continue to face is helping new users learn how to play Boombox. We’ve found that onboarding is the most important flow to retain users. Through user interviews and analytics, we’ve identified key pain points where users tend to drop off or become confused. By focusing on these areas, we’ve successfully increased the retention of new users through an improved onboarding experience.
DESIGN DECISIONS
Style guide
I developed a style guide that focuses on using more black and white for simplicity. This allows the album art of songs shared to be a more central feature of the design. I use purple sparingly to highlight important action items.
ITERATIONS
Learning from previous iterations
Boombox was born from a group of friends who created a friendly song selection competition through email, and has since grown into the app it is today as a result of countless iterations.
ITERATIONS
How might we make playing the game effortless and intuitive?
Almost all of the app’s key actions can be found in the competition details page - this is where users can vote, submit, view standings, leave the game or invite friends. Initially, this created an interface that can be overwhelming and confusing for the user. By mapping user flows, I narrowed down the key criteria for this page:
Easy to navigate
Highlights key actions
Game functionality is intuitive
❌ Easy to navigate
✅ Highlights key actions
❌ Game functionality is intuitive
✅ Easy to navigate
❌ Highlights key actions
❌ Game functionality is intuitive
✅ Easy to navigate
❌ Highlights key actions
✅ Game functionality is intuitive
✅ Easy to navigate
✅ Highlights key actions
✅ Game functionality is intuitive
Previous competition detail page iterations
Final Design
A few key screens
Reflection
Throughout this project I learned more about the small interactions that we take for granted but can have a big impact on the overall user experience of a product. By understanding a user’s flow through the app, you can put yourself in their shoes to create a more seamless design.