Category: UI/UX Design Case Study

Project Overview

Spotify is a popular, global music streaming platform that allows people to discover and listen to music. Spotify users want to, but struggle to develop meaningful connections with other listeners across regions and cultures through music. I designed Global Mode, a refined Spotify experience that connects users across geographical borders through music, helping them discover region-based playlists while breaking language barriers through lyric translation capabilities.

Key Impacts

• Fostered global musical discovery and cultural appreciation

• Created inclusive experiences that transcend language barriers

• Differentiated Spotify from competitors through meaningful global features

• Expanded engagement across underrepresented international markets

Introduction

Spotify is one of the world's most popular music streaming services, with its unique social discovery algorithm that enables Spotify users to discover new music through curated playlists and connect with other Spotify users with similar music tastes.

Overarching Problem / Opportunity

Despite Spotify's global reach, Spotify users struggle to develop meaningful connections with people across regions through music. My user research revealed that while music is inherently social, current offerings on Spotify don't effectively bring people together due to differences in individual music preferences and geographic & cultural divides, limiting Spotify users' ability to connect with other Spotify users across regions. 

Final Solution

We designed Global Mode - a refined Spotify experience that connects users across geographical borders through music, helping them discover region-based playlists while breaking language barriers through lyric translation capabilities. These features work together to transform music from a solitary activity into a bridge for meaningful connection across distances, cultures, and languages.

1. Interactive Global Map Interface

   1. An interactive globe interface that allows Spotify users to select any location on the map and discover the selected region-specific music. This addresses users’ needs to find and learn about other regional music beyond what’s recommended by the algorithm

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2. Region-Based Playlist Discovery

   1. Curated playlists of what's trending in specific regions, enabling Spotify users to discover music from other areas. This feature breaks down barriers and amplifies users’ ability to explore music from other regions.

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3. Lyrics Translation Feature

   1. Toggle to translate lyrics to the user's preferred language in order to understand other regional music, breaking down language barriers and enabling a deeper appreciation of international music.

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Research

User Research Methods

My main goal is to better understand the current state of Spotify, users' relationship with Spotify and music, and how Spotify and music enable them to connect with people. The intention is to identify gaps in Spotify’s role in helping its users develop meaningful connections and opportunities to improve Spotify's ability to connect with its users.

1. Competitive Analysis

   1. I analyzed the usability of different social platforms, including X, LinkedIn, and YouTube, to assess different social sharing and content discovery approaches. This helped identify common and best practices used for sharing and discovering content. 

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2. User Interviews 

   1. To understand Spotify users' music discovery processes, social listening behaviors, and connection to regional music. Interview questions explored habits, underrepresented genres, and platform limitations around regional discovery.

I interviewed:

• 3 active Spotify users (ages 19-21) who use Spotify at least once per week

• Mix of listening behaviors: solo background listening vs. active social sharing

• Geographic diversity: 2 domestic students, 1 international student

• Platform usage: All multi-platform users who supplement Spotify with other music apps

Lauren Rosenthal (19, JMU sophomore, Arlington, VA)

• Functional, solitary listener (homework, workouts, relaxation)

• Platforms: Snapchat, Instagram, GroupMe, Apple Music, Spotify

Saul Israel (21, Northeastern business student, Davis, CA)

• Social listener, plays music with roommates, loves live/local shows

• Heavy user (6+ hrs/day)

• Platforms: Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Last.FM, Bandcamp, Snapchat

Sheng Lin (22, Northeastern finance & econ, Queens, NY)

• Emotional listener (music = joy, relaxation, motivation, entertainment)

• Fewer music-specific platforms

• Platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Little Red Book

Interview Focus

• Discovery habits & pain points (15 min)

• Social listening & cross-cultural exploration (10 min)

• Platform limitations & unmet needs (10 min)

Research Insights and Definition

In summary, my research revealed a spectrum of music engagement patterns, from solitary background listening to active social experiences, with varying levels of integration between music platforms and social connections. Regional differences significantly impact music discovery, as there’s no way for Spotify users to view the authentic regional trends and cultural context. Spotify users had mentioned that the lack of localized curation creates barriers to connecting with other users worldwide. This presents an opportunity to bridge regional, cultural, and music preference differences with an experience tailored to individual needs that enables meaningful connection.

Spotify users consume music for social reasons or solitude. 

• Spotify users had diverse listening behaviors across the board -  some use music passively and others socially. This highlighted the need for flexible social features.

Spotify users turn to other platforms like Apple Music, YouTube, and TikTok for the social connections Spotify lacks. However, they don’t necessarily want Spotify to become more social, they want it to focus on music discovery while other platforms handle social interaction.

Interviewees consistently use multiple platforms to meet different music and social needs.

• Saul: Uses Last.fm and Bandcamp for discovery beyond Spotify’s algorithm, and YouTube for music videos and live performances.

• Sheng: Uses TikTok for short-form music discovery and Little Red Book for culturally relevant recommendations.

• Lauren: Engages socially on Snapchat, Instagram, and GroupMe, but keeps music consumption private and separate.

Regional differences make connecting with Spotify users in different time zones challenging. 

• Interviewees consistently expressed difficulty maintaining shared music experiences across distances. Time zones to connect with other users and a lack of regional tools create disconnects. Spotify users struggle to develop shared musical connections because the platform doesn't provide enough context for understanding regional music preferences.

Lack of visibility on regional trends and music data creates barriers to cross-cultural understanding. 

• Spotify users can't view friends' preferences or meaningfully explore music from other cultures. This leads to a lack of visibility into authentic regional trends. This creates obstacles to the appreciation and discovery of other music beyond one's own region.

Research Analysis Tools - Personas

With the insights gathered from the research, I wanted to better empathize and formulate a targeted user group to guide our design decisions.

Persona Development 

Why? I created three distinct personas to better empathize with participants and establish a targeted user group for design decisions. This synthesis of diverse behaviors, needs, and frustrations revealed three core archetypes:

1. The Introspective Connector → private, grounding connection through music
   
   

2. The Community Curator → music as a shared, social, and authentic experience
   
   

3. The Global Bridge → music as a cross-cultural connector and identity anchor

By analyzing the three personas, I identified a common ground across the three despite their different approach to music. That common ground is: private listening, community engagement, and cross-cultural exploration. Based on what’s most impactful and drew the most similarities between the three different personas recognized that The Introspective Connector represented the unifying thread across all user needs. This profile embodied the core opportunity: enabling connection through music as a quiet, grounding form of belonging that transcends traditional social features. By centering on this primary persona, I could address universal discovery challenges while ensuring the solution remained inclusive of users across the spectrum of solitary, social, and cross-cultural listening behaviors.

Storyboarding & Paper Wireframes 

• To visualize user scenarios and prototype early-stage ideas around social and regional music discovery, testing how the persona would move through different discovery and sharing workflows.

Design

Design Ideation

I generated six key feature concepts using "How Might We" statements:

1. Comment Feature (messaging within Spotify)

2. Public Playlist Collaboration

3. Album Mode (for an authentic listening experience)

4. Regional Mode (location-based playlists)

5. Lyrics Translation

6. Friend Activity Notifications

Prioritization Process

I prioritized features based on their alignment with The Introspective Connector persona and their potential to address the core insight that users want Spotify to excel at music discovery rather than become more social. This led me to focus on features enabling quiet, grounding connection through music.

High Priority Features:

• Regional Mode (location-based playlists) - directly addressed the gap in authentic regional discovery that all three personas experienced

• Lyrics Translation - broke down language barriers without requiring social interaction, enabling deeper cultural appreciation.

Why These Two: These features directly solved the core problem of regional music discovery while respecting users' preference for music-focused rather than socially-heavy experiences. Together, they addressed the discovery gap and cultural understanding barriers by enabling meaningful cross-cultural connections through music.

Design Iterations

From Messaging to Content-Centered Discovery

My initial concept for connecting Spotify users focused heavily on a messaging feature similar to iMessage, as shown in the Comment Feature mockup. However, through usability testing, I discovered that Spotify users were concerned about yet another messaging platform to maintain, and direct messaging might not align with how people naturally share music.

From Static Playlists to Dynamic Cultural Exploration

Spotify’s Regional Mode started as solely a basic location-based playlist but has grown into an interactive world map where you can explore music from different places. You can search for a city or tap on the globe, and it will make playlists like “Top Hits Rome” or “Trending in Rome.” The map shows your own location (like Boston, MA), and users can easily switch to another region. Each location has curated playlists and extras like “Explore Culture,” including local radio stations and cultural influences. 

Design Solution

Final Solution: Global Mode for Cross-Cultural Music Discovery

This led to Global Mode, an optimized Spotify platform- centered around regional and global modes, lyrics translation, and greater visibility on friend activities. These features work together to create a cohesive "Global Mode" that transforms music from a solitary activity into a bridge for meaningful connection across distances, cultures, and languages.

Evaluation/Testing (Hypothetically)

I conducted a moderated usability testing session with five participants who represented diverse music consumption patterns similar to those of my interview subjects from before 

1. Observe the user’s interaction patterns with Global Mode since the complexity of dropping pins on a map and accessing translations requires direct observation to understand pain points fully.

2. Assessing users' emotions with Global Mode, since music is deeply personal and emotionally charged, I needed qualitative feedback on how Spotify users felt while discovering regional music and understanding lyrics in different languages. 

3. Identify how well Global Mode integrates into existing listening habits, which requires observing Spotify users in a semi-natural setting and discussing their typical music consumption behaviors.

Key Insights:

I discovered that:

• Spotify users were excited by the Global Mode concept, but struggled with interface navigation.

• First-time Spotify users needed clearer indicators that translated lyrics were available.

• Due to language barriers, the translation feature created unexpected emotional connections to songs that Spotify users had previously skipped.

If I had more time, I would do the following:

• More in-depth user testing

• Interactions from one country to another

• Interactions across time zones

Reflection

Impact

These are the impacts I want and envision my project to make if I had more time to refine and work on this project: 

User Impact: 

• ​​Enhanced cross-cultural music discovery connecting Spotify users with friends and places beyond their region

• An inclusive experience, breaking down language barriers through lyric translation

Business Impact: 

• Market differentiation through unique features unavailable on competing platforms

• Expanded international reach by making local music globally discoverable

Privacy Considerations:

• Location data and friend activity features raised privacy questions that emerged during our usability testing. If I had more time, I would further explore how to build trust with our users and mitigate privacy concerns.

Personal Reflection

Taking Ownership of Ambiguous Design Challenges

When given something ambiguous in a Northeastern design class, I realized I had to step up and decide where to take my design process. My professor gave me a lot of structure for how to do research methods, but there was no correct answer when it came to ideating and finalizing my idea. As much as that was difficult, it's the reason I have grown to love and want to pursue design.

Building Confidence in the Design Process

This whole experience shaped my design process and gave me the confidence to rely on it. My professor structured the methodological decisions for us, but by actually doing them, I learned how important they are and know I'll use them in future projects. That confidence only grows with every project I take on. It was helpful to be forced through each stage of the design process as part of my class to understand just how important it is.

Personal Success and Validation

I earned personal success on this project by getting an A, which proved I was right to trust my instincts and take control when the path forward wasn't obvious. This moment of taking charge showed me I could lead my creative direction, even when things weren't laid out.