Funky Frank's
UX/UI Certificate
University of California, Berkeley Extension
March 2023
Project Vision
Streaming music services can be super reliable, but do you ever wish that you could listen to all your favorite songs in one vinyl record? Living in a world where anything can be accessed at our fingertips, sometimes we might want to take a step back and enjoy our favorite songs through something other than a smartphone. Funky Frank's is a website that allows users to create their own customizable vinyl.
As a team we want to help vinyl music listeners find an easy wat to make their personal playlists into a physical record medium. This will save them valuable time and effort while sorting through their music collection.
Goals:
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Design an engaging music website that allows users to build their own vinyl record, consisting of their favorite individual songs.
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Create an easy and accessible way for users to receive their custom vinyls.
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Build the Desktop version as the main platform.
Team of four designers.
Role: UX Designer, Researcher
Audience: Music lovers from young adults to seniors.
Tools: Figma, Canva
Length: 3 Weeks
The Process
This project started with Research and finished with Prototyping and Testing.
Proto Persona
Needs
Wants
Pain Points
To find affordable ways to buy records.
To have all her favorite songs on one record
To access music quality
To grow her record collection with appealing cover art
To listen to her favorite music while studying, cooking an hanging out with friends
To have quality audio
She has to buy a whole record just to listen to one song that is her favorite
Her vinyl collection is in a big pile, so its hard for her to find her favorite song
Thrifting records is the cheapest way, but they are usually low quality audio
User Research Plan
Objectives for Users of Funk Frank's
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Build their own vinyl record with their favorite songs
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Easy and Afforable
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Familiarity
Methods the Team Used
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Interview vinyl listens of all demographics
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User Testing
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A/B Testing
What our Users Had to Say
What is an important aspect to you for your music purchasing experience?
"An important aspect for my music purchasing experience is making sure I either listened to the album already or I really like the artist. I don't want to purchase a record and then not like it, feeling and though I wasted my money."
Do you listen to vinyl records, or own any of the equipment?
"Yes, have 20 vinyl and a record player!"
"I have vinyl records at home and the equipment. I usually use them for events. I usually listen to older American and Mexican music and some current artists."
If you purchase vinyl records, where do you usually go? Why?
"Online, walking around record shops or the artist's website."
"Local stores are preferred, otherwise I will look online."
What is an important aspect for you in the music purchasing experience?
This made us think about...
"Ease of finding preferred songs"
"Low cost"
"Audio Quality"
Customizable vinyl record track lists and design
Partnering with local stores to facilitate in-person experiences
"Shopping Local"
"Eye Catching Cover Art"
Hypothesis Statement
If users discover a website that can easily put their favorite songs into a customizable vinyl record and connect with local stores, more users will be drawn to buying and appreciating the value of vinyl records, rather than turning to streaming services for music.
Competitor Analysis
Direct Competitors
Includes:
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Customizable vinyl records, covers and sell additional merch
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Mixtape inspirations, and company song reccommendations by request
Funky Frank's includes real-time song recommendations based on algorithmic data, mail-in to local record stores, and affordable prices.
Indirect Competitors
Includes:
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Playlist recommendations
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Online song purchase options
Does not include:
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Purchase of viny
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Local, in-store experience
Funky Frank's provides a platform for users to buy songs online, print to vinyl records. The digital market provides a quality similar to record shops. Funky Frank's also plans to partner with local record shops to promote in-store visits.
User Persona - Drew
Needs
Wants
Pain Points
Recommendations/ browse for new artists to listen to
Find an affordable way to collect vinyl
save money
To purchase meaningful vinyls
To support their favorite artists by purchasing their music
To infuse their own touch with music and artwork
Can be difficult to discover new music using strictly vinyl
The high cost of records
Difficulties finding specific records to buy
Empathy Map
Drew is a young professional that loves caring for children, listening to music and going on adventures. They are on the hunt to find a reliable, yet affordable way to purchase vinyls since they have limited space to store them and have a tight budget.
Pains & Frustrations
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It can be difficult to find specific albums/artists
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High cost of vinyl records
Needs & Hopes
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Getting recommendations for new music
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Aesthetically pleasing album artwork
Feels
Says
Hears
Sees
There's something special about owning a physical copy of music
Feels more connected to the artist by paying for the music and having a physical copy of it
Curating a collection is important
Vinyl is too expensive
Getting recommendations by browsing or talking to store owners is important
Supporting local vintage stores in their neighborhoods
The visual art aspect when it comes to curating a collection is important
"Vinyl can be a bit too expensive to risk, especially if I only like two or three songs off the album"
Hears that streaming is less effective for paying artists
Shopping locally instead of large online retailers is better
Sound quality is better with records
Hears it is great for entertaining
Sees on social media that vinyl records are becoming popular
See's their favorite artists putting their latest music on vinyl
Sees that some records are pressed more professionally than others
Sees there is a want for vinyl equipment and records by seeing them in store
User Insight Statement
After conducting user interviews and distributing a survey, our users revealed many important aspects when it comes to purchasing music. The team worked together to summarize this into a user insight statement.
Drew needs to find a reliable, yet affordable way to purchase custom vinyls and obtain music recommendations, because they have had difficulty finding records that fir their music preferences, and would like to expand upon their music collection.
User Flow Diagram
Start
START at homepage
Select "Build Custom Record"
Enter music preference model "Would you like to enter your music preferences in order to receive custom recommendations?"
Modal: "pick your favorites" prompt user with suggestions (presents the user options--favorite genres or artists)
Yes or No
Yes
Design & Customize Page
Step 1: Pick your songs screen
-Progress Bar
-Toast Notification alerts user when they have filled one side of a record.
-Next Button
Step 2: Design your record sleeve screen
-user inputs artwork
-next button
Step 3: Design vinyl color/pattern
-User selects color/pattern
-Checkout button
No
Checkout form page
User fills out checkout form
Form:
1. Personal information
2. Shipping address
a. Ship to store or your address (radio button)
i. User enters zip code
ii. User enters store address
3. Card information
4. Billing address
a. Same as 'Shipping' radio button (not available if user selects ship to store)
b. User fills in billing address
Confirmation page, review your order
-Select 'Buy Now'
End
Low-Fidelity Wireframing and Prototype
Desktop
Usability Testing Results
User suggested making the button interaction when a song is selected more obvious, as current iteration felt too subtle.
The Navigation bar seemed out of place with the rest of the design.
Feedback Implementations
Mid-Fi
Mid-Fi
Hi-Fi
Hi-Fi
High-Fidelity Wireframing and Prototype
Desktop
User Testing First Click Test Results
We asked users where they would click to begin creating a custom record.
The majority of users were able to successfully complete this task, affirming to us that our button is easily recognizable for users.
User Testing A/B Test Results
We asked users if they prefer a list or grid view for the album track lists.
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57% of users preferred the list view rather than the grid view. This is a narrow margin; however, the selection time was also much quicker. Leading us to believe this was a more intuitive choice for users.
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Further testing may also be beneficial.
LIST OPTION
GRID OPTION
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
We were able to work as a team and create a product and design we are all proud of.
Next Steps:
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Continue with user research and high-fidelity iterations.
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Complete high fidelity for the mobile device.
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interview record stores to identify ways to build. relationship with local vendors.
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Create a meta store.
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Continue market research to set affordable price points.