BRIEF: CONCEPTUALIZE A PHYSICAL PRODUCT FOR A MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE.
Approach: STEER THE ALGORITHM, GET MUSIC FOR THE MOMENT
Outcome: MOOD THING IS a song mood controller that allows users to dial in the volume, energy, and discovery level of an ai-generated playlist, effectively steering the trajectory of the playlist in a direction that is more appropriate for the context.
STATUS: CONCEPT
FOCUS: RESEARCH, UX/UI, VISUALIZATION
FOCUS: RESEARCH, UX/UI, VISUALIZATION
FOUR COMMON LISTENER PERSONAS WERE CREATED TO IDENTIFY IMPORTANT TENSIONS IN SHARED LISTENING SETTINGS, WHICH WERE THEN USED TO CREATE A LIST OF JOBS TO BE DONE.
CONCEPT MAPPING HELPED WORK OUT USER FLOW AND IDENTIFY CORE PARAMETERS FOR ADJUSTING MOOD. IT EVENTUALLY BECAME CLEAR THAT THREE PARAMETERS—VOLUME, ENERGY, AND DISCOVERY LEVEL—WERE ENOUGH TO ADAPT PLAYLISTS TO MOST CONTEXTS.
MOOD THING CONNECTS TO YOUR PHONE AND GENERATES MUSIC BASED ON YOUR AUDIO HISTORY. TO JOIN, TAP THE DISPLAY OR PLACE YOUR PHONE ON THE TRAY.
THE DOCK ACTS AS BOTH A HOMESTAY FOR THE DEVICE AND A WIRELESS CHARGER THAT PREVENTS A USER'S PHONE FROM RUNNING OUT OF BATTERY WHILE LISTENING.
THE DEVICE ARTICULATES IN ALL DIRECTIONS SO THAT ANYONE IN THE ROOM CAN CONTROL THE MOOD, EVEN IF IT'S NOT THEIR PHONE THAT'S CONNECTED.
A SIMPLE VISUALIZER ENSURES USERS GET FEEDBACK ON HOW MUCH THEY'VE CHANGED A SETTING WITHOUT TAKING AWAY TOO MUCH OF THEIR ATTENTION.
UPPING THE VOLUME (LEFT) MAKES THE FEEDBACK VISUALIZATION THICKER, MORE ENERGY (MIDDLE) MAKES IT MORE ANIMATED, AND WHEN YOU TURN UP THE DISCOVERY LEVEL (RIGHT), IT BECOMES MORE COLOURFUL.
MOOD THING ASSUMES USERS LIKE WHAT THEY'RE HEARING UNLESS SONGS ARE SKIPPED ON THEIR PHONES. TO INDICATE THEY WANT LESS OF WHAT'S PLAYING, USERS CAN ALSO COVER THE SCREEN AND THE MOOD WILL ADJUST ACCORDINGLY.
