My Role
I exclusively handled the UI/UX design aspects of this project, overseeing user research, wireframing, user interface design, prototyping and usability testing.
Problem
Many musicians tend to hear a piece of music and play it by ear and memorization. This can cause the musician to end up forgetting the fundamentals of the instrument if they have not played in a while.
Solution
While maintaining great accessibility, musicians should feel motivated to create an effective practice routine to enhance their overall musical proficiency.
Research
Starting with research, I began to find articles discussing the major pain points that many musicians face in the industry. This one detail stood out to me from Learning an Instrument: The Importance of Having a Practice Routine (prodigies.com)
"embracing routine fosters good time-management skills, builds momentum, tackles procrastination and creates confidence."
User Interviews
To expand my knowledge even further, I conducted a series of interviews with 5 participants of varying skill levels. I discussed their pain points, preferences and expectations when using any music notation apps. Following the interviews, creating user stories was crucial for gathering the key insights I gathered from the interviews.
User Stories
Low Fidelity Wireframes
While visualizing my key pain points, it was finally time to start sketching out my ideas.
Homepage
With my sketches complete, I established the score screen as the official home screen of the application, enabling users to begin navigating the app right away.
New Score Screens
I applied the same design concept from my sketches to create the final prototype for the new score red route.
Style Guide
Once the final layout of the application was determined, it was time to start the high fidelity screens. The creation of a style guide was essential in ensuring a cohesive and visually appealing design across the application.
High Fidelity Screens
Finally, the mockups and an interactive prototype were ready for testing.
Validate
Test, iterate and test again
It was now time to start running some usability tests on the prototype. I tested a total of 5 participants and made them go through a couple of scenarios.
Issues
- Users struggled with saving their work while at the notation screen.
- Users found the skill leveling system cluttering some key elements on the home screen.
Updated Skill Leveling System
Based on user feedback, I simplified the design, so users do not lose focus on the main elements on the screen.
Removal of Side Menu
With users confused about the side menu's purpose, I removed it and gave the home and save options their own separate icons. I then added them to the top navigation of the notation screen.
Final Designs
Updated prototype and second round of tests
After the changes were made, it was time for one more round of tests. I tested five more participants and made them go through the same scenarios as the first round. This round went smoother as the participants were able to get through the scenarios with ease.
Takeaways
I learned how to make important design decisions. One of the key takeaways while working on this project was getting to know your users. Understanding your user pain points from user research and testing makes the design process much easier.
