A fun and funky, bold new '80s-themed music player native mobile app.
Perhaps you remember the 1983 Billy Idol hit, “ Eyes Without a Face”... this was an '80s app without a face!
The founding members behind Mix Tape had a strong concept, but no UI direction.
My Role
-User research
-Creative direction
-Initial to final UI design
-Native mobile app design
Tools
Mix Tape was nearly a blank slate. The founders of the project knew what they wanted it to be and who it was meant to speak to, but needed creative direction to give the service a personality befitting its theme.
I was inspired to combine some of the most well loved elements of the ‘80s in the design language that would comprise Mix Tape; pixelated iconography, a nostalgic font reminiscent of hours spent at the arcade for the 35-55 year old target age group, vivid colors with high contrast, and other small but meaningful call backs to the subject matter.
5 Ws
Who
35-55 year old music fans with mobile devices.
What
A music app that would allow users to relive or discover the best music and vibes the 1980s had to offer, specifically allowing playlisting, profile creation, and searching.
When
There’s never a bad time for Billy Idol.
Where
Anywhere there’s WiFi or mobile data and a willing spirit.
Why
Because most music apps try to be all things to all people, and compromise in the process.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I studied the usability heuristics of competing apps and services, including Spotify and Soundcloud, to glean what Gestalt properties and principles of design were being employed by apps the user base was likely already familiar with.
I also analyzed other designers’ work on platforms such as Behance and Dribbble for inspiration and potential items for avoidance in my own design.
BRANDING
Developing an inspiration board, a really fun vector art logo, typographical styles, and the color palette - as well as the heavily pixelated and ultra-80s iconography for Mix Tape - helped me to get a stronger sense of direction and better visualize how the interface should be laid out.
WIREFRAME EVOLUTION: LoFi - HiFi
Putting new typography and styling from the inspiration board and branding assets into practice, I further fleshed out the screens to their near-final iterations.
FINAL DESIGN
Mix Tape provides a serious dopamine rush and begs to be used; it brightens your day and reintroduces fun to the sometimes overly complicated, ad-beleaguered and monotonous process that interacting with a mobile device can sometimes be.
Pleasing both stakeholders and end users alike, Mix Tape endures as a testament to boldness and intentionally implemented whimsy in mobile application design.
RETROSPECTIVE
Mix Tape was a highly enjoyable project that allowed me to fully explore emotional design while still applying product thinking. Users appreciated the throwback aesthetics and thoughtful animations, and many responded positively to the overall vibe of the app.
But in pushing creative boundaries, I occasionally under-prioritized common usability conventions—something that surfaced in user testing when the core controls weren’t immediately obvious. With additional future buildout I’d aim for more iterative testing, earlier on in the design phase, to find that sweet spot between delight and clarity.
