Browse and Discovery on Sounds

NATIVE INSTRUMENTS

Native Instruments is one of the world’s top creators of hardware and software for DJs, music producers, and composers. In 2017, NI set out to launch their first platform service, a subscription marketplace for loops and samples. Sounds has become an industry-leader in the sound library space.

My Role

  • UX design lead

  • User research planning, facilitation and results delivery

  • Workshop facilitator

  • Stakeholder communication and presentation

The Challenge

Provide users with an expanded set of tools, vehicles and methods for discovery and inspiration on the platform.

Areas of Inquiry

  • Measure the current ways users discover content within our product

  • Uncover new ways to position content to inspire various user groups

  • Learn to name and define our content in a way users can understand

  • Determine how improved discovery may generate new subscriptions and reduce churn

USER RESEARCH

Baseline Study

Users were recruited for a 1 hour, in-person interview and baseline usability test with the current product. Since Sounds was built for music producers, the conversation focused on where the seed of inspiration first comes from and how that idea is executed on using a sound library. We talked about the most essential categories of content (genres, styles, etc.) and the value of content curated by a person vs. data. Early customer surveys indicated that most traffic was coming directly from the home page. I decided to double-down on this entry point for my usability test, asking users to identify content types and determine their value.

Before the test, I grouped together assumptions on which we based the original home page design and mapped those to what was learned once we completed this test.

Assumptions

  • Users want more than one way to discover content

  • Content curated by a human (not data-driven) would drive user conversion

  • Users engage with sound libraries ready to be inspired. On arrival, they do not have something specific in mind

  • Genres are the most important driver of inspiration and discovery for all user groups

Learnings

  • Users surfaced social media as a main driver of discovery

  • Users most value content curated by a person but they do not believe our site offers that (it does)

  • Most users visit a sound library daily and their needs can shift and change based on project

  • Genres are one category among many for which content can be surfaced. Styles and Instruments are equally also essential

PERSONA DEVELOPMENT

Mapping Behaviors

Reviewing early surveys, provided insight around which user groups are most likely to enter the site knowing what they want (a job to be done) vs. coming to be inspired. Mapping these personas revealed that the level of experience typically dictated how focused a user may be when entering the Sounds home page.

This map indicates that users who are new to music production, are most likely to seek inspiration and therefore may need more support in understanding how our product can provide value. Ways to solve this problem can include additional copy, stronger editorial headlines or a direct signal that content is curated for a beginner.

WORKSHOP

Content Strategy

The baseline study revealed that users see the greatest value and are most inspired by by content that was curated by a member of our team. Unfortunately, based on the home page, they were not aware that all of it was curated and assumed it was data-driven.

To seek solutions, I designed and facilitated a workshop with an internal, cross-functional team with the goal of identifying strategies to increase awareness around curation. After playing key clips from the baseline study which expressed the user problem, we did an ideation session and grouped key takeaways. The workshop resulted in out-of-the box ideas which stretched far beyond the home page and we had a blast doing it.

Curation Awareness Strategies

  • Editorial style site copy: Each carousel can highlight a descriptive theme

  • Curator pages: A page to learn more about a Sounds curator and a history of every sound pack they created. Create aliases for the curator (i.e. Sebastian has a hip hop side and a trap side, kind of like a bookstore.)

  • Use social media to tell a story about our curators and how they work. Instagram a #BTSounds for new collections - showing how they came together

DESIGN

Sketch, Wireframe Mock

I scaled the updated design from whiteboard sketches to wireframes to hi-fidelity mocks, sharing with engineers and product for feedback along the way. The main difference was the addition of a sub navigation. The subnav would allow us to surface content which was curated by default but data-driven when needed, serving the needs of a more diverse group of users.

In the baseline study, experienced producers mentioned that popularity charts were unhelpful as the most popular sounds are often over-used. The new design repurposed charts as data-driven groupings of content. That way we can even uncover “hidden gems” or the least popular sounds each day. Since they were not high priority, we tucked them into the subnav to give essential real estate to curation.

Finally we added editorial-style subheadings to each carousel and added Sounds as the designated creator to each curated sound pack. This change was meant to assist users in correctly identifying the high-value curation.

EVALUATIVE RESEARCH

Testing with the Prototype

Results

A reduction in bounce rate which assumes users spend more time on the site when they are better oriented with the content. A 12% uptick in user engagement (clicking, saving and downloading) with individual sounds. Through interviews we recognized maximized perceived value in curated content.

  • 4/5 users prefer content “curated by in-house experts” over a data-driven algorithm. 5/5 users stated in some way that if Native Instruments hired curators, they would trust the quality of the content. SUCCESSFUL

  • In the baseline study, participants were unable to determine the difference between who compiles a Release (data-driven) and who compiles a Collection (curators). Adding Sounds.com to the creator line in each carousel allowed for all uses to be able to identify that Collections are made “in-house” by our curation team. SUCCESSFUL

  • 2/5 users identified genres as the best way to find the sound they need while 3/5 named instruments. This confirms that multiple entry points on our subnav could satisfy multiple user groups. SUCCESSFUL

  • 5/5 participants descibed charts as an important tool in identifying what not to download. Having an “original” or “authentic sound” was a priority. Three participants identified the “undiscovered gems” chart is something they found could be useful. Charts by popularity were not viewed as valuable to the creative process of 4/5 participants. SUCCESSFUL