SPOTIFY BINGO
Encouraging users to listen to new music through games
OVERVIEW
The Spotify app offers numerous autogenerated playlists tailored to user preferences. However, users often remain within their comfort zones, limiting exploration of new genres and artists.
How can we encourage users to diversify their music taste through fun, enticing ways?
TEAMLINE
1 month (2024)
ROLE
Designer
TOOLS
Figma
TEAM
1 Product Designer
PROBLEM
Users struggle to explore new music genres in engaging ways, leading to missed opportunities for discovery and inconsistent listening habits.
Discovering new music genres in an engaging way can be challenging for Spotify users, often due to a lack of personalized recommendations, limited interactive features, and difficulties in finding fun, exploratory tools.
Without enticing ways for genre discovery or tools to make the process enjoyable, users frequently feel scared to expand their musical tastes. A bingo feature within the Spotify app could help users overcome these challenges and cultivate a more dynamic, fun listening experience.
When users want to diversify their music, they need a fun and creative way to approach genres and artists they’ve never listened to before. In order to do this, I needed to have 3 goals in mind:
Encourage Spotify users to discover new artists and broaden their music preferences through engaging in a game experience
GOAL
1
GAME INTEGRATION
Provides users with personalized recommendations through an interactive game to listen to new artists within a specified genre
2
EASY TRACKING
Monitor user listening habits and streaming time for various artists to create a tailored game playlist
3
GENERATED PLAYLIST
Utilize existing tracked data to create a personalized playlist tailored to their chosen music genre
Spotify's existing UI is designed to be intuitive and visually engaging, making it an ideal platform to incorporate the game of Bingo. With features like personalized playlists, genre-based categorization, and real-time music tracking, Spotify can seamlessly adapt Bingo's interactive and goal-oriented structure. This integration allows users to check off songs or artists as they listen, creating a playful and rewarding experience that aligns perfectly with Spotify's focus on music discovery and user engagement.
Why Bingo? How can you add the classic, well known game, Bingo, into Spotifys already existing UI to enhance user listening experiences?
Bingo is a classic, interactive game where players aim to complete a specific pattern on a grid, typically marked by numbers. Often a very competitive game, players cross off spaces as corresponding numbers are called, with the goal of achieving a row, column, diagonal, or full-card completion to win.
Back to the classics, Bingo!
MY SOLUTION?
Before jumping into the game, how would users get to the Bingo game in the first place? To answer this question, I started ideating the task flow with the current Spotify UI.
How can we integrate Bingo into Spotify’s existing UI?
STARTING OFF
welcome page to BINGO
BINGO BOARD
appears
click on BINGO square
Artist generated Spotify playlist
finish 1/2 of playlist to complete square
open Spotify
click user search page
click “MUSIC” in Start Browsing
click BINGO in “MUSIC” category
scroll to select different genres
click on different genres to do BINGO
finish board = Spotify generated playlist
After understanding what needed to be done for the user task-flow, it was then I needed to start the sketching and wire framing portion.
Sketching and wire framing
IDEATION
DESIGN SYSTEM
Crafting the visual identity
To align with Spotify’s branding, the Bingo feature design incorporates Spotify’s typography and color palette, enhanced with dynamic gradients for a modern and engaging aesthetic. A standout element is a custom illustration for the Bingo board, featuring unique music-inspired visuals that celebrate discovery and creativity.
Finalizing the prototype
After multiple iterations, the Spotify Bingo feature design was finalized with a focus on seamless and consistent transitions between screens. Animations were carefully refined to ensure a smooth and engaging user experience, aligning with Spotify's dynamic interface.
BINGO COMING TO LIFE
With Spotify’s current UI and Stories feature, users can effortlessly access the Bingo board from the Search page. The Story feature currently used in Spotify’s UI allows users to search for a specific genre, or change Bingo Boards.
Navigating to the Bingo Board
Users can navigate the Bingo board using a grid view or a row view for added flexibility. The grid view provides a complete overview of all Bingo squares, making it easy to track progress at a glance. The row view offers detailed artist information, giving users deeper insights into the music featured on their board.
Using the Bingo Board
Users can engage with a tracking system that allows them to clear a Bingo square by listening to at least 15 minutes of an artist's curated playlist. Spotify automatically tracks this activity, compiling all completed squares into their Bingo progress for a seamless and rewarding experience.
Tracking Listening Times
Upon completing the Bingo board, users receive an autogenerated playlist tailored to their tracked listening habits. This personalized playlist celebrates their progress, featuring songs and artists explored during their Bingo journey.
Completing the Finished Board
LEARNING
So what now?
The proposed Spotify Bingo feature offers a personalized music discovery experience, encouraging users to explore new artists and genres through an engaging game format. By addressing key challenges like music exploration fatigue and genre stagnation, this feature empowers users to diversify their listening habits while enjoying a fun and interactive journey.
Through the Spotify Bingo project, I gained valuable experience in designing user-friendly interfaces that encourage engagement and exploration. I learned to effectively integrate features like progress tracking, grid and row views, and personalized playlist generation to enhance the user experience. This project also strengthened my skills in iterative design, accessibility-focused development, and creating cohesive visual identities aligned with Spotify’s branding.
SHERRYE ZHONG