Type
Startup
Year
Dec '23 - Sep '24
Timeline
12 weeks
Role
Responsibilities
UI Design
Design Systems
Branding
Pitch Deck
Web
TL;DR
I led the product design efforts, delivering MVPs for both web and mobile while collaborating with a full-stack development team and stakeholders to bring the vision to life.
Nora has raised both pre-seed and seed round funding.
Scroll down to read the summary of the design process
Before We Begin
01.
Problem
Music insights are scattered and inaccessible.
In today's music ecosystem, detailed song information is often inaccessible. Musicians, producers, and super fans struggle to find high-quality stems, credits, alternate takes, and behind-the-scenes content. This lack of transparency limits creativity and engagement with music.
Whiteboard Brainstorming (Blurred due to NDA)
02.
User Research
Prior to my involvement, the team conducted comprehensive user research to validate the problem and identify the core user base. My work built upon this foundation, focusing on translating those insights into a seamless UI.
Key Personas
01.
Musicians: Seeking detailed song insights to inspire and enhance their work.
02.
Producers: Looking for original stems and samples to remix and repurpose.
03.
Super Fans: Craving exclusive content to deepen their connection to music.
Key Insights
01.
Users want centralized access to song data without navigating multiple sources.
02.
Producers prioritize quality and authenticity in the assets they access.
03.
Fans value exclusivity and behind-the-scenes content as part of their music experience.
How might we
03.
Development
Due to an NDA, I can't share specific details about the development process. However, I can speak to the numerous iterations we went through before landing on the final design. Each phase involved testing and feedback, ensuring the user experience was seamless and the design aligned with our evolving brand vision. These iterative changes helped refine the product and ensure it met both user needs and technical requirements from our development team.
Design Explorations (Blurred due to NDA)
Designing for both Web and Mobile
Onboarding for Web and Mobile
04.
Solution
Nora's final design provides listeners with
01.
Song Insights
Nora provides detailed breakdowns of song structures, chord progressions, key signatures, and tempos, helping musicians analyze and understand the composition of tracks.
02.
Stems & Samples
Access to isolated stems and high-quality samples allows musicians to remix, learn, and experiment with different song elements for creative projects.
03.
Exclusive Content
Nora offers exclusive content, such as behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with artists, giving users a closer look into the creative process and industry insights.
Due to NDA restrictions, specifics of the design and development process are confidential. However, my contributions included wireframing, prototyping, and delivering final UI designs for both web and mobile platforms.
05.
Design
System
The design systems for Nora were originally developed by my co-designer, and were carefully modified over time as our design identity evolved. Working together, we ensured the systems remained flexible and adaptable, allowing for consistent updates while staying true to the growing vision of the brand.
06.
Takeaways
Designing in teams can be very rewarding
I was the second product designer at Nora, which meant I had to learn how to go through the design process with another person. Since this was my first time working closely alongside another designer, I had to learn how to manage multiple people working on one product. I realized that getting to collaborate closely with someone within your division, versus just collaborating with people in outside divisions such as developers, can be a very rewarding experience. You get to bounce ideas off of each other and play to each others strengths.
Communication can make or break the entire process
Working not only with multiple designers but also with multiple people in other divisions, you begin to realize how important it is to communicate the little things. With division specific tasks, things would redundantly get done twice (or even worse, not at all) when there wasn't clear communication within the team. With outside divisions such as developers, small changes had to be communicated in order to keep the same magic from prototype to launch. It was very important to find the balance in communication.
If you have ideas, speak up
I'm a music guy. I produce, I'm in a band, and aside from working on Nora I am also one of Nora's early users. When you understand the product and all of its use cases, you begin to see what it's missing, what could be improved, or what isn't necessary. Whenever I noticed small (or sometimes large) things like this, I always politely brought them up from the perspective of a user. I think having that insight can be super helpful, and although I never tried to make assumptions on the users behalf, I learned it's important to mention those things in order to make a more user-focused product.
*I try my best to keep my case studies concise to respect your time. If you'd like to dive deeper into this project, feel free to reach out—I’d be happy to share more details.
