Introducing shades.
ROLE
UX Designer
TIMELINE
Apr 2024 (24 Hours)
TOOLS
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, After Effects
TEAM
3 Designers
I participated in the USC’s CreatSC Designathon, challenging emerging designers to create digital solutions to real-life problems, from ideation to execution.
My team and I spent 24 hours conceptualizing and prototyping a mobile music streaming app that transforms traditional audio experiences into multi-sensory interactions, making music accessible and enjoyable for hard-of-hearing users. We placed 2nd place for our app design!
one tough cookie
Entertainment for All?
Today’s entertainment often rushes to capture our attention with flashy visuals and quick-access media. The industry celebrates digitization and caters to the most obvious audiences, overlooking the diverse ways people experience content.
We identified a notable gap in experiences for hard-of-hearing individuals as many existing platforms fail to provide accessible resources, highlighting a key opportunity for impact.
More than 1.5 billion people globally experience hearing loss, including 430 million who have disabling hearing loss. Yet music streaming apps in particular prioritize auditory experiences, leaving those who are hard of hearing without equal access to the cultural and emotional benefits of music.
So, how might we create a product that can enhance the overall music experience, even to those who encounter hearing impairments?
Product Intent
From a focus on users with hearing sensitivities to those seeking a more immersive music experience, we wanted to target a diverse range of users. We identified three goals to direct the development of our app’s features:
Final Pitch Deck
Make the music experience more customizable and personalizable
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
VISUAL INSTRUMENTATION
Feature Ideation
What’s Next
Creating ‘shades’ re-sparked my love for design.
Accessibility isn’t an afterthought.
The app’s visual design was driven by uncovering user pain points and conducting user research to cater to both typical users and those with sound sensitivities. Shades pushed me to think beyond the obvious and rethink how music can be experienced. Design at its core is empathy.
Design is triply better when done together.
Working with my team was a great experience; we quickly found a system to fill in each other’s gaps and stay resilient as we fully built out the app design despite the quick turnaround. Also, coming from different backgrounds and majors made our discussions and ideation process more engaging and interactive. Communication played a crucial role in pulling our ideas together successfully.
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