So, in an effort to give this new design more of a chance, I have spent the whole weekend, trying to get used to the design, considerations, and usability.
I will approach my findings from two angles: usability/functionality and user experience.
Test / Evaluation Scope:
I tried to use the interface on various platforms, devices, etc. to give it the broadest considerations to shared media resources (something designers and developers try to do to minimize the explosion of media assets to drive a given platform. I also did it to see if there were any benefits from looking at it from a wholistic platform experience. In other words, I am trying to give this new player (which the new deign effectively makes itself) the most chance to win me back.
While the effort has been made to make all platforms approach the player from a design system approach, the experiences are still unique, given the way the user interacts with the interface.
Usability/Functionality:
Home Page / App Home Page
The reversion to the more grid-based approach seems to be across the board. This is a welcome reversion.
Where the Spotify Ends:
Where it differs is when a person has to choose which media type to delve into. Instead of a more guided approach, the approach centers on filtration. This approach can work when content types are more similar, and more importantly when catalogs of content are much smaller. Instead, there are relatively small filtering buttons that instead of acting like a content filter below, put the user into an entirely and almost jarring new interface archetype. The interface was clearly designed for phones and not at all for other mobiles like tablets and definitely not desktops. This is the whole TikTok interface that people are using as a term to describe such a drastic interaction change.
While the boxes of further content of that type selected look like they were made to be gridded, they are forced into a single column, forcing interactions that might take minutes to get to the content they might have accessed within a single screen previously.
12.9" iPad Pro:
I will note that they did bring back a grid of boxes for suggested playlists at the top. While this might be beneficial, it is stunted by the fact that the grid of eight boxes is less than one inch squares that even on a 12.9 inch iPad Pro screen use 3pt (yes, really - 3pt typography) font to show what each grid item contains.
iPhone:
This is where TikTok begins and Spotify ends. Endless string of videos Spotify selects.
Web:
Apparently the desktop interface has been in question, as it has changed, reverted, changed and reverted back over the course of the weekend. Clearly, there is a lot of interface scuttlebutt going on within Spotify, or they are truly testing these changes in the wild, which is incredibly dangerous. Currently, the web interface is back to what I guess I call the classic interface. Despite not having the complete functionality set, having this as a fall back kept me from just abandoning my attempts to give it a thorough work-through.
Desktop (Mac):
The app was constantly freezing and having to be force quit. I think with the amount of changes and reversions going on, the app had less ability to adapt to the changing dynamics than the mobile apps could. I could be wrong about that, but welcome other's interpretations.
User Experience:
If we look beyond the inconsistencies of having to reversion (rollback) not just once, but apparently a couple or more times, experiences are going to be all over the map, and the sheer lack of consistency will make it hard to have anything-but a sour feeling.
Spotify feels like it is being thrown into a race to copy whatever the current hottest trend is, rather than using its strengths are being a massively-installed, massively used media platform, that is used to be incredibly good at. One department wants to focus on mobile-first, while another department is looking at media assets calls and making uniform design systems to be more efficient and agile. Yet another department is focussed on seizing the crowds on various other platforms, knowing that they have a platform capable of dong the same.
The problem is one and/or two things primarily:
NO ONE IS TALKING/WORKING TOGETHER.
and/or
The entire ship is being run out of a scarcity mindset of copy anything and everything possible to avoid losing marketshare.
End Result: EVERYONE LOSES. Spotify, Artists, Consumers, Industry.
Overall experience and thoughts...
What has been going on Spotify has been a work in progress for the past year and a half. From the outside, it sure seems as if there are many power struggles going on within Spotify. Spotify needs to halt changes, across the board. Even if just for a short time, and ask itself what it wants to be going forward. Because, from the outside, it looks like a YouTuber with latest everything envy.
Key Takeaways:
- No More Forced Video. The masses have spoken up and said they do not want video forced upon them. The costs of forcing it will be far greater than any reward.
- Innovate Foundationally. While Spotify wants to be innovative, it cannot abandon the key components that gave it the foundation you get to innovate on.
- Give users options. Stop this forced acceptance of change. It will cost you more paying customers than the free ones chasing the bleeding-edge gimmicks and features.
- Test. Test. Test. Stop rolling out major changes without comprehensive and analytical testing processes.
- Communicate. Not just after the fact. Not just during the roll-out. THE WHOLE PROCESS. Yes, it takes resources and time, but it gets buy-in and helps ease transition periods and growing pains.
- Responsibility. Admit when your perspectives might be channelled and potentially tunnel-visioned.
- Power of the Userbase. Realize that in having such a large foundation of users, they can offer great benefits beyond their monthly subscription.
Staff / Moderator/ 3 years ago in Social & Random