Design Portfolio 2021 | Toni Ojo

DESIGN toni ojo - toni ojo - toni ojo - toni ojo

Hi, I’m Toni. I like to invent things You could say I’m a multi-disciplinar y creative, as I love to experiment with 2D and 3D mediums. However in each of my roles (UX /UI Designer + Product Designer + Illustrator) I excel in design research and strategy. I love uncovering patterns and anomalies in qualitative and quantitative research. Therefore I’ve been relied on to identif y insight s and transform them into viable product s, ser vices and experiences. By contributing to fintech, social enterprise, e-commerce, augmented realit y and social net working project s, I developed a passion for UX and disr uptive technology. Regardless of the medium, I enjoy creating intuitive and human-friendly experiences with the aim of satisf ying the needs of both the target market and the business involved. I achieve this by applying principles of psychology and anthropology to my iterative design process.

My favourite project s to execute address multi-sensor y experiences, behavioural design, biomimicr y, digital anthropology, consumer psychology, experiential design, symbolism and colour theor y. Ultimately, I envision a career that allows me to be a creative educator as well as a designer.

Email: toniojo15@gmail.com

Educat ion *BA (Hons) Product Design at Nottingham Trent Universit y | 201 7 - 202 1 *UX /UI Student at Love Circular | August - October 2020

Exper ience *UX Consultant at MIST | July 202 1 - present Problem definition and quantitative/qualitative research for an AR-based social networking app.

*UX /UI Designer at The Ubuntu Net work | April 2020 - present Designing the interface of the app and website for a social enterprise that supports international students studying in the UK.

*Brand Design Lead at RNBRIT | Januar y - September 2020 Designing visual assets for the social media page and contributing to the overall brand image.

*Junior Freelance Designer at Marssaie Studio | October - December 2019 Assisting the Creative Director in the creation of branding, marketing and graphic design solutions for new and independent brands, and developing creative campaigns for the studio’s product range.

*Ar t Exhibitor at Unapologetically Black by Black Creators Matter | October 2019 Exhibiting original artwork for a night of networking, discussion, visual arts and music by Black Creators Matter.

*Freelance Illustrator at TOJO Studio | August 2019 - present Providing illustration services for music artists, brands and businesses.

Skills *UX auditing, direct and indirect competitor analysis, conducting inter views, focus groups, sur veys, usabilit y test s , card-sor ting, red route analysis, data visualisation, problem solving, user journey mapping, wireframes, interactive protot yping and product design. Soft ware: Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, Solidworks, KeyShot.

Press

Project s 1 - Spotif y Hue 2 - The Ubuntu Net work 3 - AYIKA 4 - Illustration

Spotif y Hue

Spot if y Hue Brief - Create a feature within Spotif y that helps people easily share their content and get people talking about it on their social feeds. Get listeners to soundtrack and share their life through Spotif y.

Problem S t atement - At it s core, music is a social experience. According to The Ox ford Handbook of Music Education, “music making, musical sharing and musical caring creates “communit y””. This notion has been disr upted by the music streaming industr y, which has made the listening experience increasingly isolating by confining it to a device and a “user ”. With limited tangibilit y and little oppor tunit y to socialise within music streaming ser vices, the future of music looks lonely. Design a feature for Spotif y that uses colour symbolically to encourage Gen Z and Millennial users to socialise by sharing their music identit y with others - both online and offline.

Background Info - The original brief was set by the D&AD New Blood Competition 2020/202 1, which this concept was entered for. I also worked on it and submitted it as a final year universit y (minor) project, which was given a 2:1. I liked the idea of designing for the senses, par ticularly sound. I know how much music means to people, especially during lockdown, so I wanted to optimise it.

My Roles - UX /UI Designer, Interaction Designer and Digital Designer Timefr ame - November 2020 - March 202 1

Init ial Br ainstor m

Hypotheses B efore beginning the research, I had some assumptions about the brief which I turned into hypotheses. These hypotheses will be tested through my research which will either prove or disprove them. It’s impor tant that any incorrect biases and predictions don’t affect the direction of this project. This contributes to a more suitable and innovative design outcome.

Key Code Independent Variable (cause) D ependent Variable (effect ) 1. I believe that introducing gamification techniques for Gen-Z and Millennial Spotif y users will achieve prolonged engagement within the app.

2. Due to lockdown and an increase in loneliness, user s are listening to music more of ten.

3. Most conversation about Spotif y and music occurs out side of the app. If communication methods within the app are improved, then it will initiate more conver sation bet ween user s.

4. If user s are made to feel more secure, then they will be more comfor t able in sharing their listening experience with other s.

5. I believe that the more Spotif y adopt s feat ures related to listening to music tr aditionally, the more enjoyable the digit al experience will become.

What do I need to find out about (research) in order to solve the problem (design solut ion)?

• An over view of the current audio streaming industr y - to see how Spotif y compares to it s competitors.

• Spotif y’s existing feat ures and campaigns - to identif y successes, failures and oppor tunities for improvement in their UI and UX. • Spotif y’s r atings and reviews from user s of the app - to understand their likes and dislikes and empathise with them. While the design solution is aimed to attract new users, it’s essential to maintain relationships with existing customers and improve brand loyalt y, or risk losing them to competitors.

• People’s attit udes towards music, sociabilit y and streaming - to gain a better understanding of the potential userbase for my concept, including music ar tist s and listeners.

Design Methodology: the Double Diamond model by the Design Council. Discover, define, develop, deliver, discover, define...

Pr imar y Research Method: Sur vey Result s were analysed through affinit y mapping, pie char t s and word clouds. 1 01 responses in total.

Key Questions:

Sur vey Analysis

Sur vey Insight s

• Creative freedom is valued as an individual user.

• Sharing of music is frequent but actually listening to the recommended song is not always likely.

• Users like to maintain independence and privacy.

• Many tr ust brand/platform/algorithm music recommendations over recommendations from other people. Mostly because they are more consistent and dependable.

• Users enjoy music with a matching visual - more about the mood that the visual evokes rather than the complexit y or medium.

• They favour a music experience that mimics a social environment - creating vir tual company so they feel less alone.

• Most listen to music on the go.

• A feature that conveniently identifies a similar music taste to other listeners would be beneficial.

• The process of music discover y is highly valued.

• Users want to be able to socialise in-app. Switching apps to do this disr upt s the user flow.

• Users enjoy gameshow-st yle musical content where they can listen live and influence result s.

• There is a want for instant and exclusive access • Users prefer to share music digitally but only because of convenience, not because it is sentimental or fulfilling.

Pr imar y Research Method: Inter view It is clear that Spotif y prioritises one t ype of user - the listener. However there would be no content to listen to if not for the ar tist s that distribute music on Spotif y. I realised how impor tant it would be to hear from an ar tist using Spotif y, as they have first-hand knowledge about what it takes to create shareable music that sparks conversation. Although my concept is targeted towards the listeners, I intend for it to benefit the ar tist s too. Therefore I inter viewed music ar tist Konde Oko, formerly known as YCG, on his thought s about Spotif y, music streaming and the impact of Covid-19 on the music world.

Inter view Questions Questions: • In your opinion what is the best way of discovering new music?

• What would you be doing if you were not an ar tist creating

• What concerns do you have about the current music industr y ?

music?

• When do you find yourself relating specific music to specific

• When do you listen to music the most ?

experiences?

• How many platforms do you release music on and which is your

• How did you adapt to the lockdown and pandemic as an ar tist ?

favourite ?

• What par t of music do you connect with the most ?

• What makes your music appealing to a worldwide audience?

• How long have you been making music for ?

• Do you think you get the suppor t you deser ve for your craft ?

• What would you class your music as in terms of genre and/or

• How can listeners build a deeper connection with ar tist s?

mood?

• On which social media platform do you have the most social

• Which three colours define your visual identit y as an ar tist ?

engagement / interaction with listeners?• Do you think people

• Which images, icons and symbols define your visual identit y as

are impressionable when it comes to music?

an ar tist ?

• What are three physical essentials that you need to create a

• How impor tant are visual asset s to audio?

song?

• What methods do you use to promote your music?

• Take them away. How would you make music?

• Have you ever made use of user-generated content to market

• How do you think audio streaming could be more social?

your music?

• What factors do you think make your music more shareable?

• What genre do you find yourself listening to the most ?

• If you were told to make a song that needed to be the most shared in the world, regardless of qualit y, what would the lyrics be about ?

Inter view Insight s • His life experiences and moods dictate the sound of his music which he uses to tell a stor y.

• He uses iconography to express his personal brand - “ You have no identit y if you have no image” + “ You can tell better stories if you know how to work the visuals too”.

• Social media: It is the best way of discovering new music but word of mouth is essential to sharing music. Most meaningful engagement s occur on Instagram but Twitter ’s inter face allows for his music to spread faster.

• The less clicks needed, the easier something is to share.

• He prefers for his music to be shared organically eg in natural conversations • People’s music taste is ver y impressionable - “ You’re kind of just always looking left and right to see what other people are listening to so you have an idea of what to go into”.

• There is a lack of financial securit y for ar tist s, especially during the pandemic because there is barely any money in streams and they are unable to per form live.

• Spotif y suppor t s listeners more than ar tist s, but Bandcamp is a beneficial platform for ar tist s.

• Listeners should invest in an ar tist by paying for content and merchandise when they can. Wearing merch is a public declaration that they associate with the ar tist.

• Streaming platforms should introduce listening sessions or streaming par ties.

Secondar y Research Methods This included product and campaign evaluation, Reviews and ratings analysis, direct and indirect competitor analysis and trend analysis. Due to the amount of research and insight s generated, only screenshot s of some of the work produced are provided. If you would like a more detailed look, please contact me at toniojo15@gmail.com.

Product and Campaign Evaluation

Reviews and Ratings Analysis

Compet itor and Trend Analysis

Testing my Hypotheses Af ter completing the research phase, I examined whether the things I had learnt proved or disproved my original hypotheses.

Key Code: Independent Variable (cause) | Dependent Variable (effect )

1. I believe that introducing gamification techniques for Gen-Z and Millennial Spotif y users will achieve prolonged engagement within the app.

Tr ue - incentivising user behaviour would increase engagement, however I would like the users’ behaviours to be influenced by genuine emotions and sociabilit y rather than being manipulated which can verge on being unethical.

2. Due to lockdown and an increase in loneliness, user s are listening to music more of ten.

Tr ue and false - the sur vey result s showed that approximately 28% of par ticipant s are listening to more music during lockdown. I did not expect such a significant propor tion to be listening to less music during lockdown.

3. Most conversation about Spotif y and music occurs out side of the app. If communication methods within the app are improved, then it will initiate more conver sation bet ween user s.

Tr ue - research signified that Instagram and Twitter are the centre of music sharing and discover y, resulting in much conversation and interaction.

4. If user s are made to feel more secure, then they will be more comfor t able in sharing their listening experience with other s.

Tr ue - in ever y aspect of my research the issue of privacy in music was reflected. O ften listeners are willing to share their music identit y, but not too much of it. This is why summaries of people’s listening habit s eg Spotif y Wrapped, work well. The feature provides a general over view that still communicates the person’s taste.

5. I believe that the more Spotif y adopt s feat ures related to listening to music tr aditionally, the more enjoyable the digit al experience will become.

Tr ue - users seem to enjoy references to the physical in digital environment s as it makes the music experience feel more nostalgic and meaningful. An example is how Spotif y’s Search page navigation is organised similarly to a record store.

Findings: core problems identified I identified the following based on how frequently they were mentioned throughout the research phase (primar y and secondar y) and their impor tance to sharing music online and the brief.

• Sharing and experiencing music has become less personal because streaming doesn’t require physical presence or tangibilit y.

• Lockdown has removed the atmosphere and sociabilit y of communal music.

• There are underdeveloped social features in the Spotif y app, especially the profile page.

• Listeners are not confident about revealing their full music taste and want the option to affirm their music taste publicly and privately.

• Listeners want to be able to identif y others with a similar music taste easily, so they can communicate with them.

• There needs to be a stor y telling element to the listening experience, through a stronger relationship bet ween music, colour and mood.

• Ar tist s need apps and fans to invest more in their personal brand.

From this summar y I was able to create a refined brief, specification and overall direction for my concept. Additionally I created t wo user personas to visualise t wo t ypes of Spotif y users - a Gen Z listener and a Millennial ar tist. Their identities were created based on the various par ticipant s from my research. The aim was to refer to these personas as I ideated, ensuring that I was catering to my target market.

User Jour ney Mapping I created this to visualise a potential user experience of the Spotif y app. It identifies a sequence of actions, emotions, fr ustrations, problem areas and design oppor tunities. This helps me to identif y how my concept can fit seamlessly into the existing user journey, and in turn make a better justification for it.

Sketches and Ideation I visualised the design oppor tunities through ideation techniques, firstly using a design sprint method called Crazy Eight s (below).

This challenged me to sketch low-fidelit y wireframes of eight ideas in eight minutes. This was a good star ting point for later in-depth concept s.

Chosen Concept

Feedback I used Miro to present my concept s to ten people for their feedback. Five concept s were chosen as favourites, so I created a judging criteria using Spotif y’s design principles, my user persona goals and my design brief to decide on the most suitable concept.

Concept Development I built upon the chosen concept by incorporating small element s from other viable concept s, mapping out the information architecture.

User Inter face Design Using Figma and the Adobe Creative Cloud, I developed the final inter face for my design solution - Spotif y Hue. Spotif y Hue uses a colour-coded list of music genres to create a unique gradient that is personal to you. This visually shows others which genres you enjoy through a quick and colour ful summar y of your music taste on your profile page. Who knows who you’ll match up with? Buy custom merchandise in-app with t-shir t s and posters displaying your gradient. A percentage of your purchase goes to suppor ting your top Spotif y ar tist at the time.

The Ubunt u Net work

T he Ubunt u Networ k Task - Design a new brand identit y and user inter face for The Ubuntu Net work ’s online presence.

Problem S t atement - How can we make international student s feel more comfor table and welcome during their universit y studies and in what ways can we make the job hunt process easier for them?

Background Info - The Ubuntu Net work is a social enterprise and online platform that connect s international student s across the UK while providing them with the information and advice needed to navigate the UK job market. This is in the form of a website, and an app which includes a Jobs B oard and a Blog Feed. We also host online event s with industr y professionals. The team of four includes the Founder/Project Manager, the Lead Developer, the Social Media and Marketing Manager and myself. The app is available for download for iOS and Android on their app stores.

My Roles - UX /UI Designer, Brand Designer and Graphic Designer Timefr ame - April 2020 - present

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new

Event Poster s

AYIKA

AYIKA Br ief - Design a share platter that restores communal dining in Nigerian families living in the UK. Problem S t atement - Across the African continent, eating is traditionally a communal activit y. O ften, family and friends gather around a large plate of food and eat from it together. As a Nigerian living in the UK, I’ve noticed that we’ve left this custom behind, usually eating individually and from separate plates.

Background Info - This was my Major project of my final year of universit y. We came up with our own briefs and overall had full control of the project and design process. The aim of this project was to redesign the traditional share platter in order to build a stronger sense of communit y in UK-based Nigerian homes, with a focus on wood and traditional car ving techniques.

My Roles - Product Designer and Researcher Timefr ame - March - June 202 1

Concept Ideas

Sketches

Protot ypes

The Making Process

KeyShot Render

In-sit u Render

Solidwor ks Technical Dr awing

Illustr ation

Commissions

BBC

MUSTA Talent Agency

Per sonal Wor k

Rihanna

Self-care

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