DESIGN CHALLENGE

receive music information, Music Linker's interactive form and shape incorporate a number of thematically relevant retro physical product features in an attempt to provide a richer and more interesting user experience and to inspire people to share music more often. Through user test and semi-structured interviews (n=8), Music Linker received much feedback and helped to derive design insights in three directions:

1) It helped to reveal the importance of how information is presented in the process of sharing music information;

2) Music Linker showed us the potential of combining physical interaction features with the benefits of streaming in the age of dematerialization;3) Music Linker captures user-initiated needs and expectations for feedback mechanisms through the white space left at the feedback function. Although Music Linker has helped me gain a great deal of insight as a completed artifact, there are many gaps in its design and commercial aspects that need to be addressed to meet the standards of a mature product.

The next phase of this design theme (FMP) is therefore focused on exploring how it can be applied in a real-world market context and exploring its potential commercial value. I will assume Spotify as the project's streaming platform supporter and design a Music Linker 2.0 music sharing service system for them, including an interactive physical product, an app-based corresponding music sharing interface, and an integrated Business Model Canvas. The physical product will also be redesigned.

The core design challenges of the Music Linker 2.0 music sharing service system is: How can Spotify provide people with a more user-friendly experience while sharing the music, thus enhancing the connections between listeners and their friends or other close relationships?

One point to note in this design is that,

The new service has to embed well and seamlessly with the rest of the Spotify app.

The whole project will be guided by the three design implementations drawn in M2.1, and through the exploration and design of the following three directions, a complete design solution for a commercially approachable music sharing service for streaming platforms will be finally integrated.

1) CONDUCT VISUAL EXPLORATION AND INTERACTION DESIGN OF THE PHYSICAL PRODUCT AND THE SPOTIFY INTERFACE, WHICH WILL IMPROVE THE WAY SHARED MUSIC MESSAGES ARE PRESENTED TO USERS.

2) DESIGN AN APPROPRIATE FEEDBACK MECHANISM, TO PROVIDE USERS WITH A SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE, AND INTERESTING WAY TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON THE SHARED MUSIC.

3) FOCUS ON THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL PRODUCT AND THE STREAMING PLATFORM TO PROVIDE A COHERENT AND COMFORTABLE EXPERIENCE FOR THE USER.

(Use the same interactive/visual features to design the physical and app interface; Take care of every steps, when a user performs an action on one side of the product or app, the other side should display the corresponding reasonable feedback)