Band Together strives to simplify the lives of musicians by providing a comprehensive platform for efficient coordination, clear communication, and easy file sharing within musical groups.
Bands and musical groups vary widely in terms of size, genre, and goals. Meeting the diverse needs of different groups while maintaining a cohesive app experience is a key challenge.
Different groups also have different management and decision-making configurations, so the solution should account for hierarchical and consensus models.
Finally, getting every member of any group to adopt a digital platform can be challenging. Overcoming resistance to change and demonstrating the app's value is crucial.
My user research revealed many common pain points among members of musical groups when coordinating and communicating internally. This made a case for complex UI design that removes friction from group logistics to keep the focus on the rewards of participation: personal connection, skill improvement, and successfully working with others towards a common goal. My ideation and design for the Band Together app led to a prototype that testers found easy to use, visually appealing, and a promising start to addressing these complex challenges.
I was underwhelmed with what was already available in this space. The two apps that came closest to targeting the same niche, BandHelper and Band Mule, were hard to use, visually under-developed, and either had little functionality or had a kitchen sink of features with little in the way of UX. A third app, called “Band,” didn't actually cater specifically to bands, but had overlap as it’s geared towards large groups trying to coordinate efforts. It also emphasized the same key features I hypothesized this app would need: messaging, scheduling, and file sharing.
I interviewed 5 people who are all members of musical groups; they’ve all been in many groups over the years, and most are in at least 2 bands currently.
Using my competitive analysis and user interviews, I created the personas of Evan Mitchell, an energetic aspiring musician, and Lisa Rivers, an experienced musician who also manages band logistics. I broke down their motivations, pain points, and desires, which guided the development of features that were useful to both personas.
“I want to focus on the music and social aspects of practicing and performing, not scheduling.”
“I want everyone to have a say but also want decisions to be made quickly.
How might we improve communication and collaboration among band members?
How might we promote commitment and accountability within musical groups?
How might we support band leaders in their management roles?
The major constraints for this project were time and labor, given the 4-week scope of the project and the complex nature of the user needs. Creating a roadmap required assessing these constraints and prioritizing the highest-value features.
The information architecture of the app required a lot of research on existing productivity apps to try to wrap my head around how to structure an app that needs to have many functions and layers. In addition to the Band app from my competitive analysis, I spent a lot of time delving into the structure of apps like Slack and Basecamp.
The sitemap showed how complex the functions of the app would need to be. Starting with the universal pain point of scheduling, I diagrammed flows for setting up new performance events, integrating scheduling polls, and simplifying member availability submission.
Legend:
Scenario 1: Lisa, band member and logistics manager, wants to alert the other band members to a potential performance
Scenario 2: Scheduling poll task flow from scenario 1
Scenario 3: Evan, band member in Lisa’s band, receives an alert to fill out the scheduling poll
Having diagrammed the user flows with the highest value to the project, I created low-fidelity wireframes of all three flows diagrammed above.
The flow that was most difficult to visualize was the scheduling poll. After researching the UIs of other apps with scheduling poll functionality, like Doodle and Calendly, my interface ideas continued to take shape.
I began the branding process with a moodboard inspired by gig posters, aiming to capture the vibrant energy of the live music scene. Initially, I explored incorporating a "screen printed" aesthetic, experimenting with smudges, random textures, and off-center color effects. However, after gathering feedback through polling, it became evident that this didn't resonate with most users. As a result, I decided to go with a cleaner design that was simply inspired by the aesthetic.
I first developed 8 rough logomark ideas:
I then narrowed it down to the top 3 by polling 10 people:
I polled another 8 people on just the top 3 choices, and they strongly preferred the “penrose triangle.” Along with the logomarks, I polled them on four name ideas:
There was an almost even split between “Band Together” and “Chordinate,” so I designed lockups with both. Band Together was the clear standout.
I chose colors by pulling from my moodboard, then adjusting for accessibility and legibility.
I looked extensively at fonts that evoked gig poster hand-lettering, but veered from that course for the sake of legibility. Manrope (available through Google Fonts) is a clear, UI-friendly font that also has a hint of playfulness and a hand-drawn feel.
With a clear vision of the user flows, branding, and user interface, I transformed the low-fidelity wireframes into high-fidelity mockups. I also built a robust suite of UI components to ensure consistency across wireframes and to add interactivity to the hotspot prototype.
My metrics for success were mostly met:
During the feedback session, I asked users if they thought having different icons for calendar and event would improve clarity; 2 said it probably would and 2 weren’t sure. One person said it wasn’t necessary and that initial onboarding or using the app a couple of times would be enough to address the problem.
The largest change made based on usability test feedback was adding ways to filter feeds. I created filter options to show only projects with unread content, and I also added a tagging system.
Smaller changes included distinguishing the “calendar” icon from the “event” icon; adding helper text to the “featured event” switcher to clarify the purpose; and changing button text in the event creation flow pertaining to the “review” to make it clearer that there’s one more step to completion.
I also tried replacing the logotype on the “create” button with a “plus” icon, based on the false attempts all testers made before realizing where the “create” functions were, but was underwhelmed with the result. I believe with some onboarding prompts and more exposure to the logotype, users will understand the function of the middle button. Further testing would be needed to confirm.
The interviews with musicians and band members provided valuable insights into the motivations, challenges, and pain points inherent in musical groups. The overarching themes of social connection, fun, and musical fitness underscore the significance of collaborative music-making in people’s lives. The common pain points of logistical headaches, unreliable bandmates, and difficulties in achieving consensus create friction that can slow or halt band growth and enjoyment. I’m excited by the results of the initial design cycle and think it revealed valuable ideas for how to simplify coordination and communication within musical groups while helping to facilitate the core social and musical goals.
Immediate next steps would be to wireframe and prototype the other major functions outlined in the product roadmap: uploading files, making posts to projects, real-time chat, and a robust search feature. With a larger team and a sizable budget, I can envision this app becoming a real time-saver and momentum-builder for bands and musical groups.
