BackTrack is a retro inspired music streaming app tailored to lovers of 1970’s music, bringing the retro style and music genre into a modern interface.
Module: UXD104
Timeline: 6 weeks
This project focused on creating a music player to browse, choose and play music with a minimum of three screens. I recognise how personal peoples music preferences are to them, so I wanted to create an immersive experience to capture the musical era of the 1970’s. Mainstream music apps tend to cover music of all genres and eras, and I recognise that there is the opportunity to create more tailored user experiences for those with particular interests. This led me to design BackTrack, a retro inspired music player designed to bring the 70s experience to modern life through its visual identity, interactive features and overall user experience.
I began with a competitor analysis of popular music players including Spotify and Apple Music, exploring their interfaces, features and user experience. I noted that personalisation was a key aspect of their interfaces, with each user having their own recommendations and curated playlists creating an experience that is best for for each individual user. I noted that their overall structure is similar, highlighting the effectiveness of familiar navigation and playback controls as users are familiar with them. This research helped inform Backtrack’s layout and functionality, while identifying opportunities to create a more distinctive visual identity.
I explored the wider culture of the 70’s to ensure that I would accurately reflect the decade in my design. This involved thinking outside of just music, drawing inspiration from fashion and interior design.
My ideation began with a midnmap of ideas, which I established after my competitor analysis. I identified key features that a music player should have and expanded on each to understand my goals. I recognised the market for an app tailored to a specific type of music, and finalised my idea of creating a retro 70’s music player.
I explored various design ideas through sketching, eventually deciding to feature a spinning vinyl record on the playing screen instead of traditional album covers. I later digitalised my sketched into wireframes, which helped with refinement and visualising my idea of a retro app with vinyl incorporated.
I developed high-resolution mockups, using vibrant colours and interactive elements to capture the retro aesthetic I had in mind. I experimented with visual hierarchy and colour combinations at this stage to create an engaging and cohesive user experience.
Following a critique in which I recireved constructive feedback, I revisited some of my design decisions and reconsidered them to strengthen Vacktrack’s visuals and create a more engaging user experience. I value critique as an essential part of the design process, as I love exploring new ideas.
Following the feedback I introduced a more playful, decorative typeface, refined the colour palette with a vibrant accent cyan, and redesigned icons to better reflect the retro aesthetic I aim to convey. The most significant change was the addition of a profile screen, introducing listening statistics and friend connections to enhance personalisation.