Middle ground – loretta balogun

Loretta Balogun

How can we help musicians starting out?

solo design project – October 2019 | UX,UI |

An app focused on mentorship for musicians and mentors who have experience in the music industry.

Brief Outline

My mission was to develop a personal UX Project with a topic of my choosing during my six-week internship at Sutherland Labs. The reason why I chose the music industry as the main focus for this project is because I personally have many friends who aspire to become musicians. Listening to their stories sparked my interest to learn more about the common concerns musicians have in the industry and how it can be solved.

Problem space

A common issue amongst musicians was the struggles of establishing themselves in the industry and the implications that has with their finance, physical and mental health. Listening to their stories sparked my interest to learn more about the common concerns musicians have in the industry and how it can be solved in the future.

The solution

An app focused on mentorship for musicians and mentors who have experience in the music industry.

The USP focuses on having the app functioned and styled as a match-making app where users will be paired with mentors depending on the area they need advice on (artist) or the area they have experience in (mentor).

Forums

The chance to create or join discussions with users

Match – Making

Match Make with mentors or musicians with specific areas of focus (created from research).

Splash screen

Home

Explore and Discover the latest news, upcoming events and user feed.

Profiles

View and follow other musicians and mentors.

The Process

Desk Research

To start with, I conducted desk research to see the current state of the music industry and to find out the common struggles new musicians face and why they haven’t been solved. This includes researching for existing products or articles related to the topic. I found out that the main struggles revolve around mental health issues, gaining the right audience and making the art (music) profitable.

User Interviews

I investigated further and conducted interviews to gain personal perspectives from those who are currently or have previously experienced pursuing a career in music. With a mixed total of six people interviewed, I found out that most interviewees had self-esteem issues and being fearful of the public’s reaction to their music. Moreover, some wished for opportunities to gain advice from experienced musicians on how they overcame the struggles they are currently facing.

User Personas

I gathered further insight from the user personas and discovered that most of the issues new musicians face from self-esteem to gaining the right audience could be hindered with the right support and guidance. Specifically, to those who have experienced similar struggles or those who have educational backgrounds in those topics.