Date : 2025
Role : Product Designer
Scope :User research, Ux writting, prototyping, A/B testing, AI feature
Personal project for Spotify, the leading music streaming platform. The challenge was that playlist creation can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially when users try to capture a specific mood. My goal was to identify user pain points during playlist creation and explore how AI could reduce frustration and create a seamless, enjoyable experience.
What i do ?
Over the course of two months, independently, I conducted a competitor benchmark, carried out user research, built a prototype, and ran user tests. The goal was to design a mobile experience that allows users to create playlists quickly and effortlessly, with the feature naturally discoverable within the existing UX, while addressing the key user pain points identified.
users worldwide, Spotify is the leader in music streaming. the industry is rapidly evolving and pushing Spotify to continuously innovate and enhance its products to maintain its position.
+600
Users worldwide
I started by analyzing direct competitors, such as Deezer, where less than 5% of premium users in the U.S. had access to AI features, and Amazon Music, which, despite offering AI tools, is not considered users’ top choice. I also studied Suno AI to understand how this music generation tool structured its UX for music creation.
10
Respondant
5
Users
after I then conducted interviews with 5 users. Analysis of these sessions revealed Users feel overwhelmed by overly long processes and want to save time during playlist creation.
My approach was logical
users worldwide, Spotify is the leader in music streaming. the industry is rapidly evolving and pushing Spotify to continuously innovate and enhance its products to maintain its position.
Create a playlist in two clicks
During testing, users did not encounter major difficulties when creating playlists with the prototype.
However, among the five users tested, one asked why the text mentioned “2 clicks” when they were certain they had taken three.
I analyzed the issue: the mood selection button is crucial because it helps the AI better understand user intent, and the other two clicks are also important.
Now, users focus psychologically on the number of steps rather than the number of clicks, making the experience clearer, more intuitive, and emotionally aligned.
Once my case study was completed and published, I noticed that Spotify released a feature similar to mine just two months later (I cover this in more detail in a Medium article).
Both the Spotify team and I had the same UX intuitions regarding the implementation of this feature. By analyzing their product, I observed that their version could be more emotionally engaging for users.
I rewrote the header as “Ready to create your own mood” and updated the carousel prompts to better reflect user activities.
My version was preferred for clarity, engagement, and mood-based playlist creation, while all participants correctly identified Spotify’s original interface. This confirmed that thoughtful UX and design can make a feature feel more personal and emotionally resonant, even if Spotify’s original version is more direct.
This project reinforced that having an idea is only the beginning; execution, iteration, and alignment with user needs are what create value. I strengthened skills in research, UX writing, prototyping, and product strategy, and I learned how to balance automation with customization.
