Musical taste is deeply personal, and Spotify wants its 345 million active users to each feel like they’re using a personalized product.
Every morning I settle into my home office and start the day with some music. I don’t know yet what sort of tune I’m in the mood for but I trust in Spotify to help me find it. Afterall, Spotify has spent a lot of time and money improving its algorithm AI (BaRt) for music suggestion and going by all the new songs I’m discovering, it works. But arguably just as important as Spotify’s music suggestion AI working, is Spotify’s UX/UI that makes the product feel personalized for its users. Elements of Spotify’s user personalization is present on nearly every major screen.
When I open the app, I’m welcomed by a ‘Good morning’ or a ‘Good evening’ message depending on the time of day. But what I really see is the collages of album art from songs making up my playlists and the tiles of mood and genre playlists recommended to me. Yes, everyone’s Spotify is also black with pops of bright green, but the medley of album covers and playlist cover art that appears when I open my app is uniquely mine. It feels like a reflection.
On the landing screen of the mobile app is a row titled ‘Made for Jason Mei’ with my Discover Weekly playlist followed by a series of personalized numbered daily mix playlists. When I continue scrolling up and down the screen, I find more categorized rows of playlists suggested for me. While Spotify obviously has an incredibly vast library of music, its presented in waves with neat and tidy rows of well-spaced visual tiles and bite-sized bits of text. Thumbing up and down and across the screen feels pleasant, like perusing a private library of books already arranged in a meaningful way.
When I’ve found what I want to listen to, before I even think of what I want to listen to next, Spotify has a ‘Recommended Songs’ section waiting for you at the bottom of the playlist.
Of course, Spotify isn’t perfect though. Spotify’s ‘Discover Weekly’ playlist works but not every song hits the mark. And sometimes I do want to listen to a playlist by mood or sound, but I don’t know what I’m looking for and Spotify’s suggestions don’t sound like the answer. But, in this case, even when Spotify misses, it’s ‘Go to Song Radio’ function saves the day. Below is a flow of my new favorite way to discover new music.
Every commercial for every product from every brand always tells you that they made their product special just for you. But with Spotify, when I read the words ‘MADE FOR JASON MEI’, I actually believe it.