Disco
Disco is an iOS application and web based gig management system aimed at helping users find bespoke live music and the busiest bars. Disco’s unique user generated data platform provides global advertising for local venues.
Live in the moment. Discover live music going on right now.
context
Ever walked the streets looking for the best bar? The bar that is playing live music? Disco empowers users to find live music that is happening near them, right now.
It is hard to find live music and small gigs that are happening right now, and as a small artists or venue, it is hard to promote them.
The goal? To help small artists and venues promote their music, and empower music enthusiasts to find venues with the best live acts at any given moment.
project
history
Disco was designed as a concept after some frustrated discussions with friends, while looking for bars to view. Serendipity then took ahold, and the world presented me with an inconspicuous design challenge; design a music app for a band, so I decided to give it a shot. There is a lot of music sharing apps out there, but none that let you share or find live gigs right now. One of my strengths is the way I see problems, or rather, the way that I identify opportunities. This was an opportunity that I seized with both hands, and I am continuing to develop and design because I think it has legs, and I might even take it to market… Watch this space.
user studies
Using interviews with musicians, people involved in the music scene, and bar managers, we gathered a range of qualitative data that helped us draw insights on the current music industry. Although platforms were there for large labels and ticketed gigs, grass roots exposure and digital platforms aren’t there. The opportunity? To tackle the local scene head on, David and Goliath style.
synthesis tools
User Journey Maps
Used to identify key pain points & opportunities in the journey both in system & out of system
User Personas
Used to reference the user throughout the design process, iterations and reviews.
themes &
insights
Key insights that were generated from common themes drove the design and development process, and in summary, this was that it is hard for venues to promote small, local live events any way other than footfall traffic - any other means is too expensive and shows a lack of return on investment. For the user, have you ever walked around looking for live music or the best bar in a new city, only to take a punt on a venue that was no good?
Realtime Live Music
People struggle to find live music events that are available to go to in real time - concert apps normally focus on ticket sales for future events
Artist Promo
Bands would like a way to promote to a wider audience, especially geo-targeted audience for small gigs
Venue Promo
Businesses like to share that they have live music playing, but normally this will rely on footfall traffic to attract customers
Vetting locations
It is hard to judge if a place is going to be a good bar/ gig without going to it beforehand
low-fi testing
After paper wire framing, digital wire framing and initial usability studies, a few insights were drawn and prioritised. These studies were moderated usability studies that were conducted remotely with Figma. This allowed me to give context to the study, and provide additional information that would have otherwise hindered user journeys on the very low fidelity mock ups. After the initial round of testing, a second round was done on revised screens.
Round 1 Findings
Users needed a less complex overall function and application purpose.
Users needed the navigation to be simplified.
Users needed a way to know that the information displayed on the map was verified.
Round 2 Findings
Users needed a way to see what friends were at a venue
Users needed adjustments of icons to ensure buttons weren’t mistaken.
User needed further context when launching app as to the core purpose.
iOS core functions
Find the best music
Find live music events happening right now
See what friends are at an event
Listen to artist on Spotify
Live in the moment
Find the best bars
See bars on map that often have live music
See what venues your friends are at
See what bar is the busiest
Exclusive discounts
how does it work?
How does it work?
Designing Disco was a challenge. Trying to figure out a way that people can passively share their location with friends, help add to hotspots and in-the-moment information regarding a bar’s crowd was difficult.
The final solution that I arrived at was using a QR code at a bar to provide discounts, and concurrently using unique scan data to add to the crowd count. This would allow for anonymous additions to the data set, while allowing friends to actively share exact venue locations with friends if desired.
core functions - desktop
The Disco app is designed for users to find music, and also for artists and venues to find, post, and promote small gigs. Disco levels the playing field and makes powerful, data driven analytics accessible to even the smallest venue - all they need to do is offer discover users a small discount, and stick a QR code on the bar.
Core functions
Find + recommend artists that are similar to the top performing artists each venue has previously added
Detects the busiest times & provides smart recommendations to venue managers through the dash.
Analyse how many users bring their contacts/ friends to the venue
Minimises risks identified during initial user testing of fake hotspots or events through authenticated and control user contributions.
Allow total control for venues over their listings
Helps venues easily request to book an artist
