For this project, I was tasked with creating and designing a music player featuring a home screen, music library, playlists tab, and a play screen that together will enable users to discover, select, and play their chosen music. I'm targeting age groups between 16 and 25 and will incorporate a set of icons for navigation, illustrations demonstrating the player's interactivity, and typographic elements to enhance the visual content—all to create an intuitive, approachable interface. I'm thrilled to dive into this project, as my passion for music combined with the opportunity to design a complete music app makes this an exciting challenge. I aim to create the best possible user experience for music lovers.
Music in our generation is seen as more than just entertainment, it’s a form of identity, expression, and connection. From past decades to now, music has continuously shaped culture, emotions, and social movements. In earlier eras, it served as a voice for protest, unity, and change, and today it continues to play that role while also being more accessible and diverse than ever before. The evolution of technology, streaming platforms, and social media has made music an everyday presence, creating instant global reach and influence. For people like myself who would deemed as part of a younger more future driven generation, music is deeply tied to personal branding and social interaction, it reflects moods, lifestyles, and even values. Artists aren't just musicians anymore; they’re influencers, icons, and community builders. Whether it’s a nostalgic nod to past genres or a futuristic take through genre blending and digital sounds, music today carries the legacy of the past while speaking directly to the present. It’s a constant companion, helping people feel seen, heard, and understood in a fast-moving world.
Music players have changed a lot over time. They started as simple mechanical devices like record players and cassettes, and now we have digital streaming apps on our phones. This big change in technology has completely transformed how we listen to music. Today, we have many different types of music players: portable devices you can carry around, apps on smartphones, and streaming services on the internet. Each type of player has its own features and limits. I will research these different music players carefully to understand what works well and what doesn't, looking at how they meet different people's music listening needs and preferences.
Looking at different music players, I've found that digital platforms have made music much more accessible thanks to smartphones and streaming services. It's now incredibly easy for people to access huge music libraries on their phones, which has changed how we listen to music in our everyday lives. I'll use what I've learned from this research to help develop my initial ideas. My goal is to design a music app that's both easy to access and secure as I want to create a user-friendly platform that offers all the features people need, while avoiding the common problems found in other music players. This way, I can give users a better music listening experience that fits what people want today.
Today’s music player apps are more than just tools to listen to songs, they’ve become complete ecosystems for discovering, sharing, and personalising the music experience. In my own experience with Platforms available like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal, they have all redefined how a user interacts with music by combining seamless streaming with intelligent AI algorithms, curated playlists, artist access, and social sharing features. These apps have been such a hit because they offer instant, on demand access to millions of tracks, adapt to individual listening habits, and connect users with the wider music culture. For a generation that values speed, personalisation, and emotional connection, these features are key.
Spotify has become one of the most popular music apps in the last ten years. What makes it special is how it creates a personal experience for each user. It has features like Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Daily Mixes that study what you listen to and suggest new music you might like. The app is also great for connecting with others as you can make playlists with friends, share songs on social media, and see what music your friends are enjoying. Spotify's design is simple and easy to use, with a dark colour scheme and straightforward menus. They regularly add new features to keep things interesting, like podcasts, live audio, and an AI DJ that helps you find music. Spotify shows how an app can be both simple to use and packed with helpful features, making it feel natural and personalised for everyone who uses it.
Apple Music is different from other music apps because it focuses on quality and works really well with other Apple devices. While it has many of the same features as Spotify, it stands out by offering special content you can't find elsewhere. It includes high quality sound options like Lossless and Spatial Audio, and carefully selected playlists for different moods and music types. People who like a clean, professional looking app tend to prefer Apple Music. The app looks neat and organised, using clear text and clean design that matches Apple's style. This shows how important it is for apps to be easy to use and look good to make users trust and enjoy using them.
YouTube Music is special because it connects to YouTube's huge library of videos. This means you can watch music videos and listen to songs, plus see live shows and different versions of songs that fans have made. Young people especially like this because they enjoy both watching and listening to their music. The app uses smart technology to look at what you watch and search for, then suggests new music you might like. It's really good at helping you find new artists and unusual types of music you might not know about. You can easily switch between watching the music video or just listening to the song with one button. This shows how having both video and audio options makes the app more useful and enjoyable for users.