project
Vulume
Sol Music, a web3 tech startup founded by music industry pros, creatives, and Web3 enthusiasts, aims to revolutionize the music industry by empowering artists with NFTs on the Solana blockchain.
Through their flagship product, Vulume, artists can access capital, cultivate a following, and take control of their careers.
Year
2021-2023
client
Sol Music NFT
role
Product Designer
Year
2021-2023
client
Sol Music NFT
role
Product Designer
project
Vulume
Sol Music, a web3 tech startup founded by music industry pros, creatives, and Web3 enthusiasts, aims to revolutionize the music industry by empowering artists with NFTs on the Solana blockchain.
Through their flagship product, Vulume, artists can access capital, cultivate a following, and take control of their careers.
Introduction
Overview
As the founding leader of product and design at Sol Music, a Canadian web3 tech-startup, I oversaw the design and development of four products, including the flagship product, Vulume, a web3 music NFT platform set for beta release.
I also created the company's brand identity and designed assets for various touchpoints.
Our agile/scrum workflow prioritized rapid deployment and user-testing, and I collaborated with marketing and development teams in 1-2 week sprints.
The goal was to establish Sol Music as a reputable player in the web3 space by becoming the largest music NFT launchpad for indie artists.
Development
Workflow
Branding
Logo
Type & Color
UI/UX Design
Initiation
Task & User Flow
Sitemap
Wireframe (Lo-Fi)
Prototype (Hi-Fi)
Pre-Alpha
Revisions
NFT
v1 Collection
V2 Collection
Development
Workflow
Sol Music's product development followed an agile/scrum workflow with 5 phases.
As the leader of product and design, I collaborated with marketing and development teams in 1-2 week sprints, prioritizing rapid deployment.
1
Initiation
2
Planning
1. Initiation
Branding
UI/UX Design
NFTs
Backlog Creation
Backlog Creation
Backlog Creation
Regular Meetings
Regular Meetings
Regular Meetings
Gather User Data
2. Planning
Branding
UI/UX Design
NFTs
Logo Design
Sketches
Storyboard
Brand Strategy
Site Mapping
Concept Art
Drafts
Wireframing
3. Design
Branding
UI/UX Design
NFTs
Social Media Posts
Prototyping
Traits
Video Editing
Accessibility
Versions
Brand Development
User Testing
4. Review
Branding
UI/UX Design
NFTs
Social Media Posts
User Feedback
Sneak Peeks
Video Teasers
Iterations
Market Feedback
Misc. Marketing Material
Art Revisions
5. Launch
Branding
UI/UX Design
NFTs
Social Media Posts
Hosting
NFT & Metadata Config.
Comms. Channel Material
Regular Updates
Uploading & Storing NFTs
Snapshots & Airdrops
Branding
Logo
As the founding designer at Sol Music, I crafted the logo and branding for the organization.
The name 'Sol Music' is a play on words, with 'Solana' being the blockchain platform it uses and ‘Soul’ being a genre of music.
The design draws inspiration from isometric art and universal music icons like play, pause, and next buttons.
Keywords
- Clean
- 3D
- Modern
- Futuristic
- Simple
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Type & Color
Heading
Microgramma
Subtitle
Inter Semi-Bold
Body
Inter Regular
Logo
#000000
#FFFFFF
Website
#000000
#FFFFFF
#545454
#3501b6
#ae2424
#4cff41
#13780c
Product Design
Summary
As Product Designer at Sol Music, I led the design of Vulume - a desktop-first, web3 music NFT platform.
The CEO and I collaborated on the backlog. To meet business needs, we collaborated with stakeholders at every stage of the design process.
The platform's features include facilitating early investments in emerging artists, enabling staking and rewards for Sol Music NFT holders, and providing up-to-date news on music trends and investment opportunities.
The Challenge
Problem
Artists lack funding options.
Affected
Artists who earn little to no income, fans who have limited avenues to support them and record labels who profit from large catalogs.
Reason
Record labels and streaming services prioritize extensive artist catalogs to generate revenue, leaving smaller artists with less support.
Design Process
Following the 5 Step Design Thinking Model. Iterative and Agile.
01 Empathize
Research & Discovery
My team and I collaborated with real-world artists to better understand their experiences and needs in the music industry.
This research guided the design of Vulume, starting with case study collections.
We also conducted market research, surveys, competitive analysis, artist testimonies, and expert reviews to create a comprehensive product vision.
02 DEfine
Vision & Value
Platform Creation
Develop a comprehensive and innovative web3 music analytics platform.
Investor and Artist Connection
Connect indie music artists with investors through NFTs and smart-contracts.
Career Development
Enable investors to discover promising artists before commercial success and provide artists with capital for career development.
Music Trends and Scouting
Serve as a hub for music trends and scouting, serving the "Lonely Listeners Club" and the Sol Music Community.
Industry Revolution
Empower artists and investors and revolutionize the way the industry invests in talent.
Artists Get What They Deserve
Terms are set out by the artist. Having pre-qualified users allows artists not to rely on their fanbase for initial sales/launches.
Easy Onboarding for Artists & Investors
Vulume curates artists with quality control and simple onboarding for wider marketing beyond web3. This attracts new fans and investors.
Delegated Risk Management
Unique analytic insights on music performance to provide users with clear expectations on returns & potential revenue.
02
Competitive Analysis
03 Ideate
Task & User Flow
The next stage in Vulume's development was creating task and user flows.
I created flow charts to outline user goals and minimize any issues.
These charts streamlined the sitemap and helped determine the necessary number of pages for the app's information architecture.
Tools
Figma
Task Flow
Full Task Flow
↗
User Flow
Full User Flow
↗
03
MVP & Sitemap
After collaborating on the flowcharts, the CEO and I created two sitemaps - one for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and the other for the future of the product, both aligned with business and user needs.
I identified non-essential features for our MVP through collaboration with stakeholders.
Tools
Figma
Sitemap (MVP)
Sitemap (FUTURE)
04 Prototype
Wireframe (Lo-Fi)
After creating the sitemap and plenty of sketches, I made low-fidelity wireframes for the web-based app.
The layout was simple, modular, and mostly relied on modals instead of separate pages.
No images, text, or colors were used in this stage, just blocks to establish the layout and grid system for a uniform look and feel.
Tools
Figma
04
Prototype (Hi-Fi)
I created a high-fidelity wireframe based on Google's Material Design 2 system and
user-tested it with the Marketing & Development Teams, stakeholders, and a select group of Sol Music community members.
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Desktop
Web Mockup
Motion Mockup
05 Testing
User Testing
Based on feedback from stakeholders and users, I created a backlog to address accessibility issues, outdated design, and inconsistent type scaling.
What Worked
Launchpad page showcased a focus on art.
Chips and cards helped organize datasets.
User is met with necessary info on page launch.
UI design supports user’s mental model of existing dashboard tools and launchpads.
Modular design enables easy feature integration.
What Didn't
Brand logo was too big.
Color theming made text hard to view.
Chat feature took away from focus of app.
Calls-to-action were hard to notice.
Outdated design for a web3 company.
Elevation was not defined; no hierarchy.
05
UI Refresh
The UI was modified to incorporate feedback from stakeholders and users.
I moved from Material Design 2 to Material Design 3 for Vulume V2, resulting in an improved UI, addressing the feedback received.
Comparison - V1 vs. V2
05
Current UI
05
Success Metrics
Our goal for Vulume in its early stage was to measure success by its impact on artists and investor interest in the company.
Collectors can track collection floor prices to identify buying opportunities;
rise in floor price indicates increased demand.
Streaming payout data from the last quarter can indicate a song's success.
Users can view artist analytics and discover new music to invest in based on their web2 popularity.
Artist undisclosed for confidentiality.
Artist undisclosed for confidentiality.
Reflection
Reflecting on my design process, I've identified strengths and areas for improvement as the product designer on Vulume.
What Worked
Communication was consistently maintained.
UX metrics demonstrated high user satisfaction.
Early adopters & stakeholders gave valuable and consistent feedback.
Designs took into consideration technical feasibility and limitations.
Market research supported findings in the end.
What Didn't
Insufficient support for brainstorming and workload management.
Design system composition was often rushed.
Lack of brand consideration in the early stages.
UI design could have incorporated more modals and dialogs to optimize screen space.