Project Overview

Mission

Develop a platform that connects musicians based on multiple musical criteria, enabling users to form or join bands with a clear understanding of potential bandmates.

Role

Project Scope and areas
of responsibilities

Leading the design process from concept to MVP

Leading the design process from
concept to MVP

Research
Design
Prototyping & testing
Information architecture

Defining the problem

Define

To create a platform that meets musicians’ needs, I conducted a thorough competitor analysis
and user research, ensuring that every decision was driven by user value and data insights.

Competitor Analysis: Analyzing existing apps revealed a reliance on feed-based designs common to social networks. This approach caused cognitive overload and inefficiencies, making it difficult for musicians to find relevant collaborators. By interpreting these pain points, I identified an opportunity for Bandmates to provide value through a streamlined, compatibility-focused experience tailored to musicians’ specific goals.

Target Audience: Using demographic and behavioral research, I segmented users into profiles based on their collaboration needs. Insights from musician communities on platforms like Facebook helped define user types, ensuring the app’s design would resonate with its audience and support their goals effectively.

Research

Surveys revealed a strong demand for a musician-centered platform emphasizing compatibility,
directly shaping the app’s design. Key findings included:

Lack of Information: Existing platforms failed to provide the detail users needed to assess collaborators confidently. This insight informed the decision to design detailed profiles tailored to musicians’ needs.

Compatibility Indicators: The introduction of compatibility-focused fields and a percentage tag provided users with quick, actionable insights, enabling them to efficiently evaluate potential matches. This feature directly addressed the user goal of forming meaningful musical connections.

Users interviews

I conducted interviews with 10 participants from diverse demographics and musical backgrounds, uncovering key challenges like finding compatible bandmates, coordinating schedules, and building trust. These insights directly helped to reassure research findings and shape features such as detailed profiles, compatibility indicators, and a streamlined user experience, ensuring Bandmates addressed real user needs effectively.

Conclusions

The interviews revealed common frustrations, including difficulty finding musicians to join or form bands, concerns over compatibility, scheduling conflicts, and limited information about potential collaborators. These insights underscored the need for Bandmates to prioritize compatibility indicators and offer detailed profiles, enabling musicians to connect confidently and efficiently.

After summarizing the interviews, several common frustrations emerged:

Lack of musicians to join or form a band formation.
Concerns over potential poor personal or musical compatibility
with new musicians.
Scheduling conflicts when arranging meetups.
Limited information on potential collaborators before initial meetings.

These insights highlighted the need for Bandmates to prioritize compatibility indicators and provide relevant information upfront, streamlining musicians ability to connect confidently.

Building a user persona

Based on data gathered during the research phase, I identified three key user types, each representing distinct
segments of the musician community with specific pain points and needs.

For the MVP stage, I focused on one persona that closely aligned with the product’s core goal: enabling musicians to connect and form bands. This targeted approach ensured the design addressed the most critical user needs, maximizing impact during the initial launch phase.

Ben Muyal

Demographics

Age: 23  
Gender: Male.
Status: Single.
location: Jerusalem.
Work: A shift manager at
coffee shop  
Education: High school diploma.

Personality

Analytical

Creative

Introvert

Extrovert

Independent

Team player

Arranged

Messy

Goals

Continuous band practices each week.
form a new band.
Reach new musicians with different personal and musical characteristics.
High musical connection
and chemistry.

Motivations

To form a successful new band as a hobby
Passion for playing small
/big venues.
Playing different genres of what he used to with
current band.
Dreams to become a
professional musician.

Frustrations

Lack of information on new musicians on social platforms.

Scheduling - unfamiliar musicians schedualing is time-consuming.
Commitment - struggles to find musicians with his commitment level

Connecting with new musical partners to have Jam sessions with.
Lack of information on new musicians on social platforms forces James to risk time with potentially incompatible partners.
Schedule with unfamiliar musicians is time-consuming and requires extensive back-and-forth.
Commitment Ben struggles to find musicians who share his commitment level for a new project.

Bio

Ben is an advanced drummer and multi-instrumentalist who dreams of becoming
an expert musician.

While working as a coffee shop shift manager, he seeks to join bands, play local venues, and grow his skills, aiming to explore genres and record music with a band.

Concept & Ideation

Core user flows

The core user flows were designed to provide a seamless and purposeful journey, guiding users from the homepage to meaningful connections. After onboarding, users can explore profiles tailored to their preferences, fostering an experience centered around compatibility and collaboration. Each flow emphasizes ease of interaction, enabling users to connect with others, whether to form a band, join one, or collaborate. The journey is streamlined to minimize friction, delivering clear value by helping users achieve their musical goals efficiently and confidently.

Main flow

Profile Design and Compatibility Indicators

Profile Design and
Compatibility Indicators

Guided by research insights, I designed users and bands profiles with a minimalistic, user-focused layout to streamline connections and support efficient decision-making. Key considerations included:

User Goals: Profiles were structured to help users form or join bands effectively during the MVP stage.

Direct Connections: Users can engage with band profiles before sending requests, simplifying interaction pathways.
Relevant Information: Profiles highlight tailored, essential data without overwhelming users, ensuring clarity.

User interface style and navigation

The interface design follows an index-style model, prioritizing functionality and clarity to align with Bandmates’ goals. Inspired by best practices, the design creates a familiar and intuitive environment that encourages exploration and builds user confidence. Minimalistic yet engaging elements, such as tagged data on profiles and compatibility indicator keep information structured and accessible without creating a cognitive overload for the app's users

The interface design embraces an index-style model, aligning with Bandmates focus on functionality and clarity.

Inspired by best practices from various apps, I aimed to create a familiar environment that encourages exploration and confidence.

The design balances minimalism with clear, engaging elements, such as tagged data on user profiles to keep information structured and accessible without cluttering
the interface.

Iterative design decisions

Iteration was an integral part of the design process, approached through milestone-based feedback sessions with colleagues who are both UX/UI designers and musicians. At each milestone, we reviewed the wireframe and design, focusing on enhancing usability and ensuring the platform aligned with musicians' needs.

These sessions provided critical insights that informed improvements in navigation, profile clarity, and onboarding, allowing the design to evolve thoughtfully and meet user expectations.

Audition post

Primary CTA

Feed filter, compatibility & reel

Home page post-iteration

Onboarding process

After defining the app’s core flow, I took a step back to design the onboarding process, now with a clearer understanding of information hierarchy and profile structure. The goal was to make onboarding quick and intuitive, minimizing user effort while gathering key details to create a personalized experience.

The challenge was determining which information to request initially to ensure profiles accurately represented users’ skills, influences, and goals without overwhelming them. Through multiple iterations with testers, we settled on a balanced approach: collecting only essential information upfront and allowing users to complete their profiles later, with gentle reminders built into the app.

The onboarding process is streamlined into four stages, where users are asked to provide:

Which instrument(s) do you play

Primary instrument(s) they play.

Talent showcasing

An optional stage for users to upload reels demonstrating their musical skills.

Influencing artists

Sync with your music app to reflect users musical influences.

Profile basics

An optional stage for users to upload a profile picture and bio.

Prototyping & testing

User testing

The milestone meetings conducted allowed me to evaluate each major flow of the
app focusing on user experience, ease of navigation, and alignment with musicians’ goals.

By integrating feedback from both design professionals and active musicians, I gained
a nuanced perspective that was critical for refining the app’s usability.

The milestone meetings conducted allowed me to evaluate each major flow of the app focusing on user experience, ease of navigation, and alignment with
musicians’ goals.

By integrating feedback from both design professionals and active musicians, I gained a nuanced perspective that was critical for refining the app’s usability.

"Create" feature

One example that showcases the value of this testing process is the “Create” feature, which enables users to build a band profile on the platform.

Initially, I designed this flow as a single, scrollable screen that presented all necessary inputs at once. However, testing feedback highlighted that the volume of information in a single view felt overwhelming, causing users to feel burdened by the amount of content they needed to complete in one step.

One example that showcases the value of this testing process is the “Create” feature, which enables users to build a band profile
on the platform.

Initially, I designed this flow as a single, scrollable screen that presented all necessary inputs at once. However, testing feedback highlighted that the volume of information in a single view felt overwhelming, causing users to feel burdened by the amount of content they needed to complete in one step.

Iteration process and solution

In response, I transformed the “Create” feature into a three-step wizard. This iteration divided the content into manageable sections, each with a distinct headline, making the flow feel more organized and less intimidating.

I added progression dots to visually indicate each step of the process, giving users a clear sense of how close they were to completion.

These progression indicators are an effective UX tool, as they help reduce cognitive load by showing users their progress and fostering a sense of control and accomplishment. By implementing these adjustments, the flow became more user-friendly and inviting, ultimately supporting users in reaching their goal of creating a band profile smoothly and confidently.

UI design & visual system

UI design

To highlight Bandmates core user flows and visual approach, I’ve included video
demonstrations with brief explanations.

Each video outlines the design choices aimed at creating an intuitive, musician focused experience, enhancing navigation, profile clarity, and user engagement.

Authentication & onboarding flow

For the authentication flow, I chose a familiar setup used by leading mobile platforms: users can sign up via Google, Facebook, or any email provider, ensuring flexibility and ease of access.

The onboarding flow introduces users to key features through two introductory screens, designed to build excitement about the platform’s value.

Each screen features a playful, black-and-white sketch with subtle accents of the brand’s primary colour on instruments, setting a welcoming tone that highlights human connections through music. The brand color is reserved mainly for the main CTA, drawing attention and guiding users smoothly through each step.

For the authentication flow, I chose a familiar setup used by leading mobile platforms:
users can sign up via Google, Facebook, or any email provider, ensuring flexibility and ease of access.

Home page & main flow

For the app’s design, I implemented a hard drop shadow on buttons and user/band cards to create a unique, 3D effect that gives the interface depth and an extraordinary feel.

This shadow effect makes the design bold yet approachable, enhancing the app’s appeal to its creative audience.

Throughout the app, I applied the primary color sparingly, using it mainly for the main CTA on each screen. This approach keeps users focused on their goal, guiding them naturally toward key actions.

For the chat flow, I ensured the message containers reflects the app's overall design language, with text containers styled to maintain a cohesive visual identity across all interactions.

For the app’s design, I implemented a hard drop shadow on buttons and user/band cards to create a unique, 3D effect that gives the interface depth and an extraordinary feel.

This shadow effect makes the design bold yet approachable, enhancing the app’s appeal to its creative audience.

Throughout the app, I applied the primary color sparingly, using it mainly for the main CTA on each screen. This approach keeps users focused on their goal, guiding them naturally toward key actions.

For the chat flow, I ensured the messaging interface reflects the app's overall design language, with text containers styled to maintain a cohesive visual identity
across all interactions.

User profile

To encourage users to complete their profiles, I added a progress indicator around the profile thumbnail, showing the percentage of information provided.

A branded message highlights the value of a complete profile, drawing attention to any missing details.

Users can access profile settings and make edits directly from the profile page, with a clear CTA for updating public information, ensuring easy management of their app presence.

To encourage users to complete their profiles, I added a progress indicator around the profile thumbnail, showing the percentage of information provided.

Design system overview

View

The design system for Bandmates was built from scratch to establish a unique visual
language that reflects the app’s tone.

To ensure familiarity and intuitive interaction, I drew inspiration from leading design systems,
creating a distinct yet recognizable experience tailored to the app’s target audience.

Collaboration with developers

The developer was a key stakeholder in this project, maintaining direct weekly contact and playing a crucial role in decision-making throughout the design process. To ensure a smooth handoff and alignment on design details, I prepared comprehensive Figma files with organized components, detailed annotations, and clear specifications.

This setup allowed the developer to access all necessary assets efficiently and supported seamless communication, enabling us to address design to development challenges collaboratively and make informed adjustments as needed.

Reflections

As the product is still in development, i'm waiting for the mvp to be deployed and to gather data on our first users and iterate the product accordingly from a data-driven perspective.

Starting a project from scratch as the UX, UI, and researcher was an enormous challenge that required me to enhance my skills daily, from A to Z, and above all, as a person. This journey fueled a constant drive in me for growth as a designer with a lot of passion for this craft.

I had so much fun watching myself grow and seeing a product come to life with each passing day, knowing this marathon was reaching it's finish line with results I am more proud of.

A huge thank you to Yuval Reiss for the opportunity and confidence in me to bring this project from an aspiration to life.

I feel grateful for having an opportunity to take on a project of this scope, which pushed me toward constant learning, adaptation, and growth, showing me how much I truly love what I do as a UX/UI designer.

Starting a project from scratch as the UX, UI, and researcher was an enormous challenge that required me to enhance my skills daily, from A to Z, and above all, as a person.

This journey fueled a constant drive in me for growth as a designer with a
lot of passion for this craft.

I had so much fun watching myself grow and seeing a product come to life with each passing day, knowing this marathon was reaching it's finish line with results I am more proud of.

A huge thank you to Yuval Reiss for the opportunity and confidence in me to bring this project from an aspiration to life.

Project Overview