Gaana App Redesign
Optimising the music consumption experience
Drop-offs were rising, and loyal users with 100+ plays still weren't subscribing to Gaana Plus.
UX Designer: research, personas, problem framing, UI and new features (Live Lounges, Broadcast).
Project overview
Gaana experienced a sharp rise in user drop-offs. Our goal was to identify app usage issues and the main triggers for user attrition. Users with over 100 app plays haven't subscribed to Gaana Plus. Encourage this group to opt for Gaana Plus, given their consistent app usage.
Understand factors hindering subscription conversion for retained users on Gaana. Uncover challenges, triggers, and opportunities to define an optimal user experience for music streaming on Gaana.
- Explored and analysed user engagement patterns within the Gaana platform.
- Identified pain points and aspirations, laying the foundation for improvements.
- Extracted valuable insights, fuelling a design approach centred around the user.
- Strived to enhance engagement, increase user retention, and drive subscriptions through the redesign.
Understanding the user
To deeply understand our target audience (their demographics, behaviours, motivations and goals) we structured the approach into four phases.
Research
Unveiling insights through direct engagement with our audience, guiding every design move.
Personas
Creating vivid personas, embodying the essence of our diverse user base.
Problem statements
Defining precise problem statements, focusing our design solutions on real user needs.
User journey maps
Mapping user journeys to visualise experiences, tailoring designs for seamless interaction.
Research
Secondary research
We conducted secondary research to understand the music streaming scenario involving Gaana and its competitors, starting with customer reviews on the App Store and Play Store. This gave us the opportunities and challenges in the domain and formed the foundation for deeper user research.
Customer reviews: App Store & Play Store+
Key takeaways
Limited song availability
A considerable number of songs are unavailable, raising concerns among users.
Cumbersome song search
Search disappears as users scroll up, so it takes extra effort to reach it again.
Interface lacks a conversational feel
Gaana's interface lacks the conversational touch users see in Spotify.
Disrupted experience with ads
Frequent unskippable ads cause freezes and block seamless navigation.
Technical issue affecting audio
Changing tracks drops the audio volume significantly.
Competitor analysis
To understand what sets other apps apart, and how Gaana can borrow strategies for a smoother experience.
Open the competitor comparison+
Primary research
25 users interviewedWith a firm grasp of the problem, we wrote an interview guide: friendly ice-breakers about the user's daily routine first, then targeted product questions.
- Younger users value app experience, noting occasional ad-related lags
- Music choice aligns with tasks: rap for workouts, lo-fi for studying
- Younger users predominantly favour Spotify
- Users seek effortless discovery of new music in preferred genres
- Unappealing app aesthetics drive users to switch to Spotify
- Users easily move to other apps when they have no personal playlists
- Users switch apps like their friends, simplifying music sharing in their circles
- Social media significantly shapes user behaviour
- App glitches during scrolling disrupt navigation and irritate users
- New users use the app primarily while driving
- Short app usage, ads not a major bother
- Satisfied users are less likely to subscribe
- Habituation to ads diminishes subscription appeal
- Users see music as leisure due to time constraints
- A satisfied experience reduces the inclination to subscribe
How we categorised the insights+
Two kinds of listener
We streamlined the raw interview data into two distinct user sets, then used empathy maps (what users say, think, do and feel) and journey maps to see how their priorities shape the way they use the app.
Aakash Singh
“Music is an inseparable part of his day”Aakash lives and breathes music. From showers to workouts, travel and work, music is his constant companion. He's precise about the tunes he wants for each task and loves staying in the loop with music trends.
Traits+
- Frequent music listener (3-4 times daily)
- Precise music preferences linked to activities
- Keen on music trends and news
- Strong friend influence on music
- Effortless music exploration enthusiast
- Nostalgic connection to music
- Impacted by viral tracks on social media
Motivations · Frustrations · Objectives+
- Influenced by social circles
- Passionate about music
- Attracted by the visual appeal of the app
- Excited for new songs or albums from favourite artists
- Enjoying personal leisure time
- Unavailable songs
- Disruptive ads breaking the music flow
- A visual interface that puts him off
- Song repetition and monotony
- Irrelevant content on the home screen
- Music that complements different tasks
- Effortless exploration of new music
- Novelty within preferred genres
- Easy sharing with friends
- Staying informed about trending music
Empathy map, persona & journey map+
Rajeev Mishra
“Listens to music while driving or travelling”Rajeev is a store owner who enjoys music while driving or riding his bike: trending Hindi songs and popular Rajasthani tunes. With a busy schedule, he often feels pressed for time to enjoy music.
Traits+
- Music for commuting only
- Uses Gaana as a radio replacement
- Habituated to ads, no inclination to subscribe
- Considers music a leisure activity
- Subscription not worthwhile due to infrequent use
- Trend-based music preferences
- Limited app interaction, unfamiliar with features
- No custom playlists created
Motivations · Frustrations · Objectives+
- Long-time Gaana user
- Wants trending songs
- Desires uninterrupted background music
- Uses music to lift leisure time or mood
- Prefers fewer ads than radio
- Can't see the value of a subscription
- Lacks time to enjoy music fully
- Struggles to pick songs, so falls back on trending tracks
- Hard to search songs by lyrics
- Random pauses during playback
- Effortless access to favourite artists and songs
- Minimal interface interaction while busy
- Trending, relevant content
- Convenient access to regional music
Empathy map, persona & journey map+
Identified problems & suggestions
Every insight turned into a problem statement and a direction to explore.
Aesthetic displeasure for younger users
Younger users judge functionality based on visual appeal.
Enhance the app's appeal with modern design and an intuitive interface, ensuring an inviting start.
The app lacks hyper-personalisation
Nothing is tailored to the user's preferences, mood, or the task they're doing while listening.
During onboarding, capture preferences to build hyper-personalised playlists and a home feed.
Difficulty quickly finding relevant music
Users struggle to find playlists that match their preferences.
Place relevant music at the top of home, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs and podcasts.
Unawareness of subscription benefits
Users lack clarity on the benefits and rationale for subscribing to Gaana Plus.
Offer a free trial to get users used to ad-free listening and show the value of subscribing.
Low playlist creation
Users who don't create playlists are more likely to switch apps.
Motivate playlist creation, and reward users when playlists hit play milestones.
Low engagement
Users interact minimally with the app, so they don't see the added value of subscribing.
Use gamification, referrals and rewards to make the app more engaging.
Peer influence and social engagement
Users follow friends who switch apps: the app needs to be more community-driven.
Blend social features, collaborative playlists and challenges.
Inefficient song identification
Users jump between apps to identify songs.
Integrate a Shazam-like song identification feature inside the app.
From problem to shipped
Each block follows the same path: the problem, the solution, the screens, and what it changed.
Aesthetic displeasure for younger users
Younger users judge functionality based on visual appeal.
Enhance the app's appeal with modern design and an intuitive interface, ensuring an inviting and engaging start.
Typeface & colours
In response to the first problem statement, we developed a visual language to uplift Gaana's visual appeal and overall appearance.
The app lacks hyper-personalisation
The app lacks hyper-personalisation tailored to the user's preferences, mood, and the specific task they aim to accomplish while listening to music.
During onboarding, get user preferences about music and artists, and create the home feed from them.
User onboarding
After onboarding and a home feed aligned to user preferences shipped, app usage improved notably.
Difficulty in quickly finding relevant music
Users face difficulty in quickly finding music that matches their preferences, causing frustration and impeding a seamless experience.
Place relevant music prominently at the top of the home page, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs, podcasts and more.
Gaana home
The most relevant music elements sit first, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs, podcasts and radio.
Music history takes the second position for quick access.
Third position, again to reach relevant music quickly.
Quick access to albums the user has listened to before.
Playlists tailored by Gaana's algorithm from preferences and listening history.
Music tailored to the user's mood.
Personalised, accessible content raised involvement and kept people in the app longer.
Unawareness of subscription benefits
Users lack clarity on the benefits and rationale for subscribing to Gaana Plus.
Offer a free trial to acclimate users to an ad-free experience, emphasising the value of a subscription and removing uncertainty.
Gaana Plus nudge
Right after onboarding
While using the app
Low playlist creation
Users not creating playlists are more likely to switch apps.
Motivate playlist creation by rewarding users when playlists reach play milestones.
Playlists, made easy
To encourage users to create playlists, we first made playlist creation easy to reach.
Add songs to existing playlists and create new ones straight from albums.
Low engagement
Users interact minimally with the app, so they don't perceive the added value of subscribing to Gaana.
Use gamification, referrals and rewards to make the app more engaging, starting with live and social features.
Live Lounges & Broadcast
To raise engagement we added Gaana Live Lounges and Broadcast Messages, for both listeners and artists.
Artists share messages directly with followers, who can respond and engage.
Interact live with artists, RJs, DJs and podcasters, from home or the artist's page.
Impact not measured: the beta was released to selected artists and users.
New music player
A redesigned player with a new swipe interaction.
New music player
What it changed
Personalisation, a home built around the user, an ad-free trial and easier playlists moved retention, engagement and subscriptions together.
- Live Lounges and Broadcast shipped as a beta for selected artists and users; their impact wasn't measured.
Gaana App Redesign
Optimising the music consumption experience
Drop-offs were rising, and loyal users with 100+ plays still weren't subscribing to Gaana Plus.
UX Designer: research, personas, problem framing, UI and new features (Live Lounges, Broadcast).
Project overview
Gaana experienced a sharp rise in user drop-offs. Our goal was to identify app usage issues and the main triggers for user attrition. Users with over 100 app plays haven't subscribed to Gaana Plus. Encourage this group to opt for Gaana Plus, given their consistent app usage.
Understand factors hindering subscription conversion for retained users on Gaana. Uncover challenges, triggers, and opportunities to define an optimal user experience for music streaming on Gaana.
- Explored and analysed user engagement patterns within the Gaana platform.
- Identified pain points and aspirations, laying the foundation for improvements.
- Extracted valuable insights, fuelling a design approach centred around the user.
- Strived to enhance engagement, increase user retention, and drive subscriptions through the redesign.
Understanding the user
To deeply understand our target audience (their demographics, behaviours, motivations and goals) we structured the approach into four phases.
Research
Unveiling insights through direct engagement with our audience, guiding every design move.
Personas
Creating vivid personas, embodying the essence of our diverse user base.
Problem statements
Defining precise problem statements, focusing our design solutions on real user needs.
User journey maps
Mapping user journeys to visualise experiences, tailoring designs for seamless interaction.
Research
Secondary research
We conducted secondary research to understand the music streaming scenario involving Gaana and its competitors, starting with customer reviews on the App Store and Play Store. This gave us the opportunities and challenges in the domain and formed the foundation for deeper user research.
Customer reviews: App Store & Play Store+
Key takeaways
Limited song availability
A considerable number of songs are unavailable, raising concerns among users.
Cumbersome song search
Search disappears as users scroll up, so it takes extra effort to reach it again.
Interface lacks a conversational feel
Gaana's interface lacks the conversational touch users see in Spotify.
Disrupted experience with ads
Frequent unskippable ads cause freezes and block seamless navigation.
Technical issue affecting audio
Changing tracks drops the audio volume significantly.
Competitor analysis
To understand what sets other apps apart, and how Gaana can borrow strategies for a smoother experience.
Open the competitor comparison+
Primary research
25 users interviewedWith a firm grasp of the problem, we wrote an interview guide: friendly ice-breakers about the user's daily routine first, then targeted product questions.
- Younger users value app experience, noting occasional ad-related lags
- Music choice aligns with tasks: rap for workouts, lo-fi for studying
- Younger users predominantly favour Spotify
- Users seek effortless discovery of new music in preferred genres
- Unappealing app aesthetics drive users to switch to Spotify
- Users easily move to other apps when they have no personal playlists
- Users switch apps like their friends, simplifying music sharing in their circles
- Social media significantly shapes user behaviour
- App glitches during scrolling disrupt navigation and irritate users
- New users use the app primarily while driving
- Short app usage, ads not a major bother
- Satisfied users are less likely to subscribe
- Habituation to ads diminishes subscription appeal
- Users see music as leisure due to time constraints
- A satisfied experience reduces the inclination to subscribe
How we categorised the insights+
Two kinds of listener
We streamlined the raw interview data into two distinct user sets, then used empathy maps (what users say, think, do and feel) and journey maps to see how their priorities shape the way they use the app.
Aakash Singh
“Music is an inseparable part of his day”Aakash lives and breathes music. From showers to workouts, travel and work, music is his constant companion. He's precise about the tunes he wants for each task and loves staying in the loop with music trends.
Traits+
- Frequent music listener (3-4 times daily)
- Precise music preferences linked to activities
- Keen on music trends and news
- Strong friend influence on music
- Effortless music exploration enthusiast
- Nostalgic connection to music
- Impacted by viral tracks on social media
Motivations · Frustrations · Objectives+
- Influenced by social circles
- Passionate about music
- Attracted by the visual appeal of the app
- Excited for new songs or albums from favourite artists
- Enjoying personal leisure time
- Unavailable songs
- Disruptive ads breaking the music flow
- A visual interface that puts him off
- Song repetition and monotony
- Irrelevant content on the home screen
- Music that complements different tasks
- Effortless exploration of new music
- Novelty within preferred genres
- Easy sharing with friends
- Staying informed about trending music
Empathy map, persona & journey map+
Rajeev Mishra
“Listens to music while driving or travelling”Rajeev is a store owner who enjoys music while driving or riding his bike: trending Hindi songs and popular Rajasthani tunes. With a busy schedule, he often feels pressed for time to enjoy music.
Traits+
- Music for commuting only
- Uses Gaana as a radio replacement
- Habituated to ads, no inclination to subscribe
- Considers music a leisure activity
- Subscription not worthwhile due to infrequent use
- Trend-based music preferences
- Limited app interaction, unfamiliar with features
- No custom playlists created
Motivations · Frustrations · Objectives+
- Long-time Gaana user
- Wants trending songs
- Desires uninterrupted background music
- Uses music to lift leisure time or mood
- Prefers fewer ads than radio
- Can't see the value of a subscription
- Lacks time to enjoy music fully
- Struggles to pick songs, so falls back on trending tracks
- Hard to search songs by lyrics
- Random pauses during playback
- Effortless access to favourite artists and songs
- Minimal interface interaction while busy
- Trending, relevant content
- Convenient access to regional music
Empathy map, persona & journey map+
Identified problems & suggestions
Every insight turned into a problem statement and a direction to explore.
Aesthetic displeasure for younger users
Younger users judge functionality based on visual appeal.
Enhance the app's appeal with modern design and an intuitive interface, ensuring an inviting start.
The app lacks hyper-personalisation
Nothing is tailored to the user's preferences, mood, or the task they're doing while listening.
During onboarding, capture preferences to build hyper-personalised playlists and a home feed.
Difficulty quickly finding relevant music
Users struggle to find playlists that match their preferences.
Place relevant music at the top of home, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs and podcasts.
Unawareness of subscription benefits
Users lack clarity on the benefits and rationale for subscribing to Gaana Plus.
Offer a free trial to get users used to ad-free listening and show the value of subscribing.
Low playlist creation
Users who don't create playlists are more likely to switch apps.
Motivate playlist creation, and reward users when playlists hit play milestones.
Low engagement
Users interact minimally with the app, so they don't see the added value of subscribing.
Use gamification, referrals and rewards to make the app more engaging.
Peer influence and social engagement
Users follow friends who switch apps: the app needs to be more community-driven.
Blend social features, collaborative playlists and challenges.
Inefficient song identification
Users jump between apps to identify songs.
Integrate a Shazam-like song identification feature inside the app.
From problem to shipped
Each block follows the same path: the problem, the solution, the screens, and what it changed.
Aesthetic displeasure for younger users
Younger users judge functionality based on visual appeal.
Enhance the app's appeal with modern design and an intuitive interface, ensuring an inviting and engaging start.
Typeface & colours
In response to the first problem statement, we developed a visual language to uplift Gaana's visual appeal and overall appearance.
The app lacks hyper-personalisation
The app lacks hyper-personalisation tailored to the user's preferences, mood, and the specific task they aim to accomplish while listening to music.
During onboarding, get user preferences about music and artists, and create the home feed from them.
User onboarding
After onboarding and a home feed aligned to user preferences shipped, app usage improved notably.
Difficulty in quickly finding relevant music
Users face difficulty in quickly finding music that matches their preferences, causing frustration and impeding a seamless experience.
Place relevant music prominently at the top of the home page, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs, podcasts and more.
Gaana home
The most relevant music elements sit first, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs, podcasts and radio.
Music history takes the second position for quick access.
Third position, again to reach relevant music quickly.
Quick access to albums the user has listened to before.
Playlists tailored by Gaana's algorithm from preferences and listening history.
Music tailored to the user's mood.
Personalised, accessible content raised involvement and kept people in the app longer.
Unawareness of subscription benefits
Users lack clarity on the benefits and rationale for subscribing to Gaana Plus.
Offer a free trial to acclimate users to an ad-free experience, emphasising the value of a subscription and removing uncertainty.
Gaana Plus nudge
Right after onboarding
While using the app
Low playlist creation
Users not creating playlists are more likely to switch apps.
Motivate playlist creation by rewarding users when playlists reach play milestones.
Playlists, made easy
To encourage users to create playlists, we first made playlist creation easy to reach.
Add songs to existing playlists and create new ones straight from albums.
Low engagement
Users interact minimally with the app, so they don't perceive the added value of subscribing to Gaana.
Use gamification, referrals and rewards to make the app more engaging, starting with live and social features.
Live Lounges & Broadcast
To raise engagement we added Gaana Live Lounges and Broadcast Messages, for both listeners and artists.
Artists share messages directly with followers, who can respond and engage.
Interact live with artists, RJs, DJs and podcasters, from home or the artist's page.
Impact not measured: the beta was released to selected artists and users.
New music player
A redesigned player with a new swipe interaction.
New music player
What it changed
Personalisation, a home built around the user, an ad-free trial and easier playlists moved retention, engagement and subscriptions together.
- Live Lounges and Broadcast shipped as a beta for selected artists and users; their impact wasn't measured.
Gaana App Redesign
Optimising the music consumption experience
Drop-offs were rising, and loyal users with 100+ plays still weren't subscribing to Gaana Plus.
UX Designer: research, personas, problem framing, UI and new features (Live Lounges, Broadcast).
Project overview
Gaana experienced a sharp rise in user drop-offs. Our goal was to identify app usage issues and the main triggers for user attrition. Users with over 100 app plays haven't subscribed to Gaana Plus. Encourage this group to opt for Gaana Plus, given their consistent app usage.
Understand factors hindering subscription conversion for retained users on Gaana. Uncover challenges, triggers, and opportunities to define an optimal user experience for music streaming on Gaana.
- Explored and analysed user engagement patterns within the Gaana platform.
- Identified pain points and aspirations, laying the foundation for improvements.
- Extracted valuable insights, fuelling a design approach centred around the user.
- Strived to enhance engagement, increase user retention, and drive subscriptions through the redesign.
Understanding the user
To deeply understand our target audience (their demographics, behaviours, motivations and goals) we structured the approach into four phases.
Research
Unveiling insights through direct engagement with our audience, guiding every design move.
Personas
Creating vivid personas, embodying the essence of our diverse user base.
Problem statements
Defining precise problem statements, focusing our design solutions on real user needs.
User journey maps
Mapping user journeys to visualise experiences, tailoring designs for seamless interaction.
Research
Secondary research
We conducted secondary research to understand the music streaming scenario involving Gaana and its competitors, starting with customer reviews on the App Store and Play Store. This gave us the opportunities and challenges in the domain and formed the foundation for deeper user research.
Customer reviews: App Store & Play Store+
Key takeaways
Limited song availability
A considerable number of songs are unavailable, raising concerns among users.
Cumbersome song search
Search disappears as users scroll up, so it takes extra effort to reach it again.
Interface lacks a conversational feel
Gaana's interface lacks the conversational touch users see in Spotify.
Disrupted experience with ads
Frequent unskippable ads cause freezes and block seamless navigation.
Technical issue affecting audio
Changing tracks drops the audio volume significantly.
Competitor analysis
To understand what sets other apps apart, and how Gaana can borrow strategies for a smoother experience.
Open the competitor comparison+
Primary research
25 users interviewedWith a firm grasp of the problem, we wrote an interview guide: friendly ice-breakers about the user's daily routine first, then targeted product questions.
- Younger users value app experience, noting occasional ad-related lags
- Music choice aligns with tasks: rap for workouts, lo-fi for studying
- Younger users predominantly favour Spotify
- Users seek effortless discovery of new music in preferred genres
- Unappealing app aesthetics drive users to switch to Spotify
- Users easily move to other apps when they have no personal playlists
- Users switch apps like their friends, simplifying music sharing in their circles
- Social media significantly shapes user behaviour
- App glitches during scrolling disrupt navigation and irritate users
- New users use the app primarily while driving
- Short app usage, ads not a major bother
- Satisfied users are less likely to subscribe
- Habituation to ads diminishes subscription appeal
- Users see music as leisure due to time constraints
- A satisfied experience reduces the inclination to subscribe
How we categorised the insights+
Two kinds of listener
We streamlined the raw interview data into two distinct user sets, then used empathy maps (what users say, think, do and feel) and journey maps to see how their priorities shape the way they use the app.
Aakash Singh
“Music is an inseparable part of his day”Aakash lives and breathes music. From showers to workouts, travel and work, music is his constant companion. He's precise about the tunes he wants for each task and loves staying in the loop with music trends.
Traits+
- Frequent music listener (3-4 times daily)
- Precise music preferences linked to activities
- Keen on music trends and news
- Strong friend influence on music
- Effortless music exploration enthusiast
- Nostalgic connection to music
- Impacted by viral tracks on social media
Motivations · Frustrations · Objectives+
- Influenced by social circles
- Passionate about music
- Attracted by the visual appeal of the app
- Excited for new songs or albums from favourite artists
- Enjoying personal leisure time
- Unavailable songs
- Disruptive ads breaking the music flow
- A visual interface that puts him off
- Song repetition and monotony
- Irrelevant content on the home screen
- Music that complements different tasks
- Effortless exploration of new music
- Novelty within preferred genres
- Easy sharing with friends
- Staying informed about trending music
Empathy map, persona & journey map+
Rajeev Mishra
“Listens to music while driving or travelling”Rajeev is a store owner who enjoys music while driving or riding his bike: trending Hindi songs and popular Rajasthani tunes. With a busy schedule, he often feels pressed for time to enjoy music.
Traits+
- Music for commuting only
- Uses Gaana as a radio replacement
- Habituated to ads, no inclination to subscribe
- Considers music a leisure activity
- Subscription not worthwhile due to infrequent use
- Trend-based music preferences
- Limited app interaction, unfamiliar with features
- No custom playlists created
Motivations · Frustrations · Objectives+
- Long-time Gaana user
- Wants trending songs
- Desires uninterrupted background music
- Uses music to lift leisure time or mood
- Prefers fewer ads than radio
- Can't see the value of a subscription
- Lacks time to enjoy music fully
- Struggles to pick songs, so falls back on trending tracks
- Hard to search songs by lyrics
- Random pauses during playback
- Effortless access to favourite artists and songs
- Minimal interface interaction while busy
- Trending, relevant content
- Convenient access to regional music
Empathy map, persona & journey map+
Identified problems & suggestions
Every insight turned into a problem statement and a direction to explore.
Aesthetic displeasure for younger users
Younger users judge functionality based on visual appeal.
Enhance the app's appeal with modern design and an intuitive interface, ensuring an inviting start.
The app lacks hyper-personalisation
Nothing is tailored to the user's preferences, mood, or the task they're doing while listening.
During onboarding, capture preferences to build hyper-personalised playlists and a home feed.
Difficulty quickly finding relevant music
Users struggle to find playlists that match their preferences.
Place relevant music at the top of home, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs and podcasts.
Unawareness of subscription benefits
Users lack clarity on the benefits and rationale for subscribing to Gaana Plus.
Offer a free trial to get users used to ad-free listening and show the value of subscribing.
Low playlist creation
Users who don't create playlists are more likely to switch apps.
Motivate playlist creation, and reward users when playlists hit play milestones.
Low engagement
Users interact minimally with the app, so they don't see the added value of subscribing.
Use gamification, referrals and rewards to make the app more engaging.
Peer influence and social engagement
Users follow friends who switch apps: the app needs to be more community-driven.
Blend social features, collaborative playlists and challenges.
Inefficient song identification
Users jump between apps to identify songs.
Integrate a Shazam-like song identification feature inside the app.
From problem to shipped
Each block follows the same path: the problem, the solution, the screens, and what it changed.
Aesthetic displeasure for younger users
Younger users judge functionality based on visual appeal.
Enhance the app's appeal with modern design and an intuitive interface, ensuring an inviting and engaging start.
Typeface & colours
In response to the first problem statement, we developed a visual language to uplift Gaana's visual appeal and overall appearance.
The app lacks hyper-personalisation
The app lacks hyper-personalisation tailored to the user's preferences, mood, and the specific task they aim to accomplish while listening to music.
During onboarding, get user preferences about music and artists, and create the home feed from them.
User onboarding
After onboarding and a home feed aligned to user preferences shipped, app usage improved notably.
Difficulty in quickly finding relevant music
Users face difficulty in quickly finding music that matches their preferences, causing frustration and impeding a seamless experience.
Place relevant music prominently at the top of the home page, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs, podcasts and more.
Gaana home
The most relevant music elements sit first, minimising clicks to playlists, artists, songs, podcasts and radio.
Music history takes the second position for quick access.
Third position, again to reach relevant music quickly.
Quick access to albums the user has listened to before.
Playlists tailored by Gaana's algorithm from preferences and listening history.
Music tailored to the user's mood.
Personalised, accessible content raised involvement and kept people in the app longer.
Unawareness of subscription benefits
Users lack clarity on the benefits and rationale for subscribing to Gaana Plus.
Offer a free trial to acclimate users to an ad-free experience, emphasising the value of a subscription and removing uncertainty.
Gaana Plus nudge
Right after onboarding
While using the app
Low playlist creation
Users not creating playlists are more likely to switch apps.
Motivate playlist creation by rewarding users when playlists reach play milestones.
Playlists, made easy
To encourage users to create playlists, we first made playlist creation easy to reach.
Add songs to existing playlists and create new ones straight from albums.
Low engagement
Users interact minimally with the app, so they don't perceive the added value of subscribing to Gaana.
Use gamification, referrals and rewards to make the app more engaging, starting with live and social features.
Live Lounges & Broadcast
To raise engagement we added Gaana Live Lounges and Broadcast Messages, for both listeners and artists.
Artists share messages directly with followers, who can respond and engage.
Interact live with artists, RJs, DJs and podcasters, from home or the artist's page.
Impact not measured: the beta was released to selected artists and users.
New music player
A redesigned player with a new swipe interaction.
New music player
What it changed
Personalisation, a home built around the user, an ad-free trial and easier playlists moved retention, engagement and subscriptions together.
- Live Lounges and Broadcast shipped as a beta for selected artists and users; their impact wasn't measured.