Project Cloud
Project Cloud, a Desktop App for an Audio Project Backup Platform.
The Problem
Few dedicated services exist to provide music creators with a way to easily backup projects to the cloud, organize them, and share them with others to collaborate, and one of main products to offer this, Splice Studio, no longer exists.
The Goal
By designing a desktop app that can provide an easy, effectiove way to search for, organize, upload, downloard, and share projects, a product can be provided to both casual and professional music makers to aid them in the creative process, providing them security in knowing their projects are backed up, and convenience when sharing and accessing project files.
Research
By using the Splice app before the Studio feature was removed, observing how platforms such as Google Drive and Dropbox handle interfaces, as well as discussing with musicians what is desired of a project file cloud platform, I was able to understand the usability of alternatives and identify areas in which Project Cloud could fill music maker’s needs.
User Persona
I created my user persona, Ivy, based on the information I know about various groups that used Splice’s services within my social groups as a musician, as well as online based on research. I made sure to include the various operating systems and that musicians often work with both desktop and laptops when creating. Throughout my design process I kept in mind this persona to ensure I created a desktop app that was comfortable for musicians of varying skill levels to use.
Sketches
I began by sketching out ideas to figure out an overall layout to use for the final app, outlining the main screen as well as how a project details screen would look.
My initial ideas for a main page listing projects included a larger view of each project, providing a small preview window of each project’s visual layout.
Lo-Fi Prototype
After recieving feedback from fellow music creators on my sketches, I began working on the lo-fi prototype and wireframes to further figure out the finer details of the app’s layout.
In the initial designs, I believed that a visual preview would help users easily identify their project files, but upon receiving feedback, I figured out that due to the small nature of the thumbnail previews, it would be more useful to have audio previews on the main page, rather than visual previews. This helped to guide the design towards a more usable state.
Hi-Fi Prototype
I lastly created a Hi-Fi prototype to show the functionality of the finished app, displaying the final color choices, example graphics, and the overall layout of the application.
The main screen allows users to navigate a list of their projects, and provides options to view the most recent, folders within the user’s project library, view shared projects, as well as access the application’s settings on the left navigation bar.
The top bar allows users to search their projects by name or the tagging system, provides an upload button, and also provides a profile icon, which allows users to access their Project Cloud account.
Each project has its own listing on a card, with the logo of the DAW, title, creator, last saved date, audio preview, and open and download options present on them, allowing users to easily understand which projects are which, and providing essential options for managing them without moving to the next page.
If users do have to access the project screen, they are provided with the ability to access a visual preview of the project, as well as view and add audio previews to different versions of the project. They are also able to view the project’s size and creator, as well as view and edit tags, and access different save versions of the project.
Additionally, users have the ability to share projects with other users of Project Cloud, and can add them based on email address, or send a link that they can open, and additionally they can view the users that have been added to the project.
Conclusion
With this project, I was able to further sharpen my UX skills by tackling a different medium from a mobile app, and also develop my UI skills by clearly defining the application’s style and look for myself. I also gained further experience in asking prospective users about my application, and taking their criticism into account while designing.