Spotify “ Top Picks by Country”
New feature for music streaming service
Product type:
Proof of concept
Role & Year:
UX/UI, Research
Interaction Design
2024
Tools:
Figma
Otto.ai
Constraints
4 weeks
Working within existing design system
At first, I considered building a more social-focused feature. But through early research and interviews, I discovered that what users truly wanted wasn’t more interaction—it was discovery.
Specifically, they wanted to explore what people in other countries were listening to without needing to follow accounts or dig through endless playlists.
This insight led to “Top Picks by Country”—a discovery-first feature that curates top tracks from around the world, letting users filter by country and choose how often their recommendations update (daily, weekly, or monthly). It’s not about creating more noise. It’s about expanding perspective, and making global listening feel effortless.
🎧 FEATURE CONCEPT — “Top Picks by Country”
Helping users explore global music trends—on their own terms.
Over the years, Spotify users have voiced growing interest in social features—like collaborative playlists, better sharing options, and tools to see what friends are listening to. While features like Friend Activity and playlist sharing exist, they don’t fully satisfy users’ curiosity or connection with the broader music world.
📌 THE OPPORTUNITY
Spotify offers incredible personalization but misses a cultural beat.
Here’s what I discovered during my competitive analysis:
Spotify
Strong personalization, diverse content (music, podcasts, audiobooks), cross-platform access
Lacks social discovery features and deeper artist engagement
SoundCloud
Great for indie music and community interaction
Cluttered UI, smaller library, inconsistent quality
Apple Music
High-quality audio, seamless with Apple ecosystem
Limited discovery tools, no free version
YouTube Music
Huge catalog with video integration
Poor audio-first experience, interface feels clunky
From this research, I identified two promising directions:
Enhanced Social Discovery
→ Inspired by SoundCloud’s interactive community, I considered features like in-app comments or more real-time track engagement.Global Music Exploration
→ Seeing how all platforms lacked strong location-based discovery, I saw an opportunity to let users explore top music from around the world, filtered by country and time frame.
🔍 USER INTERVIEW
I interviewed 5 Spotify users (ages 22–43) to explore how they interact with music, podcasts, and potential social features.
Initially, I assumed users would want more social engagement—like commenting or sharing music in real time. But the interviews told a different story:
Most users said they listen to music while multitasking, leaving little interest in chatting or interacting.
Surprisingly, social interaction felt more relevant during podcasts and audiobooks, where people were eager to share opinions or discuss content.
I began designing around this podcast-centered interaction until I discovered that Spotify had just launched a podcast comment feature two weeks prior. That led me to pivot and focus on the second biggest opportunity from my research: effortless global music discovery.
🧍♂️ From Insights to Persona: Defining the Real Problem
After synthesizing insights from competitive analysis and user interviews, I began to see key patterns emerge around how users discover music—and where Spotify could better support them.
I created a persona, Jordan, to represent Spotify users who are curious and open to discovering new sounds but feel limited by algorithm-driven recommendations and the lack of visibility into what’s trending globally. These users aren’t asking for more personalization—they’re asking for context: what’s popular elsewhere, and why?
This stage clarified my design direction:
Users don’t need more sharing or social interaction. What they really need is a low-effort, high-reward way to explore music through a global lens without disrupting their existing listening habits. That insight became the foundation of the “Top Picks by Country” feature.
🎨 Bringing “Top Picks by Country” to life
To keep the experience intuitive, I maintained Spotify’s visual language, focusing on clear hierarchy and seamless transitions. I designed high-fidelity wireframes that showed how easily this feature could live inside Spotify’s current ecosystem.
✅ What We Learned & What’s Next
To validate the concept, I tested the “Top Picks by Country” prototype with five users (ages 19–31). The feedback confirmed that the feature was both intuitive and valuable:
5/5 users found it easy to navigate and understood the purpose immediately
All users said they would use the feature to explore music from other countries
One user specifically mentioned it would be especially useful while traveling
These insights reinforced that discovery—not social interaction—was the real opportunity for Spotify.
Looking ahead, I see several ways to build on this idea:
Add local artist highlights within each country’s playlist
Introduce lightweight sharing options for users to send picks to friends
Explore location-based prompts (e.g., “Top Picks in Your Area”)
This project deepened my belief in research-led design. What started as a social feature transformed into a discovery tool grounded in real user needs—and designed to enrich Spotify’s core experience.