AUD1O App: Product Design Case Study
Taking what I learned as a UX Designer at a software startup, I dreamed up an app called AUD1O. As the name implies, it records audio, a purpose inspired by my love of sound design, field recordings, and audio archives. I believe we can know our world by sound better than by sight. Big tech is onto this as well. Amazon is pushing for a future web that will be more audio-based. Perhaps the day is soon that our attention will be freed and restored to ourselves again.
The app’s primary audience are podcasters, music producers, filmmakers, and sound artists. The aim is to place a prosumer quality recording device in people’s back pocket. Our secondary audience are students, project managers, and professionals.
AUD1O is primarily an utility. It's not lost on me, though, that Instagram has made amateur image makers out of many of us. Could there be adoption potential for social?
Below are some UX / UI materials from the development process.
Notes toward Audio App (c) Hanul Bahm
Phase One: Ideation
I started with a list of possible features, such as the capacity to store old voicemails or build a sound library. After thinking through the kitchen sink of possibilities, I started narrowing toward a minimum viable product. I concluded the app should focus on doing just a few things well. Among the features I wanted to develop were:
Instant Record
Audio transcription to text
Adjustable presets for different recording types
Volume unit meter
Phase Two: User Personas
I profiled two potential users: CJ Francis IV, an Atlanta-based rapper and hip-hop music producer; and Anita Sugimura, a documentary film director based in Los Angeles. They shared concerns specific to their professional work. Knowing their production goals helped to envision a more useful product.
Phase Three: Competitive Analysis
The market has a handful of interesting audio recording apps. A competitive analysis allowed me to map their features in relation to AUD1O.
Competitive Analysis for AUD1O. Click to Expand.
Phase Four: Rapid Prototyping
Next up was designing wireframes to demonstrate proof of concept. I came up with functionalities and a visual style for four screens, three of which are featured here. I soon realized there are over a hundred years of audio interfaces to draw from.
Having something to show, even if it’s a paper or static prototype, helps. A design will fundamentally reveal itself as intuitive or cryptic to a user. Low-fidelity designs are fine. Once you set a direction, you can go higher fidelity.
Design styles come and go. These were designed in 2019 and 2018. Had it been a real app, I would have refreshed the design. Non-stylish is okay, as long as the due diligence of user-friendliness is accomplished.
Good product design is merciful and keeps only what’s needed. Imagine a non-tech savvy person, with no one to turn to, having to navigate a poorly designed, no funciona app. Good design ensures that everyone, regardless of how digitally practiced, transacts what they need.