#userexperience

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DR. JANE FOSTER

Marvel Cinematic Universe (2011- )

HAYLEY ATWELL and TOM HIDDLESTON during Much Ado About Nothing press night

Many business owners focus heavily on website design but pay very little attention to navigation. A website may look modern and professional, yet visitors can still struggle to find important information. When users cannot quickly locate services, pricing, contact details, or answers to their questions, they often leave the website without taking any action. This creates a poor user experience and can reduce enquiries, sales, and overall engagement.

Website navigation is not only important for visitors but also for search engines. A clear structure helps Google understand the relationship between pages and identify which content is most important. Well-organized menus, logical page categories, and relevant internal links make it easier for both users and search engines to move through the website. Over time, this can contribute to better visibility, stronger engagement, and improved SEO performance.

Businesses that invest in website structure often notice improvements beyond rankings. Visitors spend more time exploring content, important pages receive more attention, and the overall journey feels smoother. Similar principles are discussed in Website Structure and Lead Generation, where website organization plays an important role in helping businesses attract enquiries and convert visitors into customers.

A case study exploring how I redesigned Spotify's onboarding, discovery and listening experience while learning product thinking and user-centered design.

Introduction

Some redesign projects start with a simple question.

For me, it was this:

"What would Spotify look like if I redesigned it while still keeping the experience familiar?"

Spotify is one of those products that millions of people already enjoy using every day. That made this project both exciting and challenging. Instead of trying to reinvent the app, I wanted to explore how small, thoughtful changes could improve the overall experience while respecting the product people already know.

This redesign became an opportunity to practice product thinking, improve my UI/UX skills, and pay closer attention to how users move through an application from the very first screen to the final interaction.

Authentication

These screens focus on creating a clean and consistent first impression. Rather than making the onboarding process feel overwhelming, I wanted every step to be simple, predictable, and easy to follow.

Onboarding

Spotify's experience becomes more personal over time, so I wanted the onboarding flow to reflect that from the beginning. Breaking the process into smaller steps keeps the experience approachable while gradually learning more about the user.

Personalisation

Choosing genres early helps shape the listening experience before users even reach the Home screen. I wanted this part of the journey to feel engaging without asking for too much information at once.

Artist Selection

Selecting favourite artists gives Spotify a better starting point for recommendations while making the experience feel more personal from day one.

Home Experience

The Home screen was where I spent the most time refining layout, spacing, and content hierarchy. My goal wasn't to redesign Spotify's identity—it was to make browsing feel cleaner, more organised, and easier to navigate.

Search

The Search experience focuses on discoverability. Large category cards, a clear search bar, and organised content make it easier to explore music even when users don't know exactly what they want to listen to.

Podcasts & Wrapped

As Spotify continues to grow beyond music, I wanted podcasts to have a dedicated experience that still feels connected to the rest of the app.

Spotify Wrapped has become one of the platform's most recognisable experiences. Instead of changing it completely, I explored how it could fit naturally within the overall redesign while keeping its familiar personality.

Music Player

The player is where users spend most of their uninterrupted time, so I kept the controls familiar while refining spacing, typography, and overall visual balance.

Library & Premium

The Library experience focuses on organisation and accessibility, making it easier to manage playlists, saved music, and podcasts without adding unnecessary visual clutter.

The Premium section explores a cleaner presentation of plans and pricing while maintaining Spotify's existing visual language.

Closing Thoughts

This redesign wasn't about replacing Spotify or suggesting that the current product needs to be completely different.

It was a personal challenge to better understand product design, user flows, and the small design decisions that shape everyday experiences. Working on a product that people already know so well taught me that meaningful improvements often come from refining existing ideas rather than starting from scratch.

There are still plenty of directions I could explore in future iterations, and that's one of the things I enjoy most about redesign projects, they're never truly finished.

If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to look through my work. I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or ideas.

Connect With Me

If you'd like to explore the project beyond this post, here's where you can find the complete case study, interactive prototype, and a few more details about the redesign:

🌐 Portfolio (Website + Resume)

https://www.shifasiddiqui.xyz/

💼 LinkedIn (Project Announcement & Updates)

https://www.linkedin.com/shifasiddiquii/

🎨 Behance (Complete Case Study)

https://www.behance.net/gallery/217078209/Spotify-Deconstructed-A-UIUX-Breakdown⁠

🏀 Dribbble (Project Showcase)

https://dribbble.com/shots/25420857-Spotify⁠

🎯 Figma Prototype (Interactive Preview)

https://www.figma.com/proto/yoMXfj7fIQEs1CMaWRstdj?node-id=3-41⁠

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed exploring the project as much as I enjoyed designing it. If you have any thoughts or feedback, I'd genuinely love to hear them.