Spotify is a popular music streaming service that allows users to listen to music, make playlists and access radio stations. Over time, the platform has grown and updated to allow users to share music with friends on the platform, listen to audiobooks, and even the ability to view nearby concerts and buy tickets. Spotify has very straightforward navigation for users on iOS.
Initial login:
Spotify follows a simple format when logging in. It utilizes Norman’s concept of knowledge in the world, making the log in process smooth for both new and returning users. The “log in” button acts as a signifier and shows the user that the app affords logging into an account. The “sign up” button above acts the same for users who do not yet have an account. Similarly, once choosing “log in” from the starting page, users are prompted to sign in with their method of choice, and the “continue” button acts as a signifier for users to move forward through the log in process.
App Navigation:
Once the user is logged in, they are brought to the home page, displaying what they have recently listened to. The main navigation on the bottom of the page has key signifiers indicating what page each button leads to, with both icons and text. These icons give the user important context of how to navigate the app, and also provide feedback when clicked. Each icon is highlighted in white corresponding to each specific page when accessed. The labels under the icons also use knowledge in the world to ease the navigation process.
When the “create” button is clicked, more options are available to the user, signifying what the button affords. In this case, the “create” button affords for playlist creation, collaborating with friends, and utilizing some of the app’s other features.
Playing a song:
When a user navigates to a playlist or an album, they are able to perform multiple actions. There is a large “play” button, which utilizes both visibility and consistency. The play button is a universal button which has appeared on many products throughout the course of technology, further employing the user’s knowledge of the world and reducing their cognitive load. . Additionally, when the “play” button is pressed, there is immediate feedback because the song begins to play and “play” turns into a “pause” button.
Adding to “your library”:
When the user navigates to their “library” page, there are two buttons next to the page title. One button is a search icon, and the other is a plus sign. Both icons are good examples of conceptual models, because the user does not have to think about their functions, as they know + means add, and the search icon was also used in the navigation for “search”, giving another example of consistency. Because the buttons are right next to the “your library” text, users can gather additional context that the buttons are specific for searching and adding within their library, rather than the entire application. This button placement is an example of good mapping. However, one downside of the add/create button is that it gives the same options as the “create” button in the bottom navigation. The only difference is that on the library page users have the option to organize their library into folders. To improve this, I think adding a folder icon instead of a + would be more beneficial, since the same creating actions can be done through the bottom navigation on every page. While these buttons are examples of consistency, having an extra affordance for one of the buttons and not the other effectively hurts consistency at the same time.
Seven stages of action
Spotify also follows the seven stages of action. Here is an example of this using the action of creating a playlist.
Conclusion:
Spotify is a straightforward app that is used by millions. While its design can be easy to follow, there is room for improvement in a few areas. However, its intuitive interface makes it a good app for both new and returning users.