Envisage Live - Unstoppable

I set out to change the game for upcoming musicians who don't have the skills of a rock-star producer. Envisage Live makes it very easy for lyricists, vocalists, and beginner producers to start making original music without technical knowledge. So they can be Unrestraint, Unrelenting, and Unstoppable.

MY ROLE

RESULTS

The product has a consistent brand with messaging that resonates with the main users. In one week I had a basic prototype that can go for user testing.

Research and user profiling

Information Architecture

Core branding and messaging

Wireframing and prototyping

DREAMS & GRIPES

Finding the opportunity was quite easy. After I took the Ux course at Future Learn - I was advised to go and solve problems that are close to me. And it doesn't get closer to me than music. I am an aspiring musician - I am a poet and a lyricist.

It's a struggle finding a producer who can make the kind of beats I want to put my work on. And I don't have the in-depth knowledge needed to produce them myself. But I did get to try out a few free sample beat making tools. I just wished that there was an easier way to put together a beat that can drive me.

MONDAY & TUESDAY

Whilst the project was based on my own views, needs, and tastes as a musician, I know a lot of other upcoming musicians who need software like Envisage Live – and I know just what it would do for their careers. I interviewed one of them and came up with 2 user personas (the other being myself).

To make 2 long stories short, both personas are inspired by the live looping techniques of FKJ, as well as how sampling works – like what 9th Wonder does when he makes beats. Both can’t afford to buy very expensive equipment, and they need software that is decent in making music whilst being very simple and intuitive to use.

With my users figured out – I got started with the research. I took an extensive look at currently available music production software like Magix Music Maker, and some apps on Google’s Play Store. I looked at what people were saying about these products, as well as what are some of the features that were different and unique to each.

The research eventually lead me to Akai Professional’s products. They are a leader in the industry and they keep coming with the most innovative of tools. I paid specific attention to the MPC II and APC Mini… which both can be used as midi controllers, however, the MPC II is a stand-alone music workstation.

ON WEDNESDAY

Fuelled with excitement and inspiration, I began to pair the user needs with possible features for the product. I came up with many possible ideas, however, a lot of them had to fall back (at least for this initial stage). The whole point of the project is to come up with a product that is very intuitive. So features like having the ability to and master the music weren’t going to help.

Once the focus features were listed, I then did a basic site map / information architecture for how the user will interact with the software.

1/1

Here are some of the focus features I spoke about;

A sampler – that allows the user to use multiple ways to input sounds and chop them.
A 12 pad sample and play (3x4) arranger – that allows users to create patterns for their song.
An 8 channel mixer with fade sliders – that comes with a dedicated knob for panning and other effects.
A gamified tutor – that teaches the user some basic patterns and compositions.
A live recording feature – where the user can add vocals and lyrics to their song.

Once the features were done and decided, I began doing the brand strategy and brand identity for the software. I did an exercise where I could come up with relevant brand attributes for the product. These helped me to deduce the logo, colors, and typography that I needed to use for the software.

THURSDAY & FRIDAY

Next were the mid-fidelity wireframes. These really helped me to arrange the interface of the product, they actually made it easier to go into the high fidelity mock-up stage. At these stages, I spent most of my time practicing Adobe XD for Ui design.

Before the end of Friday, I had most of the main screens done and had made a very basic prototype that is ready for user testing.