Digital tip jar
Enabling fans to directly support favorite artists and empowering artists to diversify their revenue stream.
The music ecosystem
Why support?
Research showed:
Artists and fans see direct (financial) support as the deepest form of engagement. It's seen more as an expression of appreciation rather than an exchange of value.
After a small e-mail campaign, the team decided to build a landing page to invite artists.
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The tipping feature
The company introduced a new tipping feature that allows fans to support artists by giving tips on tracks and leaving leaving a highlighted comment for them to see and respond to.
The solution
The pilot
Goal #1 - Does the feature solve user needs?
Goal #2 - Is there a business opportunity here?
Company goals
The Artist team selected and invited artists. The Fans team built the product prototype.
In the pilot, artists and fans used the feature and gave feedback on their experience. This will help us to understand:
The music ecosystem
Why support?
Artists and fans see direct (financial) support as the deepest form of engagement. It is seen more as an expression of appreciation rather than an exchange of value.
After a small e-mail campaign, the team decided to build a landing page to invite artists.
Research showed:
The Challenge
In the music consumption ecosystem, independent artists struggle to earn money and diversify their revenue stream.
How might we help artists make money by connecting them with their audience?
The Challenge
In the music consumption ecosystem, independent artists struggle to earn money and diversify their revenue stream.
How might we help artists make money by
connecting them with their audience?
The tipping feature
The solution
The company introduced a new feature that allows fans to support artists by giving tips on tracks and leaving a highlighted comment for them to see and respond to.
The Landing page - who are we
designing for?
Useful insights from user research
An Artist who wants to diversify the revenue stream to support music production and deepen engagement with fans.
A Fan who wants to show admiration and gratitude in a way that is meaningful to both artists and fans.
Gathering user feedback
Mid-Fi prototype and test results
With a first draft of the inventory, I translated my low-fi sketches into a mid-fi prototype and tested it with 10 artists. Three sections needed a further iteration.
The tipping flow
The Pilot
Company goals
In the pilot, artists and fans use the feature and give feedback on their experience. This will help us to understand:
Goal #1 - Does the feature solve user needs?
Goal #2 - Is there a business opportunity here?
The Artist team selected and invited artists.
The Fans team built the product prototype.
The creator’s maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Recurring financial support
Support
Sharing
Commenting
Liking/Reacting
Following
Listening/Streaming
Bullet points support scanning,
vague statements don’t.
(Overusing the hard sell)
Artists did not understand how to
boost audience & royalties.
Titles could be clearer.
Use descriptive language
Change #2 - The Benefits
How copy shapes design
We added an honest and unmistakable header that artists would clearly understand.
We refined the overall copy while setting the right brand’s tone and voice.
Artists expected to see
something explanatory
Artists thought the feature
would help them find fans
Before
Change #1 - The Hero
Speaking users' language
Keeping it actionable by
using the active voice
Replacing the picture with
the product in action
Placing text on the left to let
users read the main message first
After
Making the value
proposition obvious
No need for overselling propositions, eye-catching icons, or bulleted lists. We finally only highlighted what makes the most sense for the user t understand two benefits.
Contextual images make it
less abstract and add meaning
Showing artists
how to view tips
Replacing bulleted lists with descriptive statements
Change #3 - How it works
Watching rather than reading
Users had questions
about the steps
Salesiness sacrifies credibility
Some artists were not
familiar with stripe
Artists expected to see
tips and comments
The landing page - who are we designing for?
Useful insights from use research
An Artist who wants to diversify the revenue stream to support music production and deepen engagement with fans. A Fan who wants to show admiration and gratitude in a way that is meaningful to both artists and fans.
Gathering user feedback
Mid-Fi prototype and test results
Speaking users' language
Change #1 - The Hero
With a first draft of the inventory, I translated my low-fi sketches into a mid-fiprototype and tested it with 10 artists. Three sections needed a further iteration.
We added an honest and unmistakable header that artists would understand. We refined the overall copy while setting the right brand’s tone and voice.
UX-Writing
An important and strategic role.
UX-writing plays a pivotal role, because it bridges the gap between the layout and the user.
Sometimes words transfer an idea better than an icon, and enable a product to effectively communicate with users. UX copy not only informs the user, but it can also inform the design.
Key learnings and take aways
What worked and what didn't
How copy shapes design
Change #2 - The Benefit
There was no need for overselling propositions, eye-catching icons or bulleted lists. We highlighted what makes the most sense for the user to understand: two benefits.
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Change #2 - The Benefits
How copy shapes design
There was no need for overselling propositions, eye-catching icons or bulleted lists.
We highlighted what makes the most sense for the user to understand: two benefits.
Keeping the copy
concise and clear
No more saleseness
but a skimmable header
Including a video to show answer artists' potential questions
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We simplified the overall copy and replaced the Stripe dashboard with a tutorial showing step-by-step how to get started.This helped get our point across faster.
Watching rather than reading
Change #3 - How it works
We simplified the overall copy and replaced the Stripe dashboard with a video showing step-by-step how to get started.
This helped get our point across faster.
Change #3 - How it works
Watching rather than reading
We simplified the overall copy and replaced the Stripe dashboard with a video
showing step-by-step how to get started. This helped get our point across faster.
Bringing it all together
Hi-Fi prototype and last refinements
We decided to brand the project with a dark theme and choose the masonry layout to optimize the space and visuals of the benefits section. We added the logo and an additional CTA. Our UX-Writer refined the copy one last time and we were good to go!
A pilot is just a pilot
About my contribution
I am proud of my contribution because of the business impact it had on the overall project. After the low response rate we observed in the e-mail campaign, I came up with the idea of building a landing page to invite artists to join the beta.
Out of 100 artists invited to join the beta, about 40 signed up via the landing page. My proactivity turned out to be impactful for the rest of the team.
Team work
Brainstorming questions
Brainstorming sessions are key - the researcher questioning the why, the designer making a wireframe and the UX writer working on copy.
The three parties should be involved in the process straight from the beginning to create a cohesive outcome. If had we worked on the copy upfront, we could have saved time and resources.
Impact
About my contribution
As a designer, I am proud of my contribution because of the business impact it had on the overall project.
After the low response rate we observed in the e-mail campaign, I came up with the idea of building a landing page to invite artists to join the beta.
Out of 100 artists invited to join the beta, about 40 signed up via the landing page. My proactivity turned out to be impactful for the rest of the team.
A pilot is just a pilot
Were fans ready to tip? Not really.
The success metrics - participation rate, spend, retention and user sentiment - helped decide whether it is worth investing time into building this feature out.
The success of such features depends on the fans' maturity towards their artists and the evolution of the fan-artist relationship. The feature was introduced too early and fans were not ready to tip. Users are the source of truth, always.
UX-Writing
An important and strategic role.
UX-writing plays a pivotal role, because it bridges the gap between the layout and the user.
Sometimes words transfer an idea better than an icon, and enable a product to effectively communicate with users. UX copy not only informs the user, but it can also inform the design.
Learnings and Takeaways
What worked well
UX-Writing
UX-writing plays a pivotal role, because it bridges the gap between the layout and the user.
An important and strategic role.
Sometimes words transfer an idea better than an icon, and enable a product to effectively communicate with users. UX copy not only informs the user, but it can also inform the design.
UX-Writing
UX-writing plays a pivotal role, because it bridges the gap between the layout and the user.
An important and strategic role.
Sometimes words transfer an idea better than an icon, and enable a product to effectively communicate with users. UX copy not only informs the user, but it can also inform the design.
Teamwork
Brainstorming questions
Brainstorming sessions are key - the researcher questioning the why, the designer making a wireframe and the UX writer working on copy.
The three parties should be involved in the process straight from the beginning to create a cohesive outcome. If had we worked on the copy upfront, we could have saved time and resources.
Impact
About my contribution
As a designer, I am proud of my contribution because of the business impact it had on the overall project.
After the low response rate we observed in the e-mail campaign, I came up with the idea of building a landing page to invite artists to join the beta.
Out of 100 artists invited to join the beta, about 40 signed up via the landing page. My proactivity turned out to be impactful for the rest of the team.
.png)
.png)
Dark theme
Adding the logo
Adding decorations
Masonry layout
Adding a CTA
Last copy refinements
Dynamic caroussels
Gathering user feedback
Mid-Fi prototype and test results
With a first draft of the inventory, I translated my low-fi sketches into a mid-fi
prototype and tested it with 10 artists. Three sections needed a further iteration.
Change #1 - The Hero
Speaking users' language
We added an honest and unmistakable header that artists would understand.
We refined the overall copy while setting the right brand’s tone and voice.
Importing music taste
SoundCloud
Teachers' Platform
Expath
Importing music taste
SoundCloud