Role
Role
Product Designer
Platform
Platform
Mobile App
Category
Category
Audio, Podcasts
Year
Year
2021
Zuzu is an app designed for a new generation of podcast listeners, where short-form content is king. Users to listen to their favourite podcasts, curate playlists, and clip/share snippets of episodes.
Gone are the tedious days of sharing 3 hour-long podcasts with your friends, when you only wanted to share the 4 minutes you found most interesting or relevant.
Zuzu is an app designed for a new generation of podcast listeners, where short-form content is king. Users to listen to their favourite podcasts, curate playlists, and clip/share snippets of episodes.
Gone are the tedious days of sharing 3 hour-long podcasts with your friends, when you only wanted to share the 4 minutes you found most interesting or relevant.
Podcasts represent a significant growth area in today's media landscape, with over 200,000 new podcasts produced annually and around 80 million* weekly listeners in the US alone. People are drawn to podcasts for various reasons, including the ability to multitask, the desire for new perspectives, and a preference for auditory learning.
This growing popularity underscored the need for solutions which addresses the evolving preferences of podcast listeners by offering features that enhance the listening experience and make content more accessible and shareable.
Podcasts represent a significant growth area in today's media landscape, with over 200,000 new podcasts produced annually and around 80 million* weekly listeners in the US alone. People are drawn to podcasts for various reasons, including the ability to multitask, the desire for new perspectives, and a preference for auditory learning.
This growing popularity underscored the need for solutions which addresses the evolving preferences of podcast listeners by offering features that enhance the listening experience and make content more accessible and shareable.
😰 Inefficiency in Sharing Content
Users often want to share only a small segment of a podcast episode but are forced to share the entire lengthy file, which is inconvenient and time-consuming.
😰 Inefficiency in Sharing Content
Users often want to share only a small segment of a podcast episode but are forced to share the entire lengthy file, which is inconvenient and time-consuming.
🤖 Lack of personalisation
Existing podcast apps offer limited control over the listening experience, with users unable to easily curate and personalize their podcast feeds.
🤖 Lack of personalisation
Existing podcast apps offer limited control over the listening experience, with users unable to easily curate and personalize their podcast feeds.
😩 Discovery Challenges
Despite the vast amount of content available, discovering new and relevant podcasts can be difficult, with users relying heavily on algorithms that may not always align with their preferences.
😩 Discovery Challenges
Despite the vast amount of content available, discovering new and relevant podcasts can be difficult, with users relying heavily on algorithms that may not always align with their preferences.
💹 Market Gap
There is a clear need for an intuitive, user-friendly solution that allows for clipping and sharing snippets of podcast episodes, thereby enhancing the listening and sharing experience.
💹 Market Gap
There is a clear need for an intuitive, user-friendly solution that allows for clipping and sharing snippets of podcast episodes, thereby enhancing the listening and sharing experience.
The journey was not without its challenges. One of the significant hurdles was the lack of research participants due to covid-19 lockdown restrictions. This issue was mitigated by leveraging online tools and sharing paper prototypes, allowing for remote user testing and feedback sessions. These adaptations ensured that valuable user insights could still be gathered.
The initial user feedback was mixed, with some participants finding the concept intriguing but not entirely understanding the clipping feature. This highlighted the need for more in-depth research into user needs and behaviours, which would have provided a stronger foundation for the design decisions. That is, the entire UX journey needed to be mapped from first engagement to exit.
The initial user feedback was mixed, with some participants finding the concept intriguing but not entirely understanding the clipping feature. This highlighted the need for more in-depth research into user needs and behaviours, which would have provided a stronger foundation for the design decisions. That is, the entire UX journey needed to be mapped from first engagement to exit.
The journey was not without its challenges. One of the significant hurdles was the lack of research participants due to covid-19 lockdown restrictions. This issue was mitigated by leveraging online tools and sharing paper prototypes, allowing for remote user testing and feedback sessions. These adaptations ensured that valuable user insights could still be gathered.
The initial user feedback was mixed, with some participants finding the concept intriguing but not entirely understanding the clipping feature. This highlighted the need for more in-depth research into user needs and behaviours, which would have provided a stronger foundation for the design decisions. That is, the entire UX journey needed to be mapped from first engagement to exit.
The initial user feedback was mixed, with some participants finding the concept intriguing but not entirely understanding the clipping feature. This highlighted the need for more in-depth research into user needs and behaviours, which would have provided a stronger foundation for the design decisions. That is, the entire UX journey needed to be mapped from first engagement to exit.
Beyond editing and sharing, the aim was to create an ecosystem with fluid interaction design for people to naturally discover more podcasts. This meant integrating intelligent recommendations and seamless navigation, so users could effortlessly explore new content and expand their listening horizons.
Ultimately, Zuzu strives to be more than just a podcast player – it aims to be a community-driven platform where users can connect over shared interests and discover the richness of podcast content together.
Ultimately, Zuzu strives to be more than just a podcast player – it aims to be a community-driven platform where users can connect over shared interests and discover the richness of podcast content together.
Beyond editing and sharing, the aim was to create an ecosystem with fluid interaction design for people to naturally discover more podcasts. This meant integrating intelligent recommendations and seamless navigation, so users could effortlessly explore new content and expand their listening horizons.
Ultimately, Zuzu strives to be more than just a podcast player – it aims to be a community-driven platform where users can connect over shared interests and discover the richness of podcast content together.
Ultimately, Zuzu strives to be more than just a podcast player – it aims to be a community-driven platform where users can connect over shared interests and discover the richness of podcast content together.
This project holds a special place as my first self-initiated endeavour, involving extensive research that honed my end-to-end skills. The experience underscored the importance of not over-investing in high-fidelity designs before thorough testing, a lesson that has guided my approach to future projects.
While Zuzu may not become a mainstream app, the skills and insights gained from this project are invaluable. I hope that fellow aspiring product designers will find inspiration to create and experiment with their ideas, just as I did with Zuzu. I also envision that some of Zuzu's features, particularly the clipping and sharing functionality, could be integrated into major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify in the future.
This project holds a special place as my first self-initiated endeavour, involving extensive research that honed my end-to-end skills. The experience underscored the importance of not over-investing in high-fidelity designs before thorough testing, a lesson that has guided my approach to future projects.
While Zuzu may not become a mainstream app, the skills and insights gained from this project are invaluable. I hope that fellow aspiring product designers will find inspiration to create and experiment with their ideas, just as I did with Zuzu. I also envision that some of Zuzu's features, particularly the clipping and sharing functionality, could be integrated into major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify in the future.