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Creating an MVP prototype for a DJ booking and management platform.
Product Design
October 2024 - Present
Mobile UX, Interface Design, User research and testing
Daniel Ike, Amira Harrichand
"How can we streamline the event booking and management process for DJs and event hosts?"
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Gruuvv is a digital DJ management and booking platform looking to modernize how DJs handle their gigs. Despite being surrounded by cutting-edge audio tech, many DJs still receive bookings through surprisingly traditional means: social media DMs, emails, and word of mouth. Gruuvv aims to streamline that experience by providing a centralized platform for managing and booking gigs.
I joined the Gruuvv team as a design intern in early October 2024. The team was small, just four of us. When I arrived, Gruuvv already had an existing website, and the lead designer was midway through wireframing the mobile app. My role was to jump in, support that effort, and help transform the wireframes into a prototype that would act as our mobile MVP (Minimum Viable Product).
Evaluating the product's status quo, creating prototypes and design systems, and collecting feedback from users.
One of my first tasks as a new hire was to conduct heuristic evaluations of both the existing Gruuvv website, as well as of the mobile wireframes, in order to familiarize myself with the interface and key user flows. I referenced a combination of Kaniasty's CARMEL guidelines and Nielsen Norman Group's '10 Usability Heuristics' to make my evaluation. These are some of my findings.
There were various places in the mobile wireframe where WCAG recommendations were not being met, such as minimum target sizes (WCAG 2.2 sc 2.5.8)
The existing Gruuvv website has nearly 30 unique onboarding pages, this was leading to a lot of user abandonment.
Some key moments in the DJ booking flow inadvertently forced users to remember lists of important information.
I found some flows where user control was restricted; some pages were simply missing back buttons while other flows wouldn't allow DJs to edit bookings.
Besides creating the prototype, much of the time that I spent in my first few months at Gruuvv was spent on laying out foundational UX groundwork for the fledgling app. This included mapping out and documenting the various user flows for both DJs and Event Hosts, as well as setting up the design system with components, variables, and tokens along with best usage practices.
Establishing these foundational systems early on could make the transition to development smoother and quicker.
One of the benefits of working with such a small startup was that I was required to wear many hats. I had to think about my work not only as a designer, but from a business perspective as well. Despite having user interest, a market potential, and early design validation, did we know if users would actually use our product? What would it really take for DJs to start using Gruuvv as their main booking platform?
To begin answering these core questions, we conducted feedback sessions and focus groups with DJs and Event Hosts to gain a better perspective (some findings are shown in the table below) on both user and business requirements, the following are some of the insights that we gathered:
Having a team of "DJ Cheerleaders" would help us gain footing in the market, and so a part of our business goals was to create a team of early app adoptees to market our product.
Creating a reward system would not only allow us to provide perks to our early app users, but also allow us to create more complex tiered incentive structures in the future.
In order to understand our users, we had to speak their language, and an early discovery was that we were not using correct DJing terminology or lingo correctly.
Because event hosts do not have much buy-in, it was important for us to find ways to reduce friction for event hosts (e.g. having guest browsing modes, less onboarding).
Although still in the pre-launch phases, the creation of an MVP prototype for the mobile app allows Gruuvv to secure funding.
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Designing for two distinct user groups: DJs and event hosts, presented one of our biggest challenges. Each group needed its own tailored experience, yet their journeys also had to stay tightly connected, since the value of the platform relied on their interaction. This balance required careful mapping to ensure that one flow complemented another.
At the same time, these intersections created valuable opportunities to align design with business goals. For example, we introduced a “Featured DJs” section on the host homepage, showcasing premium members. This not only incentivizes DJs to purchase memberships but also increases their visibility and potential bookings.
One of our key focuses was improving the onboarding and booking flows. Through testing the existing Gruuvv website, we discovered that users were dropping off simply because there were too many steps. To fix this on the new prototype, we identified the truly essential questions we needed to ask and redesigned the flow using clearer, more intuitive patterns. By streamlining the experience, we reduced the onboarding flow’s page load by 65% and the booking flow by 32%. The result was a faster, cleaner journey that will likely see more users complete the process.
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One of the biggest business challenges we faced was figuring out how to get DJs to actually use the app. During a focus group session, we uncovered a key insight: DJs are motivated by visibility and reputation. This led us to develop an incentive structure built around those motivations; features like premium memberships or reputation-based rankings that would allow high-rated DJs to be featured and promoted within the app. By turning success into visibility, we could create a rewarding system that would encourage DJs to use Gruuvv as their primary means of event management.
Shuddle
