Pick & Play is a vinyl collector’s community, offering a platform to buy and sell used vinyl, exchange information about analog music, and consume curated content. Unlike the United States, which maintained a robust community of vinyl enthusiasts even during the decline of analog music, South Korea lacked such space. Thus, Pick & Play addresses the unique challenges faced by young generation Korean vinyl collectors.
Task
Proposing a service that solves a real-life problem
Overview
Building a communtiy for vinyl collectors
During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, vinyl sales soared globally. But, as more people fall in love with vinyl, more problems started to show up. As a vinyl collector myself, I was faced with many difficulties in collecting and purchasing vinyl in Korea.
I eventually figured I wasn't the only one struggling. After interviewing several young adult collectors, who now covers a great proportion of the market and are relatively less familiar with analog music, I came up with a platform that could solve their pain points.
Background
Vinyl
The new wave of music ownership among young generations
262% increased vinyl sales
According to a Korean music distribution company, YES24, the sales of Korean pop music vinyl soared by 262% in 2020 compared to 2019. With the impact of COVID-19, there was notable increase of interest in analog music.
50%+ in their 20s and 30s
As of 2020, 52.9% of vinyl purchasers were in their 20's and 30's, which reconfirms the popularity of analog music among younger generation adults.
Significant market growth with inflow of younger generation
And in these situations,
there are problems.
Research
Addressing the right pain points
Although I had my own pain points as a vinyl collector myself, I wanted to find out what others were having difficulties with. Thus I conducted a mini survey asking general questions, and selected 4 answerers to participate in a diary study.
Research
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Mini Survey
Before selecting the participants of the diary study, applicants were asked to fill out a mini survey, in order to get a clearer insight on young adult's vinyl purchase behaviors. A total of 10 applicants were survyed.
Research
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Diary Study
4 suitable applicants among 10 were selected and asked to write a user diary for 7 to 8 days. Subjects were asked to write down vinyl-related activity and what they felt during the process.
[Data Collected] Service Used, Purpose, Activity, Impression/Pain-point
Diary excerpts: Subject 3 - Jang
After the diary study, results were grouped into 4 types of activites
Findings
I found out that user activites in finding information and purcahsing vinyl were dispersed among various platforms. The lack of a service offering all four activities made users feel the inconvenience of having to switch between multiple platforms.
Research
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Affinity Diagram
Following the identification of patterns in the diary study, the activities were organized into an affinity diagram. This categorization focused on the needs and problems faced by the subjects.
Research
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Findings and Insights
Through the diary study and affinity diagram, I was able to identify the main problem along with 3 significant pain points.
Main Problem
Activities were dispersed among multiple channels
Though digging information and finding new vinyl is a part of the culture, subjects had negative feelings on having to go through too many platforms to do so.
Pain Points
Styles
Style guides and components
Before moving on to the actual design phase, I developed style guides and a component system to ensure consistency across my screens.
To maximize the atmoshpere that analog music brings, a dark-mode theme was used as default. And a lemon-lime point color was used in order to give vibrance and liveliness to the monotone app.
BG
hex
#1C1C1C
Main 1
hex
#262626
Main 2
hex
#404040
Point
hex
#404040
White 100
hexa
#FFFFFFFF
White 70
hexa
#FFFFFFB3
White 50
hexa
#FFFFFF80
White 20
hexa
#FFFFFF33
To accomodate both Latin and Korean characters, a font that has consistent features in both languages was selected.
Design
Pick & Play
A multi-purpose vinyl platform
Discover
The Home page showcases a selection of content specifically for vinyl enthusiasts. Featuring new album releases, event highlights, and Analog101 guides.
Find out more
On the content page, detailed information awaits. For those keen to delve further, a section dedicated to related content or vinyl is readily accessible.
Communicate
There is always room for communication. Hop on to the comments section to see what others think about the content, or give your own opinion.
Discover
The Home page showcases a selection of content specifically for vinyl enthusiasts. Featuring new album releases, event highlights, and Analog101 guides.
Find out more
On the content page, detailed information awaits. For those keen to delve further, a section dedicated to related content or vinyl is readily accessible.
Communicate
There is always room for communication. Hop on to the comments section to see what others think about the content, or give your own opinion.