Qup
Intrepid internal product / Product design
I first designed Qup during my Intrepid apprenticeship. The iOS app lets people nearby build a shared playlist, with controls for the host. It launched in the App Store in 2015.
THE PROBLEM
Who controls the playlist?
Qup started with a frustration from our own gatherings. Who controls the playlist? We asked colleagues how they handled music in shared spaces.
FOR PARTY GUESTS
More than one person’s taste
One person’s music library only goes so far. Guests wanted a say in what played, too.
FOR PARTY HOSTS
Pressure on the host
Being in charge of the soundtrack comes with pressure. What if your musical guilty pleasures start playing? It’s OK to like Nickelback, everyone.
The design question
How could guests add songs to a shared playlist while the host kept control?
Process
User stories
We interviewed colleagues and turned their needs into user stories for the first version.
Other shared playlists
The apps we reviewed took too much setup and buried the playlist under features we didn’t need. We wanted Qup to focus on choosing and playing music.
Visual and interaction references
We collected visual references and familiar patterns for finding music, adding songs, and showing the queue.
A queue control prototype
I built a Principle prototype with Tinder-inspired gestures for controlling the queue. It was fun, but the gestures made accidental actions too easy. Nobody wants to cut a song short by mistake, so we chose more explicit controls.
Iterations
I used paper sketches and digital iterations to work through the host and guest controls, especially how each person could view and change the queue.
Solution
Start a Qup
Hosts start a Qup by naming their event. A random name generator helps when nothing comes to mind.
Everyone adds songs
Nearby guests get a notification and can join to add songs from Spotify. The queue balances contributions so everyone gets a turn.
Who picked this?
An optional Facebook connection shows who added each song. Now you know who to thank, or blame.
Votes, with host control
Guests can vote to skip a song or move it up the queue. The host chooses what plays next and can stop someone from adding more songs. There’s a limit to how much Smash Mouth one party needs.