Product Designer
Sketch, Principle, Illustrator
1 Director, 2 Product Designers
Stitcher is synonymous with bringing fun and entertainment to podcasting. When I started the app was growing outdated and was long overdue for a revamp. Users had been complaining about a multitude of issues for awhile and the app’s ratings were suffering. In this environment a small team called "Stitcher X" was formed to brainstorm new directions.
We began pushing for a more empathetic, human centered approach to our entire product design philosophy. From these workshops, we created and demo’d a prototype to company leadership that was so well received that a bold decision was made to divert all efforts to the creation of project: “Stitcher X”.
Early whiteboard planning sessions
To kick off the project we wanted to better understand our users. We began by distributing an email survey to some of our active listeners to learn some of their common pain points within the in-market app. At the same time, we began preparing test plans and inviting users to discuss their experiences with the existing product and to offer feedback on ideas we were experimenting with at the time – some were detailed but most were rough ideas. Our team started a regular practice of coming together to discuss our user research videos, creating an architecture map and creating exercises like empathy mapping.
As trends began forming, 3 personas were created to represent a couple of our user archetypes. These artifacts were used to capture common needs, pain points, use cases and listening habits our users were experiencing. These living documents served as reference points for the product team and helped us build empathy for our users throughout the entire design process.
Our team started a regular practice of coming together to discuss our user research videos, creating an architecture map and creating exercises like empathy mapping.
With our research in mind we began to build out wireframes and create an initial design system. Feedback from the previous app was that it felt cluttered and the organization of sections was unclear. We began by designing an app architecture that aligned with users actions. Interactive low-fidelity prototypes were built to simulate key user flows and test the overall structure and navigation. Throughout the design process, we maintained a focus of ensuring each page had a clear purpose while keeping the app's wide-ranging functionality just a click away. We were excited to find in our first sessions of user interviews users gravitated to the simplicity of Stitcher X.
Working on a design system with tight deadlines meant finding a balance between moving quickly and staying consistent. This represented a condensed version of our efforts and a focus on building flexible components that met immediate needs while setting up a solid foundation for future improvements.
Stitcher had just completed a brand redesign when the redesign had began. The new brand values emphasized a fun and fresh look, providing an opportunity to truly distinguish Stitcher in the podcast space. Throughout the process designs were tested. We were excited to find users were gravitating to the new look and experience. We collaborated closely with other teams, ensuring the updated designs were cohesive and scalable.
The Stitcher redesign embodied a mobile-first mentality, but that doesn’t mean tablet and web versions weren’t given love as well. Some mobile components could be directly adapted to the tablet, but many required customization to better utilize the tablet's real estate.
The web version included many new pages that needed to be designed from the ground up. Working on the web meant collaborating with the marketing team. This process took roughly 3 weeks from start to implementation.
The StitcherX launch was a significant milestone but it came with its share of challenges. Technical constraints during the migration process led to some user friction and we encountered a variety of issues along the way. Thankfully, our team's experience with AGILE methodologies allowed us to address problems quickly and efficiently. By maintaining a strong focus on continuous improvement, enhancing the user experience, and adding much-requested features we saw Stitcher earn a warm reception from users with app reviews stabilizing at 4.9/5. The key takeaway for me as a designer was the value of agility and a customer-centric mindset in driving a successful launch.
