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.
Target
Young adult vinyl collectors
Research Methods
Online resarch
Mini survey
Diary study
Design Process
1. Understand
2. Research
3. Analyze
4. Design
5. User Testing
6. Presentation
Background
How Today's Generation Owns Music
Vinyl
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.
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.
Research
With popularity,
problem follows
In order to better understand the problems vinyl collectors were facing, a mini survey and a diary study was conducted. Then, the activities in the diary study were classified by pain points using an affinity diagram.
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.
How many vinyl do you have in your collection?
Number Input
0
Vinyl Average
Where do you find vinyl release information?
Multiple Choice
Online Community (Naver, Daum)
0%
Artist Homepage
0%
Artist Instagram
0%
Records Store Instagram
0%
Mobile App
0%
How do you usually purchase vinyl?
Single Choice (Online, Offline)
No Data Found
How many vinyl do you purchase monthly?
Single Choice
No Data Found
Have you ever bought second-hand vinyl online?
Single Choice (Yes, No)
No Data Found
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
Diary Study Results
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.
Affinity Diagram
Findings and Insights
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
Scattered Information
Searching over multiple platforms to find information on vinyl releases and prices is time-consuming.
Lack of Information
It's challenging to find information on specific subjects or problems.
Overpricing
With resllers selling vinyl overpriced, it's hard to get vinyl at an appropriate price.
Design
A multi-purpose
vinyl platform
In order to better understand the problems vinyl collectors were facing, a mini survey and a diary study was conducted. Then, the activities in the diary study were classified by pain points using an affinity diagram.
1
Mini Survey
2
Diary Study
3
Affinity Diagram
Colors
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.