UX Case Study

Harmonize

UI Design Figma Prototyping Team Collaboration EdTech

Problem Statement

Beginners learning music often struggle to stay motivated because traditional learning methods feel repetitive and lack engaging feedback. Without interactive or rewarding elements, learners lose interest and find it difficult to build consistent practice habits.

Objectives & Goals

As part of a college group project focused on identifying and solving a current problem within the music industry, the team set out to design a solution that makes music learning more engaging and sustainable for beginners.

Design a mobile app that makes learning music engaging and rewarding. Transform traditional music lessons into an interactive, enjoyable experience.
Use gamification to boost user motivation and consistency. Incorporate levels, rewards, and challenges to keep users engaged over time.
Create an intuitive, beginner-friendly interface. Ensure smooth navigation and an easy learning curve for users of all skill levels.
Capture a growing market of digital learners. Attract users seeking fun, accessible ways to learn music through technology.

Our Process

Discover

Conducted competitive analysis of 3 music-learning and gamified education apps.

Define

Ran surveys and interviews with 6 beginner and intermediate music learners to identify pain points.

Ideate

Mapped out key user journeys and wireframed core features around progress tracking and bite-sized lessons.

Design

Developed a high-fidelity prototype in Figma showcasing onboarding, lessons, and gamified progress features.

Discover & Define

Conducted a competitive analysis of five popular music-learning and gamified apps (e.g., Yousician, Simply Piano, Melodics)
- Examined lesson structure, engagement techniques, gamification features, and onboarding flows
- Noted gaps in personalized feedback, social interaction, and motivation retention
Ran surveys and interviews with 8 beginner and intermediate music learners
- Explored learning habits, frustrations, and motivations
- Identified common pain points: difficulty staying consistent, repetitive lessons, and lack of visible progress
- Learners preferred interactive, rewarding feedback and short, achievable milestones
Synthesized insights to define a key opportunity: create a music-learning experience that is engaging, motivating, and habit-forming

Sketches

Outcome

The final result was a high-fidelity Figma prototype demonstrating Harmonize’s complete user journey, from onboarding to lesson completion and progress tracking.

Conducted usability testing with 6 participants representing beginner and intermediate music learners.
Evaluated success through task completion, ease-of-use ratings, and user feedback.
- Participants described the interface as “intuitive,” “motivating,” and “fun to use.”
- 5 out of 6 participants noted that gamified rewards encouraged continued engagement.
Testing revealed opportunities for improvement:
- Adding social features
- Adaptive lessons to match users’ skill levels

Lesson learned: Grounding design decisions in research ensures solutions truly meet user needs, and even small gamification elements can significantly boost motivation and consistency.