Design Systems at SoundCloud
- Role
- Sr. Product Designer — Design Systems
- Company
- SoundCloud
- Year
- 2020
Summery
I worked on developing a cohesive design language at SoundCloud to improve efficiency and consistency across the platform. I focused on building a robust design system that could be easily adopted by designers and developers, enhancing collaboration and ensuring a unified customer experience. The project involved defining core principles, standardizing components, and providing comprehensive documentation, resulting in a more streamlined and scalable design process.
About SoundCloud
it is an online audio & streaming platform based in Berlin. one of the most recognized names in the music industry. And as we say... What's next in music is first on SoundCloud. it's currently a subscription business model. selling subscription plans for consumers & audio creators. while now it's looking into changing towards creator & fan economy to be more community-based.
Fade in
The story began when SoundCloud wanted to redesign its apps which was led by the design leadership in early 2020. And by redesign, I mean changing the visual language, not the experience which will come later...
We had several problem areas:
- Inconsistent design language and a huge design debt
- The company's growth and MAUs were slowing down
- High engineering effort for doing even the simplest changes
- low customer satisfaction seen in NPS and SUS scores
A Color Bright
Design leadership commissioned exploring a new design language to an external agency called A Color Bright which is a Berlin-based design studio. They succeeded in creating a design language and a visual feel that is appealing, different from the landscape, and fits SoundCloud as a brand.
A Color Bright design language