Designing Solar Powered Streaming Platform - Spotify : Designing solar features to understand users' perceptions and experiences in music streaming

Sammanfattning

There is a need for sustainable applications due to the current environmental challenges [36]. To lower the carbon impact of digital products, we need to use them wisely [2]. Music consumption is done through streaming platforms which runs through the internet. Listening to online music is convenient enough for everyone but there is a hefty cost associated with internet streaming [2]. Solar power is important to achieve sustainability goals for the environment [33]. Therefore, the goal of this study was to find out how participants would perceive and interact with a hypothetical solar-powered music streaming platform by using Spotify’s interface as a case. Research Through Design was used as an overarching methodology to generate new knowledge. To achieve this, the study was divided into three phases. First Phase involved in-depth interviews and contextual inquiry to understand how participants listen and interact with music streaming apps. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse key themes. These themes then guided the design process. Second phase involved conceptualising and designing the features in the solar powered music streaming interface concept by connecting the themes with solar features inspired by Degrowth and Solarcast, along with HCI frameworks such as Gamification and Nudge Theory. Third Phase involved testing this interface with the same participants which was facilitated through in-depth interviews and contextual inquiry again to understand user perceptions and experiences with the interface.