What is Sunday Blues?
Sunday Blues is an imaginary vinyl record shop that offers a subscription service. I created this shop to exercise and experiment with some of the things I study in UX/UI. In this study, specifically, I tested the use of generative artificial intelligence to create a Landing Page and Email Marketing.
diving into the context
The phonographic market in Brazil earned approximately R$2.5 billion in 2022. Streaming took the lion's share at 86.2 per cent, while physical media had a meagre 0.5% of the market.
(Agência Brasil, 2023)
Although it may not seem like it at first, it's a promising market. Also in 2022, in the US, for the first time since 1987, vinyl discs sold more than CDs, with a sales value of approximately US$1.2 billion. There, the share of physical media represents 11 per cent of the market.
(Recording Industry Association of America, 2023)
This market is closely linked to nostalgia and a certain ‘mystique’ that surrounds the ritual of appreciating an album in its entirety. This process involves, for example, appreciating the cover art and feeling connected to your favourite artist. 50% of people who buy vinyl records don't even own a record player.
(Luminate, 2023)
However, this ‘ritual’ is not just aesthetic, it also involves the search for a high-fidelity, less compact and more organic sound, and for this these consumers spend on average 109% more each month than music consumers in general.
In addition, vinyl records have attracted the attention of Generation Z consumers, who are 27% more likely to buy records than consumers from any other generation.
(Luminate, 2023)
In an online survey carried out by the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), the main reasons for buying a vinyl record, according to respondents, are:
‘I like having my music in a physical format’ 49%
‘I like having the physical media to look at’ 41%
‘I like the ritual of playing a vinyl record’ 36%
‘I like to immerse myself in an entire album’ - 28%
‘I want to support my favourite artists by buying the physical album’ - 26%
"I like reading the booklet’ - 26%
(Forbes, 2023)
Benchmarking
After briefly researching the disc market and its consumers, I searched for companies that offer subscriptions to these products and for solutions that currently exist on the market. The following websites were analysed:
Vinyl Me Please (VMP), Magnolia Record Club e Clube do Vinil (Universal Music Store)
vinyl me please (VMP)
magnolia record club
Clube do vinil (universal music)
brainstorm (sketches)
landing page
OPTION 1
option 2
option 3
e-mail marketing
option 1
option 2
option 3
wireframes
email marketing
Considering that the visual and emotional factor is very important to this audience, as seen above, I chose to go with option 3 of the Landing Page. This option creates a more explanatory Z-shaped reading that helps generate value for the product, while favouring the positioning of CTA buttons and highlighting the images presented in each section.
The choice of the Email Marketing template was a little more difficult, as I tried to explore the issue of featured images more. However, what defined the choice was that the structure was more straightforward, without too many sections and explanations, in order to achieve faster conversion. In this respect, option 2 stands out, as it has just one section with a flashy promotion and highlights of previous editions of the subscription.
landing page
Having a better idea of the context and how similar services present their products to users, I began to sketch out page structures, looking for the best way to sell the subscription service to users.
moodboard
Next, I put together a semantic panel with visual references that could capture the context and also help with the next steps.
style guide
Guidelines and goals
aesthetics
rubik mono one
During the process, I realised three points in common among the users: the appreciation of aesthetics, experience and belonging. I used these three keywords as guidelines to create the project's visual guide.
The look of records is very important, to the extent that half of consumers don't care about owning a record player. Therefore, the visuals need to be appealing in order to captivate this audience.
experience
Users seek unique experiences when buying physical discs, valuing the ritual of reading booklets and listening to complete albums. The challenge is to translate this experience into digital interfaces, adding value to the product.
belonging
The physical format reflects the exclusivity and appreciation of the album and the artists' concept. Many see it as a support and connection to their idols, a consumer behaviour to be considered when structuring the visual elements.
creating components
mobile
I quickly made a logo for the shop and chose the colour blue for it. The choice of blue was primarily because of the name, but also because it reminds me of the calm needed to fully appreciate an album.
logo
desktop
colours
The palette was based on the blue previously selected for the logo. To complement it, I chose a yellow (gold), relating this colour to the points of exclusivity and belonging. I then chose some more neutral colours for the texts and sections, seeking balance and facilitating implementation.
typography
For the titles and headlines I chose Rubik Mono One, a sans serif font with slightly rounded corners, reminiscent of old concert posters and signs. For the body typography and supporting texts I chose Urbanist, which is also sans serif and clean, with characteristics of modernist typography, relating and referencing the heyday of American Jazz.
urbanist
high-fidelity prototype
links
learnings
The aim of this project was to exercise the creation of a Landing Page and E-mail Marketing structure for a disc subscription service. As an exploratory exercise, I focussed more on the conceptual and visual side, trying to understand the context and patterns of the market.
Even in a brief survey, I realised that there are different ways of consuming the same product, making it clear that even a simple page needs conversation and testing with users to effectively sell a product.
However, it is necessary to be contextualised for this conversation, and in this sense AI tools help us to create and explore concepts more quickly. However, with this facility, you have to be careful of the temptation to skip stages in the design process, especially if you want to avoid bias.
thank you!
Cases
Amparo
Amparo is a donation platform created during IDEO.org's Introduction to Human-Centred Design (HCD) course in partnership with Acumen Academy.
