In 2013, there was no professional DJ app on Android so we made one. The app attracted new B2B customers, brought back growth and was rated 4.5 for years. Play Store
Mixvibes has an iOS DJ app. Users kept on asking for an Android version. This was a no-go because of the audio latency – but when Kit Kat came along, developers said they could achieve acceptable results. The challenge: we had only 3 months to ship before the Christmas rush.
Every user action is on the beat, to offset Android’s audio latency
Now appears on all screens. Bigger sliders than in iOS, to address more users
Matches current style expectations, fits all screens, reduces apk size
Features like a folder explorer, a beginner-oriented tutorial, UI skins or localized app copy sometimes resulted in +30% downloads, especially in some countries (e.g. Brazil).
An example of growth-oriented design was the possibility to connect hardware mixers. I had noticed that YouTube videos with this hack racked loads of views. The promo video hit 200k views organically, and update rates were higher than ever.
We mapped hardware controllers made for iOS apps – whithout much success. We then decided to map controllers for desktop software. I pushed for the affordable best-sellers. This drove up engagement significantly.
How to design with data and growth in mind, how to talk to users without skewing their judgments (which often pays off more than cramming every possible feature in a release.)
Users prefered Android’s design, so
I led the harmonization of iOS and macOS. The experience bought us the runway we needed to start working on a new app.
We wanted to address existing users and new ones alike, so we chosed Remixlive. We also needed to ship in 4 months – before the Christmas rush.
App Store
User interviews: To grow, DJs often need to make their own music... but some of them find music production apps either too simple (“toys”) or too complex (“plane cockpit”).
Combine instant magic (“I made an hip-hop beat in seconds”) and a progressive learning curve (“I learned what ADSR means”).
No music knowledge required. Perform in the front with popular music genres. Visualize music (circle = music loops). Record any sound, and loop it.
Professional grade audio effects, equalizer and samples packs. Fine-tune samples in the back – including the ones you import. Control DJ hardware in MIDI.
One of my ideas was to break it down into 3 categories to increase legibility + allow for bundles. I showed users around by giving away free sample packs at launch. I also built a template for sample pack artworks, that could be used after I left.
Made and optimized all App Store assets (descriptions, images, localization). Oversaw communication with Apple and Google (multiple features) started infuencers outreach (earned media), oversaw A/B tests
Kept track of user-feedback, helped set-up feature priotization processes, set up 30-page FAQ to facilitate support. Oversaw the curation of sample packs (based on data), created marketing templates.
Designed logo and all comms assets, built a new website in days (launched on time), produced and edited videos (see showreel). Wrote and sent tailored press releases to various media, chatted with journalists daily.
We were eager to build the features we had in mind. However, early users requested a compatibility with other apps. We built it and downloads took off, showing the first stage of product/market fit.
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We then released 1 update per month. For example, adding colors to offset negative user’s perceptions (“looks too complicated for me”). I backed-up my designs with references to best-selling hardware and contrast ratios. Other updates included Android and Mac/PC versions, and even a video spin-off.
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