Facing the music with Keezy Classic: Can a user-focused redesign save the future of this mobile app?

7 min readOct 8, 2020

Context

Our story begins with the notion that Keezy Classic was looking at an uncertain future…

Since its debut on iOS platforms nearly seven years ago, Keezy has marketed itself as “a musical instrument for toddlers, professional musicians, and everyone in between,” an experience where 8 colored tiles are tapped or pressed to record custom soundboards. In spite of maintaining such a simple core concept, a brief online search will lead anyone to discover that any hype surrounding Keezy has faded further into obscurity in recent years.

I was tasked with revisiting the overall ethos of the app through an imaginative lens. I only had 10 days to understand its past and propose a solution that had the power to carry it into a new chapter.

Goals

What exactly was I trying to learn here? I began my design sprint by outlining my main research objectives:

Establish the key demographic Keezy Classic should be targeting in today’s landscape. Determine the audience who has the potential to benefit the most from its utility.
Discover and map any trends in the current user experience. Highlight any pain points or gaps that are negatively impacting the application’s overall perception.
Figure out whether or not there is any room to expand upon or add value to Keezy’s interface.

All while…

…embracing an iterative design process. I knew how I felt about Keezy Classic, but making assumptions at any chapter was never going to impact my initiatives in a positive way. I set out to consistently question, explore, revisit, and tailor my solutions to become increasingly human-centered.

Research

Interviews

In spite of the unavoidable challenges presented by navigating amidst a global pandemic, I succeeded in procuring an interview pool that embodied a varying range of preexisting technological and musical abilities.

11 adults (7 men, 4 women)
Ages 24–38
All inhabitants of the DC-Metro area
(Recording artists, DJs, concert-goers, & more)
No prior knowledge of Keezy
All iPhone users

So, what are some of the key questions I posed?

“What do you feel is the most important factor in a given mobile application?”
“In the past month, how frequently did you post or share content?”
“Describe your musical background.”
“What role does music play in your life today?”

I then proposed a brief usability test with the current Keezy interface.

The Setup:

“This isn’t designed to be about you trying to accomplish any kind of goal or task; I just want to hear about your unique experience with the application.”
“Talk me through whatever pops into your head throughout the next few minutes as you navigate the interface.”
“Did you view the encounter as more positive or negative? Why?”

Synthesis

Affinity Mapping

Affinity mapping was an incredibly useful tool in the organization phase of my research synthesis. After all, I had some very broad questions to answer before I could start developing any solution.

I focused almost exclusively on direct quotes pulled from my participants and separated my maps into two sections: primary interviews centered in conversations about technology and music in general, and reactions to Keezy Classic specifically, expressed throughout our usability exercise.

Initial Observations:

7 out of 11 participants valued utility/core function over ease of use in their downloaded mobile applications, but also valued overall interface design
10 out of 11 participants admitted to continued/regular use with less than ¼ of their overall app catalog
Confidence in musical training/abilities did not seem to impact a given participant’s sharing habits and social media presence

And…

Every interviewee described placing even more importance on deriving joy from music than they did six months ago.

Two Subgroups Emerge:

Musically inclined participants who described past musical training or creating music regularly

Found the current Keezy app more intuitive, but limited in its overall capabilities and concept
Described a positive experience in the moment, but expressed concerns about continued usability

Music enthusiasts who weren’t confident in their own abilities, but still described a regular engagement with technology

Found Keezy to be more confusing and difficult to use, but were more positive when asked about potential revisitation
Laughed a lot more throughout usability test

Insights: Identifying our Pain Points

Stress/Confusion

All participants criticized a lack of clarity while engaging with the Keezy Classic interface. The absence of any tutorial was noted in a majority of our sessions

Lack of Fulfillment/Depth

Regardless of musical background, all participants felt Keezy’s core features needed to be more organized and/or more extensive

What’s the Problem?

Keezy Classic seems to be caught in between two worlds — being perceived as too simple for individuals who already use other tools to express themselves musically, while too confusing for musical amateurs to experience the app’s core functions.

My interview participants expressed valuing mobile applications that they felt were both useful and fun.

After my synthesis, it was clear that Keezy wasn’t falling under that category.

Proposed Solution

I didn’t give up on the idea of Keezy! I set out to adapt the current interface into something that was entirely more intuitive to use, in addition to adding a new feature that could heighten the perceived value of a given user.

Early Sketches

The earliest iterations of my design concept certainly targeted the problems I had identified:

I added a new level of onboarding with a log-in/create account page
I removed multiple icons on the existing interface that a majority of my interviewees had found confusing
I mapped out an abundance of tutorial features, not just regarding how to use Keezy itself, but how to learn the basics of classic instruments
I added a feature where users could upload music files from other sources. (I quickly was given the feedback that this would be opening the door to copyright concerns).

But who was my intended audience?

A Pivot Point!

I realized that I was gravitating toward a “Swiss Army Knife” approach to my concept, attempting to make something that would appeal to both of my interview subgroups. I was reminded of the saying: “If you design for everyone, you decide for no one.”

I returned to the key quotes I had pulled from my sessions, and this time decided to focus on the positive, not negative takes on Keezy Classic.

My Targeted Persona

A main takeaway after this chapter was that the users who identified as less musically-inclined were the most optimistic about continuing their journey with Keezy. They expressed that ‘tinkering’ with music, without any concern for doing things the ‘right way,’ was how they derived the most joy, especially in the last six months. Multiple users from this group even went as far as to say that this mode of play helped them cope with their anxiety.

So, let’s embrace the fun/discovery element here!

That being said, these users also wanted to avoid feeling like they were using a mobile app that was designed for a child.

Paper Prototypes

New or Enhanced Features:

Clearer/more intuitive recording process with visual confirmations
A screen where users can revisit saved projects and easily store or access their evolving collection
Separate ‘Play-Back’ screen where recorded projects can be customized
Separate screen to save and share (using multiple popular platforms)
A screen where each of 8 the signature Keezy squares can be edited individually
Randomized Dice Button on Home Screen — users have the option to ‘shuffle’ new boards from a catalog of curated sound boards!
Extended and organized selection of a built-in sound library, additionally including pre-set loops and percussion
A clear ‘Back’ and ‘Home’ button to make varying user flows more seamless
A never-moving ‘Tutorial’ button for links to guidance for different common user tasks