Solo project - designed, tested, and implemented independently.
My Responsibilities - Product discovery, UX design, prototyping, testing in live environments, and business integration.
Overview
I designed an interactive setlist experience that enabled audiences to request songs directly to musicians via QR code, transforming passive gigs into engaging, participatory events that drive venue satisfaction and repeat bookings.
User Problem:
Live song requests were often chaotic - shouted over amplifiers, difficult to hear, and frequently for songs the musician didn’t know. Audience engagement could be passive, missing valuable opportunities to build atmosphere and connection. Venues, meanwhile, wanted happier crowds who stayed longer and spent more, yet musicians had no structured way to make this happen. On top of that, performers had little means of following up with audience members after a gig, losing the chance to turn one-off interactions into reviews or lasting relationships.
Outcomes:
Increased audience engagement and participation across gigs.
More online reviews, tips, and higher repeat bookings.
Differentiation from other musicians via a unique selling point.
A memorable live experience for both audience and performer.
Product Vision:
To create a digital layer that enhances live music by making audience participation seamless, enjoyable, and valuable for both musician and venue.
I follow a Design Thinking Process
EMPATHISE
Autoethnographic Fieldwork
I draw from my lived experience as a professional musician performing in pubs, hotels, and weddings, observing first-hand the challenges of chaotic song requests, varying levels of audience participation, and the lack of structured follow-up with listeners. This gives depth and authenticity to my research, and keeps my understanding of the problem grounded in lived experience.
Semi-Structured Interviews
To give breadth to my research, I interview 8 working musicians to verify and expand my understanding. These conversations surface common frustrations with handling requests mid-performance and the importance of crowd engagement for atmosphere. The interviews validate my personal insights across multiple perspectives and highlight shared pain points in the wider musician community.
Reflective Practice
Alongside observation and interviews, I actively trialled potential solutions during my gigs - such as using a QR code linked to my songlist and WhatsApp-based request flows. Reflecting on these experiments in context allowed me to test ideas quickly, capture audience reactions, and iteratively refine the concept.
Key Research Findings
Empathy Mapping
In order to get a clear picture of the emotional and psychological landscape of my users I create an empathy map. By focusing on what they do, feel, say, and think, I make sure the solutions I design stay closely aligned with their real needs.
User Personas
I then develop user personas to represent the main user I’m designing for, capturing their demographics, personality, goals, and pain points. This personifies the problem and guides me in shaping solutions that best meet their needs.
User Stories
User Journey Mapping
I map out the user journey to step into the musician’s shoes and see their experience from start to finish. This makes it easier to spot frustrations, highlight key moments, and design smoother paths that keep the focus on performing and connecting with the audience.
The user journeys reveal how dramatically the experience shifts depending on whether a musician can fulfill a song request: when the crowd hears a familiar tune, energy and connection rise, but when a request can’t be met, both engagement and credibility suffer.
DEFINE
In the Define stage, I distill my research findings into problem and hypothesis statements for each user persona, and craft a value proposition that directly addresses their needs.
Value Proposition
I gathered a full range of possible features and benefits, align them with the personas, and distilled what sets our solution apart. I arrive at the overall value proposition for our users:
IDEATE
As I step into the ideation phase, I am guided by this product goal:
I explored different ‘hands-free’ concepts, such as interactive table coasters with QR codes, a projector screen displaying the live song list, and even a digital jukebox experience. To stay within realistic technical constraints, I focused on a simpler and more feasible solution: a QR code leading to a website-based song list that connects directly to WhatsApp for requests. This became the core concept worth prototyping and testing.
PROTOTYPE
To move quickly into testing, I created an initial prototype using my own music business brand, OLM (Oisín Live Music). I built this as a functional concept in Wix.com, allowing real users to interact with a live songlist and make requests directly via WhatsApp. This first round focused on testing the core flow - from scanning a QR code, browsing the setlist, selecting a song, and submitting a request - rather than on visual polish. The goal was to validate the hands-free interaction model and gather feedback for iteration.
Landing page with brand + CTA
Browseable setlist
Search function
WhatsApp message flow
TEST
Round 1 Testing Findings
After deploying the initial prototype at live gigs, I gathered feedback from audiences, fellow musicians, and my own observations. The results are summarised below:
The prototype attracted real traffic, showing a 3-5x increase in online traffic, with the highest spike in March–April 2024 (85+ weekly sessions), showing genuine interest and audience engagement.
Beyond feedback from testing sessions, the prototype generated verified Google reviews that highlighted the impact of the request system in live settings. Guests consistently praised the ease of making requests and the joy of hearing their chosen songs performed. Reviews not only reinforced the value of participation for audiences but also showed clear potential for improving reputation and securing repeat bookings.
IMPLEMENT
