Spotify Active: Music That Moves With You
A Spotify feature designed to combine wearable fitness-tracking technology with personalized music synchronization.
Tl;dr
I designed Spotify Active, a conceptual feature that syncs music with wearable fitness data to match workout intensity. To solve the problem of users interrupting workouts to fix mismatched music, I surveyed active individuals, synthesized insights, and analyzed competitors to identify Spotify as the best-fit platform. I then created information architecture, wireframes, and prototypes, refining through usability testing. The result was a polished concept featuring hands-free biometric syncing, customizable soundtracks, and seamless wearable integration, showcasing my skills in research, UX/UI design, prototyping, and iteration.
Affiliation
Conceptual (not affiliated with Spotify)
skills
Research, synthesis, IA, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, iteration within an existing brand system.
team
Sole UX/UI Designer
tools
Figma, Miro, Canva
design challenge
Finding Your Workout Soundtrack is Hard
Music is a powerful motivator during workouts, but finding songs that match intensity is often frustrating. Many people pause mid-exercise to adjust tracks, breaking focus and momentum. Current fitness music features don’t adapt in real time, leaving users with soundtracks that fail to keep up with the dynamic nature of workouts.
solution
Music That Moves With You
Spotify Active integrates wearable fitness data with Spotify’s personalization engine to create music that moves with you. By syncing tempo to heart rate, cadence, or a custom BPM, it removes the need for manual adjustments. Users set preferred genres and moods, while Spotify curates tracks that both fit their energy and introduce variety, turning every workout into a personalized, motivating, and immersive experience.
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Proven benefits of music on performance
Music enhances workouts by improving mood, boosting efficiency, and increasing endurance by up to 15%.
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Popularity of music streaming
Nearly all Gen Z (99%) and millennials (98%) stream music weekly.
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Growth of wearable fitness tech
Wearables are growing at 18.5% CAGR, with most users citing health and fitness as the top reason for use.
user research
Listening to the Users
I surveyed 17 active individuals (ages 18-34, all wearable users) to learn how music shapes their workouts and whether a dynamic syncing feature would add value. The survey included both multiple-choice and short-answer questions, allowing me to capture a mix of quantitative trends and qualitative insights.
88%
want music to match their energy levels
77%
are interested in music that adapts to heart rate or pace
71%
want variety to discover new workout tracks
Overall, users see music as essential for motivation, but when songs don’t match their workout intensity, it breaks focus and momentum. This frustration points to the need for a hands-free, adaptive solution.
Four insight themes emerged from the research:
1. motivation
“It’s a challenge to find songs fun enough to keep me motivated or when music is too slow for the activity I’m doing.”
2. mood
“I want my workout music to fit my mood!”
3. variety
“I get bored if I’m listening to the same music every run. I struggle to find new/different music to listen to each time.”
4. ease of use
“I don’t want anything to slow me down, like trying to navigate my watch or get my phone out to change music.”
MARKET ANALYSIS
Platform Choice: Why Spotify?
To identify the right platform, I compared major streaming services using market share, demographics, and user demand.
Why Spotify stood out:
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Market leader: Holds 31% share, far ahead of competitors
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Right demographics: Largest U.S. base of 18 - 34 year olds, matching my survey group
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High demand: 86% of surveyed Spotify users expressed strong interest in this feature (higher than the overall 76%)
competitive analysis
Exploring Existing Solutions: What’s Missing
I analyzed four workout music apps: RockMyRun, PaceDJ, FITRADIO, and Running Beats BPM. Each offered tempo-based music, but all fell short in key ways.
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No single app combined real-time syncing, manual controls, streaming library integration, and wearable connection.
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RockMyRun came closest with real-time syncing, but lacked music library integration and had limited HR matching.
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Others overloaded users with too many playlists, making it hard to find the right fit.
This gap highlighted the opportunity for Spotify Active: a seamless, adaptive experience built into a platform users already love.
information architecture & wireframing
Structuring the Experience
As I mapped the information architecture, I realized the landing screen was overloaded with choices. To reduce cognitive load, I split the flow into two steps: a clean landing page and a dedicated workout settings screen. This shift let users focus on one task at a time without feeling overwhelmed.
With user needs and competitive gaps in mind, I then sketched and wireframed different layouts and flows. My goal was to balance familiarity with innovation, creating an experience that felt seamless to navigate while introducing new functionality.
usability testing
Refining the Design
I tested a high-fidelity prototype with five participants to uncover friction in core flows like starting workouts, creating new ones, and navigating cooldown. The feedback revealed where users got stuck or confused, and I refined the design accordingly:
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Easier discovery: Added a “Browse by Activity, Genre, Mood, or BPM” section and moved Create New Workout to the top for quick access.
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Clearer features: Added tooltips to biometric and warm-up options, and renamed Motivational Cues to Artist Motivation Boosts for clarity.
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Simplified playback: Removed biometric-selection buttons mid-workout and aligned the Currently Playing screen with Spotify’s native design by removing bottom navigation.
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Better post-workout value: Added a Workout Soundtrack summary so users can save tracks discovered during workouts, and updated the UI with visuals styled like Spotify Wrapped.
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high fidelity mockups
Final Design
KEY FEATURE 1
Hands-Free Control
Spotify Active adapts to workout intensity automatically, syncing music to your heart rate, steps, or custom BPM, eliminating manual adjustments mid-workout.
KEY FEATURE 2
Seamless Wearable Integration
Connect easily with devices like Apple Watch, Oura Ring, or Garmin for real-time fitness data and effortless syncing.
KEY FEATURE 3
Smart Music Selection
Powered by Spotify’s existing personalization, your soundtrack blends favorite tracks with fresh discoveries, tailored to your genre, mood, and history.
KEY FEATURE 4
Artist Motivation Boosts
Option to hear short, energizing messages from your favorite artists before their songs, adding an extra push to keep going.
KEY FEATURE 5
Quick Controls on Smart Watch & Lock Screen
Access cooldown or end workouts directly from your wrist or lock screen without needing to open the app.
INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
Interact With Spotify Active!
LEARNINGS
Designing within Spotify’s ecosystem pushed me to adapt brand guidelines while keeping consistency in color, graphics, and UI patterns. I learned how to introduce new functionality in a way that feels fresh but still aligned with a familiar user experience.
NEXT STEPS
Future opportunities for Spotify Active could include:
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AI-coached workouts that adapt in real time to biometric changes
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Custom cooldowns that begin after a set duration
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Speed-based BPM settings tied to running or walking pace
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