Designers
Designers
Designers
Spotify Play
Bringing visual storytelling back into the way we listen and scroll.
Key Words
Designers
Lily Lawson
SUMMARY
I set out to understand why music videos, once a cultural event, lost their impact in the age of TikTok. Through research, user interviews, and prototyping, I discovered that people still crave visual storytelling, they just don’t have a place to experience it within their existing listening habits. My project explores how Spotify could integrate music videos into its ecosystem, creating a seamless, modern way to watch, listen, and rediscover the emotional power of visual music.
challenge
Through research, I found major gaps in how music videos exist in today’s ecosystem. Following the death of MTV, there's no longer a centralized music video platform. Listeners want visual context, but switching platforms feels inconvenient and disrupts how they naturally listen. Artists want a space to express full creative worlds, but algorithms favor short clips over intentional storytelling. Spotify, meanwhile, lacks a cohesive video experience. These gaps revealed an opportunity to create a seamless, integrated way to watch and discover music videos where people already listen.
Outcome
The project resulted in Spotify Play, a hybrid watch/listen feature that brings music videos directly into the Spotify experience. The design includes a scrollable video feed, visual worlds, and Wrapped-style “video archetypes.” These features give listeners a seamless way to engage with visual music without leaving the app, while offering artists a richer storytelling platform. By integrating video into familiar behaviors, Spotify Play directly addresses gaps in convenience, discovery, and creative expression.
MEET THE Designers:
Lily Lawson