OVERVIEW

Ellomix is a social media music streaming app that helps users discover new music through personalized timelines and artist profiles. I came on as a visual designer, creating high fidelity mockups of the wireframes provided, but I quickly assumed a UI/UX role once we realized we wanted the visuals to differentiate ourselves a bit more. I also am the web developer/designer for the team. Our website is ellomix.com

App on the iOS App Store

Demo Video:

View Demo

Research & Strategy:

Before diving into design, I conducted research to ensure Ellomix would be viable in single player and small group mode without a critical mass of users. A cruical concern was avoiding the fate of similar apps like Cymbal.FM, which was shutting down around the time we were launching. I identified that many social music apps failed because they required a critical mass of users to be valuable, creating a chicken-and-egg problem.

To solve this, I focused on features that would make the app valuable even in single-player mode and small group scenarios. The key strategies were:

Playlist Import/Export: By allowing users to import and export playlists from other platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), Ellomix would become useful regardless of how many friends were on the platform. Users could bring their existing music libraries and take their playlists with them, making the app invaluable from day one.

Group Playlist Feature: I designed a group playlist feature that allowed users to send songs directly in group messages, automatically adding them to a shared playlist. This made the app valuable for small groups of friends without needing a large network of users.

Timeline Feature: I designed a lean social feed for music discovery that lets users share tracks, follow activity, and find new songs without needing a big network. Paired with the single-player and small-group features, the timeline delivers social value from day one instead of depending on scale.

This research-driven approach ensured Ellomix could survive and thrive without needing millionxs of users from the start, making it sustainable from launch.

UI Sketches & Wireframes:

High Fidelity Mockups: