UX / UI Case Study    |   July 2025

Spotify Feels Case Study

Overview:
Spotify Feels is a conceptual feature designed to turn music listening into an emotional journey. It allows users to track moods, highlight meaningful lyrics, and reflect on how music shapes their feelings over time — creating a personal, emotional diary right inside Spotify.

Disclaimer: Spotify Feels is an independent, speculative UX case study created for portfolio purposes. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Spotify AB.

Type:
Concept & Feature Design

Role:
UX Research & Insights
Concept Development
User Flow Design

The Problem

Anxious minds. Endless playlists. A generation overwhelmed by mental health struggles, yet few tools help them decode how they feel. How might we transform everyday digital experiences into spaces for emotional awareness and self-care?

A Generation in Crisis:
Rising Mental Illness Rates Plague Gen Z and Millennials

Concept Inspirations

This idea was inspired by how other apps help users connect emotionally with content:

  • Kobo e-reader: lets me highlight meaningful text, creating a personal record of moments.

  • Flo app: marketed as a period tracker, ovulation calculator, and pregnancy companion—that allows you to log symptoms.

  • Social sharing: many people share songs on Instagram Stories — not just for music, but as emotional signals seeking connection or attention.

Certain songs become soundtracks to heartbreak, anxiety, or sadness — often reflecting one’s mental state before being fully aware of it.

“What if Spotify combined these ideas — letting me highlight lyrics that hit hardest, and track emotional patterns through music?”

Addressing the Problem

Spotify knows what you’re listening to — but not why.

Music is deeply emotional. Many listeners use Spotify for coping, healing, or celebrating. I’ve often wondered: Could my music patterns help me understand my emotional health? Could they even warn me if I’m heading toward a mental breakdown?

Spotify’s current experience focuses on genres, artists, or “time of year” trends (like Wrapped), rather than the emotional context of songs.

Opportunity:

Use music’s emotional impact to boost engagement, support personal growth, and solidify Spotify’s role as a daily essential.

Research & Broader Insights

To validate my own experience, I researched:

  • Mental health trends among Gen Z and Millennials.

  • The role of music in emotional coping and mood regulation.

  • Gaps in current music apps for tracking emotional context.

Key Insights:

  • Many people use music as an emotional diary.

  • Listeners want tools for self-awareness and mental health, but privacy is crucial.

  • There’s growing interest in digital wellness features integrated into daily-use apps.

The Role of Music in Emotional Coping and Mood Regulation

  • Music helps people manage stress, anxiety, and overwhelming emotions

  • Certain songs become personal “soundtracks” tied to specific memories or moods

  • Listeners use music to process breakups, grief, or emotional highs

  • Repeating favorite tracks can be a self-soothing behavior during difficult times

  • Music creates a safe space for emotional release and reflection

Solution Approach

My goal was to create a feature that empowers users to reflect on their feelings without leaving their music experience.

  • Seamless Integration

    • Designed lightweight flows that fit naturally into Spotify’s UI

    • Minimal overlays to avoid interrupting music playback

  • Emotional Clarity

    • Used mood tags and emojis for quick, intuitive emotional logging

    • Inspired by highlight interactions from Kobo and mood tracking in Flo

  • Privacy-First Design

    • All Feels entries are private by default

    • Users control if and when to share their emotional data

  • Lightweight Interaction

    • Fast, single-tap mood tagging

    • Optional notes for deeper reflection without pressure

Core Screens

Your Feels (Landing Screen)

  • Library of saved lyrics and moods

  • Shows song, mood tag, date, and personal notes

  • Acts as a private emotional journal

Log Your Feels

  • Triggered from highlighted lyrics or adding from ‘+’

  • Pick how lyrics make you feel (e.g. Sad, Happy, Angry)

  • Optional personal note

  • Quick save to Feels library

Filter & Sort

  • Filter saved entries by mood or time period

  • Helps track emotional patterns over time

  • Supports self-awareness and mental health insights

Ways to access the feature

Users can access the Feels feature through multiple touchpoints, without disrupting the core listening experience:

From the Home Screen:

  • A new “Feels” tab at the top of the Home feed dedicated to reviewing saved lyrics, moods, and emotional trends.

  • While Playing Music:

    Users can tap on the lyrics view and select specific lines that resonate with them.

    After selecting lyrics, users see sharing options, including “Log Feels,” which launches the mood tagging and journaling flow.

  • From the Share Sheet:

    When sharing a lyric snippet, users can choose “Log Feels” alongside options like Instagram Stories, WhatsApp, or copying a link

Conclusion:

Spotify Feels is a conceptual idea that turns music into an emotional companion, offering users deeper connection and self-reflection. Creatively, it builds brand loyalty; strategically, it could boost engagement, unlock unique data for personalization, and drive premium conversions. Though speculative, it points to how Spotify could evolve beyond streaming into users’ emotional lives.

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