Context

I explored the concept of the Paradox of Choice through the lens of music discovery on Spotify. While Spotify’s algorithm is remarkably good at recommending songs, its sheer volume of suggestions often leads to decision fatigue. I wanted to understand why, despite being presented with thousands of great songs, users often default to listening to the same music on repeat.

User Need

Users needed a more intuitive and emotionally engaging way to discover new music—one that doesn’t overwhelm them with endless options. Instead of surfacing more content, they needed a lightweight, guided way to explore songs that align with their current mood, tastes, or curiosity, while still giving them a sense of control.

Current Constraint

Spotify's recommendation engine is algorithmically powerful, but its interface often lacks clarity in how to engage with those suggestions. There’s also a gap between passive listening and intentional discovery. Many users—especially casual listeners—don't know where to begin, and become overwhelmed by endless scrolls of playlists, genre tags, and daily mixes.

Through Reddit and Spotify communities, I found that users frequently voiced frustration with discovery being “too much work” or feeling repetitive, even with personalization baked in.

Design Challenge

How might we reduce cognitive overload and create a discovery flow that encourages exploration—without relying on infinite recommendations or complicated genre filters?

Impact

I designed an interaction-first feature that reframed how users could explore music. The flow begins with a simple popup that introduces the experience, giving users confidence and a clear sense of what to expect.

• Users start by choosing a familiar playlist (e.g., ‘Liked Songs’), which helps ground the algorithm in their taste.

• From there, a 4x4 grid of familiar tracks appears. Tapping a tile plays a 30-second preview.

• If they like it, the grid refreshes to show similar tracks—those that don’t match disappear, reducing clutter and narrowing choice in a meaningful way.

• Holding on a song (via 3D Touch) reveals deeper layers: similar albums, featured tracks, or artist collaborations.

This prototype encouraged intentional exploration rather than passive consumption. User testing showed that it helped people feel more curious, in control, and less overwhelmed when discovering music. For someone like Chloe—a 27-year-old casual listener—the experience felt guided and rewarding, not exhaustive or random.