Matchify: Connecting People Through Music
Designed the UI for Matchify, a music-driven social application that connects users through their listening habits. Developed an intuitive navigation system and customizable user profiles prioritizing visual identity and musical taste. Created streamlined onboarding process leveraging Spotify API integration to instantly personalize user journey. Designed comprehensive settings suite with granular privacy options. High-fidelity prototype was selected to be showcased at ARIA 2024, University of Toronto's premier research and innovation event.
Skills & Technologies
Connecting People Through Musical Identity
Matchify reimagines social connection by placing music at the center of human relationships. Rather than relying on geographic proximity or mutual friends, Matchify connects users through their authentic musical identity: the artists they love, the genres that move them, and the listening habits that define their daily lives. By integrating seamlessly with Spotify, the platform transforms passive listening data into active social discovery, helping users find friends, collaborators, and communities who truly understand their musical perspective. This project explores how music can serve as both a conversation starter and a foundation for meaningful connection in an increasingly digital world.
Why Music-Based Social Discovery?
Traditional social platforms prioritize who you already know or where you live, but music reveals who you are. Your Spotify Wrapped isn't just data. It's a window into your personality, your mood patterns, your cultural identity. Matchify was born from the recognition that shared musical taste creates instant common ground and authentic conversation. In a world where meeting new people often feels forced or superficial, music offers a natural, judgment-free entry point for connection. Whether you're looking for concert buddies, jam session partners, or simply people who "get" your playlist, Matchify makes those discoveries feel organic and exciting.
Key Features
Spotify-Powered Onboarding
Streamlined authentication flow that connects users' Spotify accounts in seconds. The system instantly imports top artists, favorite genres, recently played tracks, and listening patterns to build a comprehensive musical profile without requiring manual data entry. Users can review and customize their imported data before going live.
Musical Identity Profiles
Visually rich user profiles that showcase musical personality through artist grids, genre breakdowns, top tracks, and listening statistics. Profiles display both current favorites and all-time classics, giving potential matches a complete picture of musical taste evolution over time. Customizable privacy controls let users choose what to share publicly vs. with matches only.
Smart Matching Algorithm
Recommendation engine that analyzes artist overlap, genre compatibility, listening intensity patterns, and discovery behaviors to suggest potential matches. The algorithm balances similarity (shared favorites) with complementarity (compatible but different tastes) to create diverse, interesting connections. Users can filter matches by music preferences, location, or activity interests.
Integrated Messaging Interface
In-app chat system designed specifically for music-centered conversations. Features include sharing Spotify links with inline previews, collaborative playlist creation, concert planning tools, and music trivia icebreakers. Messages can include song recommendations, artist deep dives, or genre exploration challenges to keep conversations engaging and music-focused.
Granular Privacy Settings
Comprehensive privacy controls allowing users to manage visibility of listening history, location data, profile information, and online status. Options include hiding specific artists or genres, creating "private mode" listening sessions that don't affect matching, and controlling who can initiate contact. Settings dashboard explains data usage transparently.
Intuitive Navigation System
Bottom tab navigation with four core sections: Discover (match browsing), Messages (conversations), Profile (your musical identity), and Explore (community features like local concerts, trending artists, playlist challenges). Each section uses music-inspired visual metaphors (waveforms, vinyl records, equalizers) to create cohesive brand identity while maintaining clarity.
Tools & Technologies
Figma
Designed complete mobile interface system including onboarding flows, profile templates, match browsing screens, messaging interface, and settings dashboard. Created high-fidelity prototype demonstrating Spotify authentication, swipe gestures, and animated transitions between states.
Spotify API Integration
Leveraged Spotify Web API for OAuth authentication, user profile data retrieval (top artists, tracks, genres), listening history analysis, and playlist management. Designed data mapping strategy to transform Spotify's JSON responses into meaningful visual profile elements.
User Research
Conducted interviews with music enthusiasts to understand how they discover new music, form music-based friendships, and use existing social platforms. Identified pain points around superficial connections and desire for music-centered communities, informing core feature prioritization.
Mobile Design Patterns
Applied iOS and Android design conventions for gesture-based navigation (swipe to match/pass), bottom sheet modals (profile details), tab bars (primary navigation), and notification systems. Ensured platform-appropriate interactions while maintaining consistent brand identity.
Recognition and Learning
Matchify was selected to be showcased at ARIA 2024 (Academic Research and Innovation Affair), University of Toronto's premier research and innovation event, where it was presented alongside cutting-edge academic projects from across disciplines. This recognition validated the project's innovation in combining social connection with music technology, demonstrating that leveraging existing APIs like Spotify can create novel user experiences without reinventing the wheel.
From a design learning perspective, Matchify taught critical lessons about balancing personalization with privacy, feature richness with simplicity, and algorithmic matching with serendipitous discovery. The project reinforced that successful social platforms must solve a genuine human need (in this case, the desire to connect over shared passions) rather than simply implementing trendy features. The Spotify integration showcased how thoughtful API usage can bootstrap complex functionality, allowing designers to focus on unique value propositions rather than rebuilding basic infrastructure.
This project directly applies to product design and UX careers where understanding user motivation, designing for trust and vulnerability, and creating delightful interactions are paramount. Matchify demonstrates the ability to research user needs, translate insights into features, and prototype complete mobile experiences that balance technical feasibility with emotional resonance.