Visual First
Splash allows anyone to create and export songs using genre-specific packs. As the app aims to be inclusive of all users internationally, pack art was designed to communicate an impression of the sounds included in a primarily visual way, with pack titles being a secondary indicator.
This is also a common theme throughout the design with iconography playing a large role in the app's UI.
It was also recognised that the visual identity of musical pieces heavily shape the way music is appreciated. The use of vibrant colours, textures and personalities communicate playfulness and intend to encapsulate and strengthen each pack's musical appeal.
Play & Export
These packs include two pages of 32 sound loops to experiment with. The playing view includes effects that users can hold and apply to groups of instruments. Users can layer beats, bass lines, melodies and vocal loops to create their own song. They can clear their sound combinations for emphasis during recording or to quickly iterate sound combinations.
When playing, the circle in most loops increases in opacity and a small slice of the circle is highlighted in alignment with the beat and to indicate where in the loop it is playing. Some instruments are 'one shot' plays rather than loops. They're represented with a single wave which fills in as they're played once.
After recording, users can choose to delete or save their songs to 'My songs'. Songs can be played back and album art can be selected to further personalise musical taste and style. The export function encourages sharing and external social engagement.
The design of this flow was aimed to enable people to express their creativity in a fast and fun way.
Interactions
As this app is cross-platform, material design interaction elements like navigation draws were used in order to maintain interaction consistency for everyone.
