Designed for
Lyrist.ai
Music generation, while an exciting field, remains out of reach for many people due to its complexity and the technical skills typically required. Lyrist.ai aims to change that by using generative AI to make music creation more accessible. I was tasked with designing the web app from the ground up, combining user research with a focus on simplicity and usability. The challenge was to take the sophisticated AI algorithm and create an intuitive, user-friendly experience for people of all skill levels.
The Problem
Why Is Making Music So Hard?
You’ve got a tune stuck in your head - a melody, a rhythm, maybe even a lyric that just feels right. But when you try to turn it into a real song, things get complicated fast. Music software is built for professionals, demanding hours of learning before you can even press play. Melody, lyrics, and rhythm are all handled separately, making the process feel disjointed. Instead of fueling creativity, these barriers leave beginners feeling stuck, frustrated, and uninspired.
UX Research
UI Design
Product Documentation
My Role
"I don’t have formal musical training, but I still want to create songs that match my mood. Most platforms require too much prior knowledge to even get started."
"As a beginner, traditional music software feels overwhelming. The technical complexity holds me back from experimenting and expressing my creativity."
Interviews - User Pain Points
Through interviews with a diverse group of creatives, semi-professional musicians, and AI enthusiasts, we uncovered a common frustration: existing music creation tools are either too complex, too fragmented, or too limiting.
Hover on the characters below to see what people told us about the challenges they face:
"I love AI-generated music, but I want the ability to tweak and refine the output—mix, match, and edit tracks freely."
"Creating music with AI is pretty much a scattered process. I need different tools for melody, rhythm, and lyrics, which disrupts my creative flow and wastes time."
"When inspiration strikes, I want to act fast. Right now, there’s no easy way to quickly sketch out a song idea without getting bogged down by technicalities."
"I don’t just want AI-generated tracks:I want the freedom to personalise them to match my style and artistic vision."
Competitor Analysis
To further our research before diving into design, we explored what AI had already done in the music space. AI-generated compositions weren’t new, but most tools lacked usability or felt too robotic. Our goal was to create something that felt human, giving users control while letting AI handle the heavy lifting.
We conducted competitor research to understand what was missing in existing AI music tools. Here’s some of it:
Competitor
Features
User Experience
Pain Points
Lyrist.ai Advantage
Most of these tools either over-automated the process (limiting creativity) or lacked an intuitive workflow. Our goal with Lyrist.ai was to balance AI-powered assistance with user control - letting users steer the creative process rather than just receiving pre-generated content.
Our AI could help with:
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Generating instrumentals based on mood and genre.
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Suggesting melodies and chords to match lyrics.
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Assisting with lyric-music synchronisation for a smoother creative process.
Aiva.ai
AI Music Generation
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Rich functionality with a profile library.
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Key, Duration, Emotion, Layers (Chords, melody, harmony, bass) customization
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Multiple tracks generated at once
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Achievement medals for app milestones to improve user experience.
Offers a comprehensive set of features that might be overwhelming for beginners. However, video tutorials are available for guidance.
Full features require downloading a desktop app and some learning curve
Lyrist.ai offers a more beginner-friendly interface with robust features, no additional desktop application needed
Beatoven
AI Music Generation
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Duration, Tempo, Emotion, Genre, Volume Control
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Suggests alternate tracks to the generation.
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Video addition feature
Simple, clean interface that is easy for beginners to use
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No Lyric synchronisation
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Fewer customisations.
Lyrist allows users to add and sync lyrics and gives more customisation to the generation so that the tracks don't feel mechanical.
Chrome Music Lab
Music -making Experiments
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Interactive music experiments
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Relates to the 'science' of music
Light, fun, and playful. Perfect for children and beginners to explore music
Limited features, not suitable for professional use
Lyrist.ai offers a wider range of professional features while still being accessible for beginners
Garageband
Digital Audio Workstation
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Multi-track recording
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Virtual instruments
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Audio loops
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Physical Instrument plugin and mixing
Almost professional workstation, needs getting used to. Each device has a different user flow.
Powerful and comprehensive, but potentially intimidating for beginners. Works only on iOS devices
Lyrist.ai is platform agnostic and is designed to be user-friendly for all levels
Soundraw
AI Music Generation
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Genre, Length, Theme, Tempo, Instruments customization
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Multiple track generation (as well as 'similar' tracks)
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Let's you set energy for the track.
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Add video to the track
Easy-to-use interface with straight-forward options
No Lyric add. Little post production customization capabilities.
Lyrist allows users to add and sync lyrics and gives more customization to the generation by allowing MIDI downloads.
Uberduck
AI Rap Generation
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Generates beat, Lyrics and Voice
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Generates a Video with the rap
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Let's you upload custom voice as well.
Super simple and user-friendly, ideal for beginners.
Very limited feature set
Constrained to rap generation
Lyrist.ai is not constrained to one genre and offers more control over generation.
Bringing Our User to Life
To better understand our target audience, we created a proto-persona and user journey map for Jake—an aspiring musician and poet eager to turn his words into songs but hindered by complex music tools. This exercise helped us empathize with his struggles and refine Lyrist.ai to truly support his creative flow.
Hypothesized Solution
With all of that research, we conceptualized Lyrist.ai as an intuitive, AI-powered platform designed to make music creation accessible, seamless, and engaging.
Inclusive Platform: Lyrist.ai welcomes users of all backgrounds, regardless of their musical expertise. By lowering the barrier to entry, it encourages more people to experiment with songwriting and music composition.
Simplified Song Creation: With a user-friendly interface, Lyrist.ai enables users to create complete songs - from melody to lyrics - within a single platform. This removes the friction of switching between different tools and keeps the creative flow uninterrupted.
AI-Powered Music Generation: By leveraging advanced AI, Lyrist.ai generates music based on user inputs like mood, genre, and lyrical prompts. This significantly reduces the complexity of song composition while inspiring users to explore new creative directions.
Tailored Music Creation: Users have granular control over their compositions, adjusting elements such as pacing, instrumentals, and structure. They can also input their own lyrics and sync them with AI-generated melodies, ensuring a personalized musical experience.
Export Capabilities: To provide flexibility, Lyrist.ai allows users to export their creations as MIDI files, enabling further refinement in professional music software.
User Interface Design
Now that we had a solution in mind, it was time to design an interface that felt intuitive, creative, professional and inspiring. We wanted Lyrist.ai to be visually engaging without overwhelming users, making music creation feel effortless and fun.
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Pink
A vibrant hue that brings energy and excitement, making music creation feel fun and expressive.
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Purples
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A blend of energy and depth, purple reflects the ambition and artistry we want to inspire in users.
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Almost Black
Adding contrast and sophistication, mirroring the depth and power of music itself.
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Prototype (Hi - Fidelity)
After multiple iterations and refinements (which I unfortunately don’t have photos of), we arrived at the final design ready for developer handoff. This design only comprises the create feature and none of the additional flows in the product. The Figma prototype consists of four key screens, each designed to guide users effortlessly from idea to a finished song. Every step is designed to be intuitive, reducing friction and allowing users to focus entirely on their creativity.
1. Laying the Foundation
The journey begins on the first screen, where users set the stage for their song. This is where they name their track and define its essence with a brief description. For those feeling stuck, the ‘Surprise Me’ option offers AI-generated suggestions to spark creativity. This screen ensures that every song starts with a clear vision, whether entirely user-driven or with a little AI inspiration.
2. Setting the Tone
Next, users shape their song’s identity by selecting its genre, mood, and creativity level. Whether they want an upbeat pop track, a somber reggae, or something experimental, this step lets them steer the AI toward their unique musical style. By adjusting the creativity level, users decide how much freedom the AI has in shaping their composition, striking a balance between structure and exploration.
3. Fine-Tuning the Sound
This is where the song really starts to take shape. Users can set the BPM (tempo), track length, and instrumentation to match their vision. Whether they want a stripped-down acoustic vibe or a full, layered production, they’re in control. They can add or remove instruments - maybe bring in some piano for warmth or strip it back to just drums and guitar. To refine the sound even further, they can tweak the bass, treble, and reverb. Once it feels just right, they can either save and export their track or move on to the final step- writing the lyrics.
On the right, the concentric circles serve as a visual breakdown of the song’s layers - each circle representing a different element, from drum beats to piano chords. By long-pressing on any of these circles, users can isolate and listen to individual parts, making adjustments before finalizing the composition. From this step onward, they can preview the song in real-time before exporting it, ensuring every beat aligns with their vision.
4. Bringing Words to Life
This is where the song truly finds its voice. Based on the title, mood, and descriptions set earlier, Lyrist.ai automatically generates lyrics that match the tone of the composition. But creativity is personal, so users have full control to edit, rewrite, or refine the lyrics to better fit their vision. Whether they want to tweak a few lines or completely overhaul the verses, this step ensures the words flow seamlessly with the music. Once everything feels just right, they can export their final creation (as MP4 or MIDI)
At every step, a progress bar at the top ensures users always know where they are in the process, making the experience smooth and intuitive. The concentric circles dynamically adapt as the song evolves, offering a visual representation of its layers. From a simple idea to a fully fleshed-out track, the process remains fluid, interactive, and most importantly - creatively empowering.