Podcast listening was booming, but Spotify gave users no way to save a specific moment worth returning to. A full UX research thesis — from Reddit deep-dives and surveys to personas, prototypes, and usability testing — aimed at solving that one overlooked gap.
Podcast consumption was surging, especially among tech-savvy 12–34 year olds looking for entertainment, education and companionship. The Infinite Dial 2023 report pointed to a clear gap: users wanted quick access to saved segments and better discovery — and Spotify offered no way to bookmark a specific moment at all.
Rather than guess, I went looking for genuine frustration on Reddit's podcast communities. Poor playlist management and the total absence of bookmarking came up again and again — and directly shaped every survey question that followed.
A structured survey confirmed what Reddit hinted at: heavy daily engagement, real frustration with managing saved content, and a clear, specific request — bookmarking — named by 40% of respondents as a top ask.
Patterns across the survey and Reddit research converged on three personas — a daily commuter, a multitasking home-listener, and a casual browser — each hitting the same wall in a different way: nothing to mark a moment worth returning to.
Testers were asked to revisit a specific podcast segment first on current Spotify, then on the prototype. The current app took multiple taps and real effort; the prototype's one-tap bookmark, with optional titles and notes, was faster and clearly preferred.
The final design: a minimal bookmark icon right on the playback screen, a simple screen to name and annotate the moment, and a dedicated space to browse everything saved — all reachable straight from the main player, no detour required.
The final interactive prototype, built in Figma and deployed live. Try the actual bookmark flow right here.
A well-defined problem, backed by real user insight, makes the design process smoother and far more impactful. Simplicity, when grounded in genuine need, is what creates real value.