Amazon Music - Fan Points
Mobile Design / Gamified Community Experience
Timeline & Context
Mar - Apr 2024
Client: Amazon Music
Team
Penghao Zhu
Nikhil
My Role
User Research
UIUX Design
3D Design
Market Research
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Cinema 4D
Photoshop
Background
This project was completed within a one-month timeline as part of the Amazon Music Design Challenge. The biggest challenge was the limited time, which required rapid prioritization and clear definition of the project scope.
What is the client's Goal?
Amazon Music challenged us to envision and design an innovative new feature that could elevate the future user experience of the platform.
Our process
Initial brainstorming & research
Problem & user painpoints
Most music streaming platforms—including Amazon Music—treat fans as passive listeners, missing opportunities for deeper artist-fan connection, recognition, and engagement. Users want more ways to support, interact with, and be recognized by their favorite artists—but current features fall short.
Our final result & design
Solution 1: Earn Points by Meaningful Actions
Fans earn points not only by streaming, but also by discovering new artists early, attending events, purchasing merch, and completing daily engagement tasks.
→ Mechanism: Turns passive consumption into active participation, encouraging deeper, habit-forming engagement.
Solution 2: Visible Recognition & Social Proof
Fans unlock unique badges and progress tiers that are visible on their profile, reflecting their support history, fandom loyalty, and early discoveries.
→ Mechanism: Provides public recognition, satisfies status needs, and motivates users to continue engaging.
Solution 3: Artist Rankings & Voting
Fans use points to vote for their favorite artists in monthly leaderboards, directly impacting artists’ visibility and achievements within the platform.
→ Mechanism: Empowers fans, gives them agency, and gamifies support—making the platform a true artist-fan community.
Solution 4: Exclusive Rewards & Community Features
Points can be redeemed for exclusive rewards—concert tickets, merch, private events, and even special chat rooms or content with artists.
→ Mechanism: Closes the loop between virtual engagement and real-world benefits, increasing both user stickiness and brand value.
Want to see how I arrived at the final design?
Research
Industry overview
Competitive analysis
Overall, most platforms focus on delivering music and discovery, but rarely address the deeper needs for artist-fan connection, recognition, or an active fan community.
focuses on social sharing, collaborative playlists, and algorithmic discovery, but offers limited artist-fan direct engagement.
integrates exclusive artist content and live events, but lacks sustained fan recognition mechanisms.
benefits from a huge content library and strong video community, but its music experience is still mostly passive—fans can comment or like, but deeper connection is rare.
User research
What I got from users?
Survey and interview data reveal that both casual listeners and superfans want more than just music—they crave emotional connection, recognition, and meaningful participation. 75% of surveyed Amazon Music users cited a lack of engaging community features. Key needs include:
How might we solve user pain points?
Iteration
In the initial phase, I generated and evaluated multiple ideas—including live artist Q&As, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, collaborative fan playlists, and a gamified point system.
Why Fan Points?
Among multiple ideas—including artist Q&A, live streaming, and collaborative playlists—the Fan Points system stood out.
It directly addresses the core pain points: making fan support visible, gamifying engagement, and offering real rewards.
Early prototyping and feedback showed that fans loved earning badges, competing on leaderboards, and unlocking exclusive perks—proving this approach both engaging and scalable.
User testing
Impact
The Fan Points feature prototype received highly positive feedback from both superfans and casual listeners—over 90% reported feeling more connected and motivated to support their favorite artists.
Credits
Thanks to Amazon Mentors: David Porter, Tien Dinh, and Anthony Conta.
Takeaway
Rapid iteration is critical:
Early testing and feedback helped us quickly refine ideas and focus on what truly excites users.
Scoping and time management:
With only one month to deliver, I learned to quickly define priorities, break down the project into clear milestones, and stay disciplined in decision-making—ensuring we solved the right problems within limited time.
Emotional connection is a powerful driver:
Designing for recognition and belonging can transform passive users into active community members.
Penghao Zhu
