Sonexus

A platform designed to help musicians connect, collaborate, and build their network.

Ideation

UX Design

UI Design

Role

Ideation

UX Design

UI Design

Role

Ideation

UX Design

UI Design

Role

Ideation

UX Design

UI Design

Role

Figma

Photoshop

lllustrator

MidJourney

Tools

Figma

Photoshop

lllustrator

MidJourney

Tools

Figma

Photoshop

lllustrator

MidJourney

Tools

Figma

Photoshop

lllustrator

Optimal Workshop

Tools

2023

Year

2023

Year

2023

Year

2023

Year

8 weeks

Duration

8 weeks

Duration

8 weeks

Duration

8 weeks

Duration

Spanish

Language

Spanish

Language

Spanish

Language

Spanish

Language

In a Nutshell

This project focuses on the design of Sonexus, an app designed to facilitate connections between musicians. From identifying the problem to outlining each stage of the creation process, the study details the development of a platform that enables musicians to easily meet and collaborate. The goal is to offer an effective tool for connecting musicians, promoting in-person meetups and creative collaborations.

Understanding the Problem

For musicians, networking is essential, but not everyone has access to an established community. Many rely on social media or word-of-mouth, which can be inefficient or limiting. This project examines how an intuitive app can fill the gap by providing a dedicated space for musicians to discover and connect with others based on their skills, interests, and availability.

Crafting the Solution

Through user research, wireframing, and prototyping, I designed an experience that makes musician networking simple and engaging. Sonexus provides profile-based matching, messaging features, and collaboration tools tailored to different types of users—whether they’re looking for bandmates, jam sessions, or one-off collaborations.

Process

Process

Process

Process

The process covered the entire design journey, from ideation to prototyping, including iterative testing and refinement. It began by defining the project's scope and laying the groundwork, followed by gathering comprehensive insights into user behavior and needs.

Research & Insights

To better understand the challenges musicians face when trying to connect with others, I began with a discovery phase that included desktop research, competitor audits, and direct user research through surveys and interviews. This helped me gather insights into the real pain points of musicians looking to collaborate.

Key findings from the research included:

  • Many musicians struggled to find bandmates or people to jam with, especially if their existing connections stopped playing music.

  • Some had difficulty finding musicians who played specific instruments or genres that matched their style.

  • Others missed the experience of playing in a band but didn’t know where to start looking for new connections.

These insights helped me define clear user personas, each representing different musician profiles, their needs, and their frustrations. This was essential in shaping the product’s core functionality.

Research & Insights

To better understand the challenges musicians face when trying to connect with others, I began with a discovery phase that included desktop research, competitor audits, and direct user research through surveys and interviews. This helped me gather insights into the real pain points of musicians looking to collaborate.

Key findings from the research included:

  • Many musicians struggled to find bandmates or people to jam with, especially if their existing connections stopped playing music.

  • Some had difficulty finding musicians who played specific instruments or genres that matched their style.

  • Others missed the experience of playing in a band but didn’t know where to start looking for new connections.

These insights helped me define clear user personas, each representing different musician profiles, their needs, and their frustrations. This was essential in shaping the product’s core functionality.

Research & Insights

To better understand the challenges musicians face when trying to connect with others, I began with a discovery phase that included desktop research, competitor audits, and direct user research through surveys and interviews. This helped me gather insights into the real pain points of musicians looking to collaborate.

Key findings from the research included:

  • Many musicians struggled to find bandmates or people to jam with, especially if their existing connections stopped playing music.

  • Some had difficulty finding musicians who played specific instruments or genres that matched their style.

  • Others missed the experience of playing in a band but didn’t know where to start looking for new connections.

These insights helped me define clear user personas, each representing different musician profiles, their needs, and their frustrations. This was essential in shaping the product’s core functionality.

Research & Insights

To better understand the challenges musicians face when trying to connect with others, I began with a discovery phase that included desktop research, competitor audits, and direct user research through surveys and interviews. This helped me gather insights into the real pain points of musicians looking to collaborate.

Key findings from the research included:

  • Many musicians struggled to find bandmates or people to jam with, especially if their existing connections stopped playing music.

  • Some had difficulty finding musicians who played specific instruments or genres that matched their style.

  • Others missed the experience of playing in a band but didn’t know where to start looking for new connections.

These insights helped me define clear user personas, each representing different musician profiles, their needs, and their frustrations. This was essential in shaping the product’s core functionality.

Defining the Solution

With the research findings in mind, I defined the key goal of the product: to make it easier for musicians to connect and collaborate, regardless of their existing network. Sonexus would provide a platform where users could create profiles, highlight their skills and interests, and find others based on musical compatibility.

At this stage, I outlined the user journey and mapped out the core features of the app, ensuring that the experience was intuitive and goal-oriented. Some of these included:

  • Profile creation with detailed musician attributes (instrument, genre, experience level).

  • Search and filtering options to help users find the right collaborators.

  • A matching system based on shared interests and availability.

These decisions were based on direct user feedback, ensuring that the solution was practical and aligned with their needs.

Defining the Solution

With the research findings in mind, I defined the key goal of the product: to make it easier for musicians to connect and collaborate, regardless of their existing network. Sonexus would provide a platform where users could create profiles, highlight their skills and interests, and find others based on musical compatibility.

At this stage, I outlined the user journey and mapped out the core features of the app, ensuring that the experience was intuitive and goal-oriented. Some of these included:

  • Profile creation with detailed musician attributes (instrument, genre, experience level).

  • Search and filtering options to help users find the right collaborators.

  • A matching system based on shared interests and availability.

These decisions were based on direct user feedback, ensuring that the solution was practical and aligned with their needs.

Defining the Solution

With the research findings in mind, I defined the key goal of the product: to make it easier for musicians to connect and collaborate, regardless of their existing network. Sonexus would provide a platform where users could create profiles, highlight their skills and interests, and find others based on musical compatibility.

At this stage, I outlined the user journey and mapped out the core features of the app, ensuring that the experience was intuitive and goal-oriented. Some of these included:

  • Profile creation with detailed musician attributes (instrument, genre, experience level).

  • Search and filtering options to help users find the right collaborators.

  • A matching system based on shared interests and availability.

These decisions were based on direct user feedback, ensuring that the solution was practical and aligned with their needs.

Defining the Solution

With the research findings in mind, I defined the key goal of the product: to make it easier for musicians to connect and collaborate, regardless of their existing network. Sonexus would provide a platform where users could create profiles, highlight their skills and interests, and find others based on musical compatibility.

At this stage, I outlined the user journey and mapped out the core features of the app, ensuring that the experience was intuitive and goal-oriented. Some of these included:

  • Profile creation with detailed musician attributes (instrument, genre, experience level).

  • Search and filtering options to help users find the right collaborators.

  • A matching system based on shared interests and availability.

These decisions were based on direct user feedback, ensuring that the solution was practical and aligned with their needs.

Design & Wireframing

Once the foundation was set, I moved on to defining the user flow and information architecture, ensuring the app was structured logically and efficiently.

I started with hand-drawn sketches and low-fidelity wireframes, testing different layouts to see what worked best for usability. At this stage, I conducted early user testing, where I observed how potential users navigated the app. Their feedback led to key improvements, such as refining the search filters and simplifying the onboarding process.

With validated wireframes, I moved on to high-fidelity designs, focusing on both usability and aesthetics to create an intuitive and visually engaging experience.


Design & Wireframing

Once the foundation was set, I moved on to defining the user flow and information architecture, ensuring the app was structured logically and efficiently.

I started with hand-drawn sketches and low-fidelity wireframes, testing different layouts to see what worked best for usability. At this stage, I conducted early user testing, where I observed how potential users navigated the app. Their feedback led to key improvements, such as refining the search filters and simplifying the onboarding process.

With validated wireframes, I moved on to high-fidelity designs, focusing on both usability and aesthetics to create an intuitive and visually engaging experience.


Design & Wireframing

Once the foundation was set, I moved on to defining the user flow and information architecture, ensuring the app was structured logically and efficiently.

I started with hand-drawn sketches and low-fidelity wireframes, testing different layouts to see what worked best for usability. At this stage, I conducted early user testing, where I observed how potential users navigated the app. Their feedback led to key improvements, such as refining the search filters and simplifying the onboarding process.

With validated wireframes, I moved on to high-fidelity designs, focusing on both usability and aesthetics to create an intuitive and visually engaging experience.


Design & Wireframing

Once the foundation was set, I moved on to defining the user flow and information architecture, ensuring the app was structured logically and efficiently.

I started with hand-drawn sketches and low-fidelity wireframes, testing different layouts to see what worked best for usability. At this stage, I conducted early user testing, where I observed how potential users navigated the app. Their feedback led to key improvements, such as refining the search filters and simplifying the onboarding process.

With validated wireframes, I moved on to high-fidelity designs, focusing on both usability and aesthetics to create an intuitive and visually engaging experience.


Brand Identity & UI Kit

As the product took shape, I developed the brand identity, ensuring that it reflected the essence of music collaboration and connection.

For the logo, I combined a chain link and a music note (a half note) to symbolize connection through music. The color palette was carefully chosen to balance energy and professionalism, while the typography aligned with a modern, approachable aesthetic.

To maintain consistency across the product, I created a UI Kit based on the brand identity and Material Design guidelines, as the app was designed primarily for Android. This kit included buttons, form elements, typography styles, and a color system to ensure a cohesive visual language throughout the app.

Brand Identity & UI Kit

As the product took shape, I developed the brand identity, ensuring that it reflected the essence of music collaboration and connection.

For the logo, I combined a chain link and a music note (a half note) to symbolize connection through music. The color palette was carefully chosen to balance energy and professionalism, while the typography aligned with a modern, approachable aesthetic.

To maintain consistency across the product, I created a UI Kit based on the brand identity and Material Design guidelines, as the app was designed primarily for Android. This kit included buttons, form elements, typography styles, and a color system to ensure a cohesive visual language throughout the app.

Brand Identity & UI Kit

As the product took shape, I developed the brand identity, ensuring that it reflected the essence of music collaboration and connection.

For the logo, I combined a chain link and a music note (a half note) to symbolize connection through music. The color palette was carefully chosen to balance energy and professionalism, while the typography aligned with a modern, approachable aesthetic.

To maintain consistency across the product, I created a UI Kit based on the brand identity and Material Design guidelines, as the app was designed primarily for Android. This kit included buttons, form elements, typography styles, and a color system to ensure a cohesive visual language throughout the app.

Brand Identity & UI Kit

As the product took shape, I developed the brand identity, ensuring that it reflected the essence of music collaboration and connection.

For the logo, I combined a chain link and a music note (a half note) to symbolize connection through music. The color palette was carefully chosen to balance energy and professionalism, while the typography aligned with a modern, approachable aesthetic.

To maintain consistency across the product, I created a UI Kit based on the brand identity and Material Design guidelines, as the app was designed primarily for Android. This kit included buttons, form elements, typography styles, and a color system to ensure a cohesive visual language throughout the app.

Final Prototype & Testing

With the UI Kit and branding in place, I built the final prototype, which focused on delivering an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that included:

  • User login and registration

  • Profile setup and customization

  • Searching for and connecting with other musicians

Before finalizing the design, I conducted a final round of user testing to validate usability and gather feedback. The results provided actionable insights, leading to small but impactful refinements in navigation and interaction design.


Final Prototype & Testing

With the UI Kit and branding in place, I built the final prototype, which focused on delivering an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that included:

  • User login and registration

  • Profile setup and customization

  • Searching for and connecting with other musicians

Before finalizing the design, I conducted a final round of user testing to validate usability and gather feedback. The results provided actionable insights, leading to small but impactful refinements in navigation and interaction design.


Final Prototype & Testing

With the UI Kit and branding in place, I built the final prototype, which focused on delivering an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that included:

  • User login and registration

  • Profile setup and customization

  • Searching for and connecting with other musicians

Before finalizing the design, I conducted a final round of user testing to validate usability and gather feedback. The results provided actionable insights, leading to small but impactful refinements in navigation and interaction design.


Final Prototype & Testing

With the UI Kit and branding in place, I built the final prototype, which focused on delivering an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that included:

  • User login and registration

  • Profile setup and customization

  • Searching for and connecting with other musicians

Before finalizing the design, I conducted a final round of user testing to validate usability and gather feedback. The results provided actionable insights, leading to small but impactful refinements in navigation and interaction design.


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Final Design

Final Design

Final Design

Final Design

To showcase the outcome of the redesign, I created a prototype flow recording, demonstrating how users would interact with the new landing page. This recording highlights the improved layout, intuitive navigation, and enhanced user experience in action.

Conclusions & Insights

This project was a significant learning experience, not only in UX/UI design but also in refining my approach to research and product development.

Key takeaways:

  • Material Design Mastery – Since the app was designed for Android, I gained deep hands-on experience applying Material Design principles, ensuring usability and accessibility.

  • End-to-End Design Process – This was one of my first projects where I worked through the entire design process, from research to final prototype, reinforcing my ability to translate insights into tangible solutions.

  • The Power of User Research – Conducting research helped me challenge my own biases, and I now approach design decisions with a more data-driven and user-centered mindset.

Beyond design, this project reinforced the importance of staying adaptable—what seems like an obvious solution at first might not be what users actually need.

Next Steps

While the MVP successfully addressed the core problem, there are opportunities to enhance Sonexus further. Future iterations could include advanced matchmaking algorithms, event listings, and deeper community features to strengthen musician connections.

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© 2025 Tomas Leyro Diaz

Work
About
LinkedIn
See full CV

Email

© 2025 Tomas Leyro Diaz

Work
About
LinkedIn
See full CV

Email

© 2025 Tomas Leyro Diaz

Work
About
LinkedIn
See full CV

Email

© 2025 Tomas Leyro Diaz

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ABOUT

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