TO DO
IN PROGRESS
DONE
Useful for managing a queue.
A board makes volume visible. The trade-off: artwork, music and credits become more cards in the same grid.
PROJECT 2 / MOBILE PRODUCT DESIGN / INDEPENDENT CONCEPT
The song is ready.
The release isn’t.
A workspace for the things around the music. Keep the songs, credits, artwork and next move together, without losing the feeling of the release.
- For
- Independent musicians
preparing a release - My work
- Product direction, UX,
identity & working frontend - The core task
- Know what is missing.
Take the next step. - Built
- November 2026
With AI assistance
THE PRODUCT QUESTION
What is between
a song and a release?
A finished track still needs a title, the right names, a cover and a plan.
I designed SIDE A for the musician doing that work without a large label team. The hypothesis: use the release as the reference point and make the next unresolved decision easy to find.
The result is a working browser-local prototype for singles and short EPs. The sample artist, credits and release are fictional.
TWO STRUCTURAL DIRECTIONS
A task board,
or a release sleeve?
I compared the release as a collection of tasks with the release as an object you are bringing into the world.
YOUR NEXT MOVEFinish the credits.
The music keeps its identity.
The sleeve gives the work a centre. One next action and four release chapters keep the preparation close by.
Structural illustrations of the directions documented in the product brief.
FOCUSED EDITS
One missing name.
One field.
The first build felt confusing. A missing songwriter opened the entire track editor, hiding a small decision inside a long form. I replaced it with a single-field edit and a visible Save button.
Existing audio and contributors stay in place. Additional credits and listening files remain available in the full editor.
A DATED PLAN
Each task.
One place.
A separate deadline card repeated the first task and pushed the list below the phone screen. The next unfinished deadline now lives in its dated row, with To do and Done views.
Overdue and due-today labels make priority clear. Changing release day previews the new dates and keeps completed work done.
A PORTABLE HANDOFF
Take the release
with you.
The pack contains the exact revision’s credits, artwork, listening files and dated plan.
An unfinished release can still be downloaded as a draft. Its missing details stay explicit, with links to their edits in the pack preview.
The sleeve’s reverse keeps the running order and unfinished decisions together. On phones, a compact sleeve leaves room for the main action.
Try the release journey ↗
RESEARCH & VALIDATION
A hypothesis
you can try.
Spotify’s release guidance helped define the basic relationship between music, metadata, credits and artwork. DistroKid’s artwork guidance informed the size and shape checks. Distributor requirements still need to be checked at delivery.
Spotify / preparing a release ↗DistroKid / artwork guidance ↗
34 automated checks cover preparation rules, date priorities, focused edits and pack files. The sample journey and downloaded pack have also been checked in the browser.
Musician testing is the next step: can someone prepare their own release without help? The study guide includes tasks and an observation sheet. Own-file browser imports still need verification.
Download the musician testing guide ↓PUT THE MUSIC FIRST