Smart Flow

Partnering with ABC to Rethink Digital Listening

Client

ABC Australia

Duration

10 weeks

Role

User research lead,

experience designer,

UX/UI design assistant


Tools

Figma, Qualtrics, Adobe Creative Suites

Project Description

Smart Flow is an interactive feature designed for the ABC Listen app, aiming to promote healthier media consumption among young adults (18–35). The project addresses the growing concern of media overuse and multitasking by encouraging intentional, mood-aligned engagement.

Objective

Foster regular and balanced interaction with ABC content

Improve content accessibility and personal relevance

Introduce innovative formats that support mindful media habits

Design Challenge

How can we promote healthier digital consumption by aligning content delivery with users’ natural rhythms, needs, and well-being?

ABC challenged us to rethink how content is accessed, timed, and personalized — supporting focus, balance, and intentional habits while increasing long-term user engagement.

Deliverable

Concept design for two interactive interface modes (Standard & Lite)

Personalized prompts and adaptive content based on user states

A cross-platform design proposal

A video walkthrough and presentation deck

Impact Highlights

Enhanced Engagement: Tailors content to user schedules, promoting consistent and mindful use

Improved Accessibility: Flexible access to ABC’s radio, podcasts, and on-demand content

Balanced Consumption: Syncs with calendars and biometrics to support healthy habits

Youth Appeal: Lite mode attracts younger users through quick, adaptable interactions

Feature Overview

  • Standard mode

    Smart Flow syncs with users' calendars and wearables to monitor stress levels, enabling tailored media recommendations for focus, relaxation, or energy, enhancing productivity and well-being in real-time.

  • Lite mode

    Offers six pre-set listening modes for common daily tasks like working, walking, or relaxing.
    Users can quickly start without connecting calendars or wearables, enabling frictionless use.
     It ensures accessibility and efficiency for light, everyday engagement.

  • Manage Timeline

    Users can manually customize their daily schedule to align Smart Flow with personal routines. The timeline interface allows planning tasks, setting goals, and managing transitions. A built-in onboarding tutorial assists first-time users to set up with ease.

  • Media Playback

    All key features—current mode, time tracking, stress data—are displayed on one screen. The interface adapts audio in real time based on biometric input from wearables. It ensures a centralized, intuitive listening experience that evolves with the user.

  • Pop-up Notifications

    Smart alerts appear at key moments: task completion, high stress, or prolonged use. These prompts suggest switching to a different mode or taking a restorative break. Notifications aim to reduce burnout and promote balanced digital behavior.

Solution Hightlights

Addressing the Brief

Personalized Media Use
Delivers balanced, daily content through real-time sync with user schedule, mood, and biometric input.

Promotes Healthy Habits
Prevents digital fatigue and overconsumption with mindful, adaptive recommendations.

Strategic Alignment with ABC’s Goals

Supports Digital-First Strategy
Enables context-aware media delivery aligned with ABC’s long-term digital transformation goals.

Engages Younger Audiences
Lite mode caters to Gen Z’s preference for quick and responsive media access.

Future Development Pathways

Cross-Platform Scalability
Ready for seamless integration across ABC platforms and services.

Advanced Personalization
Potential to evolve through AI-driven mood tracking and contextual adaptation.

From Insight to Impact
This video showcases how Smart Flow delivers personalized media moments, helping users manage focus, relaxation, and energy throughout their day.

Design Process

Our team followed the Double Diamond framework over 11 weeks, progressing through four key stages: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver.
As the project’s research lead, content strategist, and data analyst, I played a central role in framing the design problem, leading primary research, and translating findings into validated design decisions.

Discovery (Weeks 1–4)

We reframed the reverse brief and conducted multi-layered research to understand digital media multitasking.

  • Methods:

    • Reverse brief & challenge mapping

    • Secondary research (academic literature & market reports)

    • Primary research (user survey + 8 interviews)

    • Empathy mapping

  • My role:

    • Led user research, including survey design, interview facilitation, and transcription analysis

    • Contributed to early insights that would later inform personas and design directions

Define (Weeks 5–6)

We translated findings into insights and mapped design opportunities.

  • Methods:

    • Affinity mapping

    • “How Might We” reframing

    • Defining key needs & problem space

    • User persona development

  • My role:

    • Led synthesis and insight generation from raw data

    • Helped map pain points to opportunities

    • Created and visualized personas and user journeys to guide design direction

Develop (Weeks 7–8)

We generated and evaluated concepts through ideation and feedback.

  • Methods:

    • Brainstorming + SCAMPER

    • Concept clustering

    • Design critique & evaluation

    • Early prototyping (paper & low-fi)

  • My role：

    • Co-led ideation and prioritization

    • Supported prototyping of early flows

    • Created lo-fi design logic that informed final features like stress-based recommendations

Deliver (Weeks 9–11)

We built and validated our solution through testing and iteration.

  • Methods:

    • Lo-fi interactive prototype

    • Two rounds of user testing

    • Iterative improvements

    • Final design specification & presentation

  • My role:

    • Designed testing protocol and conducted interviews

    • Led synthesis of usability data

    • Supported high-fidelity prototype validation and integration of user feedback