KONNECT

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KONNECT *

A unified Freemium Media app for K-Pop lovers

KONNECT is a freemium K-pop media app that unifies music, video, fan community, and exclusive content into one personalized, immersive platform for global K-pop fans.

  • Role: Sole UX/UI Designer

  • Duration: March 2025

  • Tools: Figma, Hand sketch

Introduction

KONNECT is a freemium K-pop media app designed to bring together the fragmented fan experience into one seamless platform. With a global fanbase of over 150 million, K-pop fans often juggle multiple apps for music, content, and community—KONNECT solves this by offering an all-in-one solution that includes streaming, idol interactions, fan forums, and exclusive merchandise access. My goal was to create an engaging, user-centric product that not only delivers a rich media experience but also encourages premium subscriptions through thoughtful design. This case study outlines my end-to-end design process—from research and ideation to prototyping and usability testing—showcasing how I translated user needs into a cohesive and intuitive mobile experience.

Phase 1: The Research Process

To design a successful freemium platform for global K-pop fans, I began with in-depth research aimed at understanding user behaviors, motivations, and pain points. This phase combined both secondary and primary methods to uncover opportunities for delivering high-value experiences that would drive engagement and premium subscriptions.

Secondary Research

I began by conducting secondary research to understand the broader K-pop media landscape, focusing on user demographics, spending behavior, and platform features. I examined major platforms like Weverse, V Live, YouTube, and Spotify to identify what they offered, where they fell short, and how they influenced fan behavior. I was surprised by the abundance of both quantitative and qualitative data, which helped me synthesize key trends and categorize them into actionable themes.

I learned that K-pop is not just music—it’s a global cultural phenomenon with over 150 million fans, many of whom are between 18–24 years old and deeply invested in direct idol engagement, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and collectible merchandise. This research highlighted the need for an integrated app experience and showed that monetization success would depend on offering personalized, interactive, and exclusive content. My competitive analysis also revealed that while each existing platform serves a specific niche, none provided a cohesive fan experience—creating a clear opportunity for KONNECT.

Primary Research

Building on the findings from secondary research, I conducted primary research to gain direct insights from K-pop fans. I distributed a survey in various K-pop Facebook groups, successfully reaching a young international audience—primarily located in Southeast Asia and the U.S. The survey not only gathered useful data and quotes but also served as a screener for selecting participants for in-depth interviews.

I then conducted five semi-structured user interviews with selected fans and friends who were passionate about K-pop. These interviews helped me uncover their emotional drivers, media habits, and spending behaviors. A key insight was that fans are highly motivated by direct interactions with idols—many expressed a clear willingness to pay for premium features that offered closer engagement, such as exclusive content or virtual meet-and-greets.

I recorded the five interviews conducted via zoom and subsequently conducted the following synthesis and analysis.

Affinity Map

With the insightful quotes from each interviewees, I synthesized them with color coding (based on participants) to five different topics. The overarching answer I wanted to answer here is: How to create enough value for the users of KONNECT, a K-Pop media app, so that they are willing to pay for the premium subscriptions? I broke this topic down to five themes:

  • Budget on K-Pop

  • Favorite platforms and valued features

  • Features to potentially spend money on

  • Missing features from existing platforms

  • Sharing K-Pop hobby with friends

Persona

With the affinity map in mind, I created a detailed persona, Emily Choi, representing common user characteristics, behaviors, and desires identified from research. Emily exemplifies the typical K-pop fan’s interest in personalized interactions, exclusive content, platform usability, and a cohesive user experience.

Insights from Primary Research

This experience reinforced the value of engaging users early. Surveys and interviews uncovered real needs beyond assumptions, while affinity mapping and thematic analysis sharpened my ability to distill insights clearly. Creating a persona brought focus and consistency to the design process, ultimately strengthening both my strategic thinking and user-centered approach.

From this research, several key insights emerged:

  • Exclusive content, direct idol interactions, ad-free experiences, early access, and translations significantly increase willingness to subscribe.

  • Integrated platform experiences are preferred over fragmented content across multiple apps.

  • Users show strong interest in affordable subscription plans.

  • Youtube and Spotify are currently the top choices for K-Pop lovers in terms of usability.

  • K-Pop lovers enjoy the presence of community and interactions with other fans.

How Might We Questions

To translate insights into actionable design goals, I formulated the below key questions for international K-Pop lovers.

How might we…

  • enhance their user experience in consuming K-pop media?

  • add tangible value through premium content offerings?

  • set a reasonable price for premium upgrade and clearly differentiate and communicate premium subscription offerings?

  • enable meaningful interactions with idols and fandom communities?

  • encourage adoption of family and friends subscription plans?

This research structure has provided comprehensive, actionable insights that directly informed the strategic and design decisions necessary for developing an engaging, user-centric premium K-pop media app.

Phase 2: Ideation & Solution

Guided by research insights, I translated user needs into actionable design strategies by first developing structured user stories that captured the core functionalities fans wanted—streaming media, idol interactions, community engagement, and clear subscription benefits. From there, I built out the app’s information architecture, including a detailed sitemap and red route user flows that emphasized a seamless onboarding experience and strategic premium upgrade prompts. Wireframes focused on simplifying navigation and highlighting premium value without overwhelming users, while onboarding flows and home screens were optimized to reduce friction and boost conversion. These low-fidelity designs evolved into a polished, high-fidelity prototype that brought KONNECT’s core experience to life—visually integrating premium features, social elements, and content discovery into a cohesive, intuitive interface tailored to the expectations of global K-pop fans. Every step prioritized usability, monetization, and emotional connection to idols, laying the groundwork for targeted testing and refinement.

User Stories

I created structured user stories around core app functionalities—streaming, idol interactions, community features, subscription management, and premium content. Each story followed a simple format: Role, Action, and Benefit. This helped clarify user expectations and prioritize features accordingly.

Key takeaways included the need for seamless media access, direct idol engagement, vibrant community spaces, and clear distinctions between free and premium tiers. Users also valued flexible plans, especially for families or friend groups.

This process not only aligned features with real user goals but also streamlined later design phases by keeping priorities focused and user-centered.

Site Map

I designed the sitemap to ensure a clear, intuitive user experience while highlighting the distinction between free and premium features. The app is organized into five main sections:

  • Home – Personalized feed with recommendations, recent activity, and premium alerts like early releases and presales.

  • Media – Access to videos and music, including ad-free streaming, offline mode, curated playlists, and lyric translations.

  • Community – Fan forums, idol interactions, and virtual meetups, with enhanced features for premium users.

  • Shop – A storefront offering merchandise, with exclusive items and early access for subscribers.

  • Profile – Centralized account settings, subscription management, purchase history, and support access.

This structure was designed to support both seamless exploration and strategic premium conversion.

User Flows

To align with key business goals, I designed red route user flows that drive both onboarding and premium conversion:

  • New User Signup Flow – New users are introduced to premium benefits through onboarding screens and prompted to subscribe immediately after registration, capturing attention at peak engagement.

  • Returning Free User Flow – Returning users see consistent, strategically placed CTAs that highlight premium perks and make upgrades easy to access.

  • In-App Upgrade Flow – Free users encounter premium-only content throughout the app, paired with seamless “Upgrade Now” prompts—especially during moments like ad interruptions or blocked access to exclusive features.

These flows were intentionally structured to balance clarity, motivation, and subtle upselling, helping guide users toward premium subscriptions without disrupting the core experience.

Wireframes

The wireframes were strategically constructed to align with the key business objectives of enhancing user engagement, driving subscription growth, and fostering community among the users which are K-pop fans. Emphasizing simplicity and intuitive navigation, the design directly addresses user preferences identified through earlier research, providing an experience tailored to the unique demands of the K-pop audience.

The onboarding process was intentionally minimalistic, streamlining user tasks like idol selection and account setup, thus reducing initial barriers to engagement. Core functionalities, including artist searches, account creation, and subscription selection, were designed to be straightforward, clearly communicating value propositions and minimizing friction in user interactions.

To support subscription goals, the home screen distinctly highlights personalized and premium features such as exclusive content, direct interactions with idols, and early access to music and events. Subscription tiers—Individual, Student, and Chingu (Friend)—are clearly differentiated with benefits explicitly communicated to effectively showcase value and drive user upgrades.

The design after the signup process consciously integrates interactive prompts and upgrade opportunities to encourage user conversion to premium memberships, while ensuring these interactions remain non-intrusive and user-friendly.

From the wireframing process, my takeaways include:

  • Efficiency in design can significantly reduce complexity, making user interactions smoother and more enjoyable.

  • Learning from successful music and subscription platforms provided actionable insights to improve navigation clarity and overall usability.

  • Simple, intuitive design effectively highlights premium features, clearly distinguishing them from standard offerings and naturally prompting user interest in premium subscriptions.

These insights informed ongoing iterations, ensuring a highly engaging, user-centric final design.

Usability Testing on Wireframes

To validate early design decisions, I conducted a round of usability testing focused on the free-to-premium upgrade flow. Participants were asked to complete key tasks such as onboarding, exploring subscription options, and identifying premium content. Feedback revealed both strengths and friction points: users appreciated the logical flow and clean navigation, but struggled with certain elements like hidden skip options, unclear subscription paths, and limitations during idol selection.

Key issues included confusion around how to proceed without subscribing, a desire for more flexible onboarding (e.g., guest mode and delayed idol selection), and the need for better visual hierarchy in pricing plans. These insights directly informed the next iteration of the design, emphasizing clearer CTA labels, simplified subscription comparisons, and a more intuitive, user-friendly onboarding experience. Overall, this round of testing highlighted the importance of balancing monetization goals with seamless user experience.

Moodboard

The moodboard helped define KONNECT’s brand identity—bold, youthful, and exclusive—aligned with the expectations of global K-pop fans. I curated vibrant imagery and UI inspiration that emphasized idol culture, premium experiences, and visual energy. This guided key design decisions, from color palette to layout, ensuring the interface felt immersive, modern, and emotionally resonant with its target audience.

Styleguide / Design System

The design system for the KONNECT mobile app was intentionally developed to create a consistent, intuitive, and engaging user experience that directly supports key business objectives, including user engagement, brand recognition, and premium subscription conversions.


The KONNECT logo was crafted to be memorable and playful, reflecting the app's modern and young identity, while also incorporating a distinct icon - the crown - to clearly highlight the exclusivity of premium user status, indicating that the app is the crown jewel when compared with any other similar app related to Kpop and media, while also maintaining the association between the app logo and the Premium badge that presents all over the app.


Typography choices prioritized clarity and readability, leveraging Montserrat fonts with varying weights and sizes (Bold, SemiBold, Regular) to establish clear visual hierarchy and improve overall content accessibility.

The selected color palette was designed to reflect the vibrant yet sophisticated nature of the K-pop community, utilizing primary colors for highlighting premium actions, secondary colors for supportive interactions, and neutral tones like white and grey for balanced readability and a clean interface. The decision to adopt a dark theme was specifically made to enhance visual appeal, reduce eye strain during prolonged use, and create an immersive experience that aligns well with the dynamic and media-rich nature of the app.

The iconography was carefully chosen to complement the themes and aesthetic of KONNECT, focusing on minimalism and modern style. To ensure visual harmony and consistency, icons were selectively sourced from only two trusted designers.

Frequently used UI elements were deliberately designed as components, promoting better accessibility, flexibility, and efficiency for future enhancements and scalability. These reusable components—such as banners, input fields, tab bars, and content cards—feature a minimalist aesthetic to encourage quick user recognition and intuitive interaction, significantly enhancing overall app usability. Interactive elements like buttons were strategically structured to streamline user interactions, clearly distinguishing between primary, secondary, and tertiary actions based on their importance and intended response. Icons included within certain buttons further improved user understanding and navigation efficiency. 

Creating the style guide reinforced the value of strong visual hierarchy, early color contrast checks, and consistent typography for readability. A dark theme suited KONNECT’s media-rich, premium feel, while reusable components streamlined design and ensured cohesion. Thoughtfully selected iconography enhanced clarity and aligned with the app’s modern, fan-centric aesthetic.

High Fidelity Prototype

The high-fidelity prototype focused on developing a detailed and visually comprehensive interface for KONNECT, designed specifically for K-Pop enthusiasts. The prototype translated earlier low-fidelity wireframes and user feedback into a tangible representation of the user experience. Below are my key takeaways and insights.

Importance of an Easy Onboarding Process:

  • Creating the prototype reinforced the importance of a straightforward and engaging onboarding experience. I learned that offering familiar sign-up options such as social logins (Google, Facebook, Apple) significantly reduces user friction and enhances initial engagement.

Clarity in Communicating Premium Features:

  • Developing the prototype taught me the critical role of clearly articulating premium benefits. Highlighting features like direct idol interactions, ad-free content, early access, and exclusive merchandise clearly showed an increase in user interest in subscriptions.

Power of Personalization:

  • I recognized the significant impact personalization has on user retention and satisfaction. Allowing users to select favorite idols from the outset facilitated a tailored content experience, reinforcing user loyalty and continued engagement.

Value of Community Interaction:

  • Crafting interactive elements demonstrated to me the powerful effect direct community engagement has on user activity. Features such as live idol chats and visible comments for premium users proved crucial in building an active and engaged community.

Strategic Conversion Techniques:

  • Working on the prototype highlighted the effectiveness of strategic prompts emphasizing premium benefits. These prompts, focusing on features like offline listening, background playback, and exclusive content, effectively encouraged users to upgrade without disrupting the overall user experience.

Overall, creating the high-fidelity prototype provided deep insights into user motivations and interactions, clearly validating the product's appeal and potential within the market.

Phase 3: Usability Testing & Iteration

With the high-fidelity prototype complete, I conducted a second round of usability testing to assess the full end-to-end experience. Participants appreciated the polished visuals, familiar layout, and standout premium features like direct idol interactions, ad-free streaming, and exclusive merchandise. However, the testing surfaced several critical pain points—such as confusion around free-tier playback, difficulty skipping ads, and unclear upgrade flows. Users also expressed interest in guest mode, alternative payment options, and more intuitive ways to preview premium content.

In response, I implemented a series of targeted design iterations. These included adding Google sign-up, reworking the free-tier playback logic to reduce friction, making skip-ad buttons more visible, and reducing the visual dominance of upgrade CTAs. I also refined subscription prompts, improved onboarding flexibility, and made content discovery more engaging for free users. These changes significantly improved usability and struck a better balance between user experience and monetization, allowing users to explore the app's value without feeling pressured. This phase reinforced the importance of empathetic iteration—designing not just for conversion, but for trust, clarity, and long-term engagement.

Usability Testing

In the second round of usability testing, I evaluated how real users interacted with the high-fidelity prototype of KONNECT. Overall, participants responded positively to the app’s visual design, intuitive layout, and clear premium features—especially the crown icons, exclusive content access, and idol interaction capabilities. However, several usability issues emerged. Users struggled with free-tier music playback logic, missed subtle ad skip buttons, and found some upgrade CTAs overly aggressive or repetitive. Some also requested guest mode, improved content previews, and more flexible onboarding options. These findings highlighted the need to refine micro-interactions, clarify the value of premium content, and reduce friction for free users—all of which shaped the next round of design improvements.

After conducting usability testing, I refined the high-fidelity prototype to address key pain points (critical and major ones) and enhance the user experience for the freemium-to-premium subscription model. The major updates were informed by user feedback, ensuring a smoother transition between free and premium tiers while maintaining engagement. Below are the key improvements and my takeaways from this iterative process.

Google Sign-Up Integration
Initially, the flow only supported email-based sign-up, which some users found cumbersome. I built out the Google authentication flow, streamlining onboarding and reducing friction for new users. This change will likely sign-up completion rates, as users preferred the convenience of one-click login.

Revised Free Tier Song Playback Logic
Previously, clicking any song title immediately prompted free users to upgrade without instructing them where to click in order to start the playing process (despite being in shuffle). It was not so intuitive for the users to click on the play button. The updated flow now directs free users to press the play button to start shuffle mode (a free-tier feature) if they attempt to select a specific song (a premium feature). There is still a prompt for upgrade but they are displayed with lower hierarchy. This creates a more intuitive and less aggressive monetization approach, reducing user frustration while still encouraging upgrades.

Enhanced Ad Skip Button Visibility
Users reported that the skip ad button was too subtle, making it hard for users to proceed with skipping the ads. I modified the design by making the skip button a primary color (e.g., app’s accent color) to increase visibility. This small but critical adjustment improved user satisfaction, as free-tier users could now easily skip ads when permitted.

Reduced Visual Prominence of Upgrade CTAs
Initially, upgrade prompts used primary buttons, making them overly dominant and potentially annoying to free users. I changed all upgrade CTAs to secondary button styles, ensuring they remain accessible but don’t compete with primary actions (e.g., play, browse). This subtle shift reduced perceived pressure to upgrade, making premium features feel like an optional enhancement rather than an interruption.

Key Takeaways & Learnings:

  • Balancing Monetization & UX is Crucial:
    Initially, I leaned too heavily on upgrade prompts, which risked alienating free users. The revised song playback flow taught me that educating users on freemium benefits (e.g., shuffle mode) before pushing upgrades leads to better retention.

  • Small UI Changes Have Big Impacts:
    Something as simple as button color or hierarchy significantly affected usability and user sentiment. This reinforced the importance of micro-interactions and visual hierarchy in shaping user perception.

  • User Testing Reveals Hidden Pain Points:
    Without testing, I wouldn’t have realized how disruptive the immediate upgrade prompts or hidden skip buttons were. Iterating based on real feedback helped me design with empathy, ensuring the app feels rewarding at both free and premium tiers.

  • Strategic CTA Placement Enhances Trust:
    Downgrading upgrade buttons to secondary styles made the app feel less "salesy" and more user-centric. This taught me that subtlety in monetization can actually improve conversion by building trust first.

This phase reinforced that a successful freemium model relies on delivering value first—users should experience enough benefits in the free tier to consider upgrading, rather than feeling blocked or pressured at every step. Moving forward, I’ll continue prioritizing seamless UX while strategically placing premium incentives in a way that feels organic, not intrusive.

Final Thoughts

Final Takeaways

Designing KONNECT taught me that user-centered freemium models thrive when premium features feel like enhancements, not paywalls. Small details—like button hierarchy and copy—had a major impact on perception, and iterative testing uncovered crucial usability gaps. Emotional drivers like idol interaction and exclusivity proved far more compelling than just ad-free access. Balancing monetization with empathy was key.

If I Had More Time

I would expand guest mode, refine content previews, test pricing tiers, explore gamification, and run longer-term user studies to better understand upgrade behavior over time.

Reflection

This project sharpened my ability to design with both business and user needs in mind. Prioritizing trust and value helped create a freemium experience that feels engaging, not exploitative—and deepened my confidence as a product designer who leads with empathy.