Poorvi Rathore

2026Spotify Concept Project

Focus Mode in Spotify | Helping students who listen to music while working focus better

This project aims to enhance spotify to help students stay focused by integrating music and focus tools into one seamless experience, as students often experience fragmented study sessions as they switch between multple applications

Type
Concept Project
Platform
Spotify Mobile App
Scope
Research, flows, UI
A hand holding a phone showing the Focus home screen with colourful sound tiles

THE CONTEXT

Spotify already sits at the centre of many students’ study routines, yet its product is built around entertainment. Studying surfaces as one playlist category among party, workout and podcasts, and newer features like Jam and Blend focus on listening together rather than working quietly. The opportunity is contextual: Spotify has the audio but no awareness of the study session itself.

PROBLEMS

Setup
Choosing music, finding notes and closing tabs make the first ten minutes the hardest part.
Lyrics
Almost all users were distracted by lyrics
Timer
Users prefer tools which can help them keep a track of time

EXPERIENCE GAP

Spotify already sits at the centre of many students’ study routines, yet its product is built around entertainment. Studying surfaces as one playlist category among party, workout and podcasts, and newer features like Jam and Blend focus on listening together rather than working quietly. The opportunity is contextual: Spotify has the audio but no awareness of the study session itself.

JTBD Framework

Situation
When I sit down to study with music/audio
Job
I want to stay focused without managing music, timer and tracking separately,
Outcome
So that I can be productive
A hand holding a phone showing the Focus Mode intro sheet: “Everything you need, to stay in focus”

CONSTRAINTS

Focus Mode had to feel like part of spotify, not a new app on top of it.

Entry point
Finding an entry point that is discoverable and consistent with Spotify’s navigation hierarchy, without over or under weighting the feature.
Familiar UI
Spotify’s dark surface, pill buttons and bottom sheets.
Should feel optional
Skippable setup and ignorable nudges, so nothing changes for anyone who doesn’t use it.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Information architecture: Focus Mode opens either Focus Mode or an Intro sheet. Focus Mode leads to Pick Sound then Session Start; the Intro sheet leads to Set-up now? then Skip for now. Both reach Session Start, then Deep Focus, which branches to Allowed Apps, Change Music, and Distraction / break. Distraction / break leads to Break Nudge, Break Screen or Session Ends.

SCREEN WALKTHROUGH

Focus Mode intro sheet: “Everything you need, to stay in focus” with Set up Focus Mode and Skip buttonsSet up Focus Mode: session length and break interval steppers, allow calls toggle and allowed appsFocus home: a two-column grid of sound tiles such as Ambient, White Noise, Brown Noise and InstrumentalFocus session timer: a large green ring counting down 01:40 above the now-playing controlsQueue sheet over the blurred timer, listing the next tracks with a Switch Genre buttonChange sound sheet repeating the Focus home tiles over the blurred timer“Been Awhile, Break?” prompt with Break and Keep going buttons over the timerBreak timer marked IN BREAK with a running figure and a prompt to take a walk or drink waterSession summary illustration with 30m focus time, 2 breaks and 1 distractionWeekly Insights: 2h 30m daily average and a bar chart of the last seven days

“Everything you need, to stay in focus”, gives the promise in a single line without any feature list to read

Skippable setup and ignorable nudges so nothing feels like a commitment for new users

A stepper with minus plus around the value instead of input text fields for fast decision making and less setup time

Two titles Shortcut beside the tile. The pencil edits setup and the bar-chart icon opens Weekly Insights

A two-column grid presents each sound category at a glance, with a preview option that sets clear expectations before a session begins.

Time remaining, front and centre. The oversized ring and countdown in brand green dominate the layout, making progress readable at a glance.

Layered over the session. The blurred timer stays behind the sheet, so the student can manage their audio mid-session without leaving the session.

The sheet repeats the Focus home tiles, so students identify the options at a glance instead of working out how to change sound.

“Been Awhile, Break?” frames the break as an option the student can take or ignore, so it feels like a nudge and not an alert.

Away from the screen. A running figure and a brief prompt to walk or hydrate encourage students to step away from the phone, so the break supports recovery and not distraction.

Seven bars of the last 7 days with today’s label in bold, so the week reads at a glance.

Seven bars of the last 7 days with today’s label in bold, so the week reads at a glance.

PERSONAL LEARNINGS

Reduce friction at the point of entry - Limiting setup to a few essential controls lowers the effort needed to start a session, which matters most for first-time users deciding whether the feature is worth trying.

Consistency builds recognition - Repeating components such as the sound tiles and the timer ring across screens lets users rely on what they already know, which reduces cognitive load throughout the session.

Document decisions and be transparent about assumptions - Weighing alternatives and stating which trade-offs remain unvalidated turned each design choice into a reasoned position and set a clear agenda for user testing.