WeTransfer

Share music with WeTransfer Play

Introduction

WeTransfer is an Amsterdam-based company that helps send big files. In recent years WeTransfer has grown into a collection of tools designed for and inspired by the creative process. With now over 80 million monthly users in over 187 countries it is one of the world’s most beloved digital brands.

In 2011 I started at WeTransfer as its first designer, joining a 7 person startup. Four years later I was asked as a freelancer to join on a trip to LA and work on a project that could help WeTransfer break into the American market. One of those projects was developing a product for musicians and their fans.

Responsibilities

Product vision • Product discovery • Brand identity

Challenge

We wanted to offer musicians a way to share their music with their fans through WeTransfer. A big challenge for musicians was that they didn’t have many direct channels to their fans and couldn’t offer them ways to listen to or download their music.

Strategy

The strategy was to integrate this new feature into the WeTransfer platform, instead of making it a stand-alone product. The goal was to make it as unobtrusive as possible for existing customers, and only activate the interface when someone uploads music files.

Solution

When a musician would upload music files on WeTransfer, the default interface switched to the new ‘music’ interface. By simply adding or choosing a wallpaper, transfering the music files and copying the link artists could share their music anywhere online.

The fans would see a familiar WeTransfer download page, but with a few additions. The tracks could be played from the panel and the interface changed colours based on the wallpaper. The most dominant colour on the wallpaper was matched with a set of predefined colours, so users always had a harmonious experience.

Results

The participating musicians loved how easy it was to share their music and keep in touch with their fans. Meanwhile the fans were able to easily download and enjoy the music in an exciting new way, and it made a splash during the introduction of WeTransfer to the American market.