Value Proposition
iHeartRadio | 2018
Context & Challenge
Business Goal: Grow iHeartRadio audience to 24M monthly listeners by reducing friction in first-time streaming.
Problem: Only 35–40% of FTUs (first-time users) started a stream on Day 1, despite being 4x more likely to be retained in Month 2 if they did.
Challenge: Onboarding lacked clarity between free vs. paid features and failed to establish trust or showcase full value.
Role: Lead UX/UI Designer — responsible for creative direction, user research, experience strategy, and interface design.
Solution & Process
Empathize
Analyzed drop-off rates across Android, iOS, Web
Conducted stakeholder surveys to align on value priorities
Ran user testing to measure trust and perceived value
Define
Identified pain points: unclear free vs. paid, fast carousel speed, weak recall of content types
Ideate
Facilitated Crazy 8s workshop with PMs, engineers, and designers
Explored onboarding narratives that balanced clarity, trust, and brand voice
Prototype
Created two welcome screen flows (2-page vs. 4-page sliders)
Directed visual storytelling and UI design to highlight value propositions
Clarified offerings, slowed carousel, emphasized key content types
Test
Iterated through usability sessions and A/B testing
Captured behavioral differences between younger vs. older users
Refined onboarding flows through multi-round validation
Result
Outcome:
Achieved 8% decrease in FTU drop-off across platforms
Improved clarity of iHeart’s free vs. paid features and content offerings
Strengthened trust and perceived value in early onboarding
Impact:
More Day 1 streams, driving stronger Month 2 retention
Direct progress toward iHeartRadio’s 24M monthly listeners goal
Reflection: Balanced hands-on execution with creative direction — showing the ability to both lead and design end-to-end.