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VoiceAd
Voicead is an innovative digital platform that uses artificial intelligence to create advertising for companies in the radio industry. Thanks to its extensive library of automated voices based on human speech, we eliminate the lengthy work in recording studios, simplifying the process to the maximum and enhancing the quality of the outcome.
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This platform generates the best script for the desired advertisement, offering the option to choose from a wide variety of different voices and music in just three simple steps.
Project Overview
CHALLENGE
Design a new radio production platform to help improve the users experience while creating advertising material through the integration of Artificial Intelligence.
SOLUTION
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Design a new system that allows users to create advertising content for their companies in a simplified way using Artificial Intelligence.
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Define a unique brand identity that reflects Voicead´s attributes
ROLE
UX, UI Designer
TIME
9 Weeks
TASK
Design an advanced AI-Based Platform for Radio Ads generation
TOOLS
Figma, Photoshop, Ilustrator
EMPATHISE
Research
Since I wasn’t very familiar with the radio advertising industry, I began with some research to gain a better understanding of the market trends and demographics. I then conducted interviews to learn more about the different experiences people have had creating radio commercials.
Through my research, I wanted to:
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Identify VoiceAd’s target market
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Identify VoiceAd’s competitors and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
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Understand the experiences people have when creating adds in a recording studio
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Discover the goals, needs, motivations, and frustrations of VoiceAd’s users
Market research
To learn more about the market trends and demographics of the radio advertising industry, I started with market research with the help of Google. I was able to gain a more thorough understanding and fill in the gaps of my knowledge about the industry to better inform my design decisions moving forward. Here are some of the key insights that I discovered:
Customer trends
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Approximately 78% of traditional radio stations have expanded onto digital platforms to reach wider audiences.
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Podcast consumption has seen a significant increase, with a 32% rise in listenership over the past year.​
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AI technologies are being integrated into radio operations for tasks such as content creation or scheduling. Radio stations are integrating with other media channels, including social media ( 85% of stations), podcasts (63% of stations), and digital platforms ( 74% of stations).
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Demographics
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A growing number of listeners access radio content through digital platforms, including smartphones, smart speakers, and online streaming services.
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The largest demographic for radio listeners is adults aged 25-54 years old, (approximately 45% of the audience) Younger listeners, aged 18-34, represent about 30% of the audience, showing a preference for music-oriented stations and morning shows.
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A.I. In the radio industry
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AI-driven tools are enabling new forms of creative expression in media, potentially transforming how radio content is conceptualized and delivered to audiences.
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​Voice cloning with AI refers to the process of using artificial intelligence algorithms to create a synthetic replica of a person's voice. AI algorithms require a substantial amount of audio data from the target speaker. This data includes recordings of their voice speaking various phrases and sentences.
Competitive Analysis
After learning more about the industry, I wanted to take a closer look at VoiceAd’s competitors. I identified some top direct and indirect competitors within the industry: Veritone, AdLarge Media, AudioGO, Google Ads, and Triton Digital.
Direct competitors are smart radio advertising companies similar to Voicead, while indirect competitors aren’t focused solely on advanced AI algorithms to create digital audio solutions. Exploring each of their apps, I evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of each to see how Voicead could fill in any gaps moving forward.
Indirect
Direct
STRENGTHS
AI audio advertising solutions for radio and podcasting.
Advanced AI tools for content analysis. Provides analytics and performance insights.
STRENGTHS
Specializes in audio advertising focusing on digital audio platforms.
Offers creative services and campaign management for audio ads.
STRENGTHS
Ease of use and accessibility for advertisers of all sizes.
Offers real-time reporting and optimization capabilities.
STRENGTHS
Integrates audio ads across Google's extensive network including YouTube, Spotify, and more.
Uses Google's AI for targeting based on user behavior.
Complexity in AI integration. Setup may require specialized knowledge.
Pricing could be high for smaller businesses.
WEAKNESSES
WEAKNESSES
Less emphasis on AI automation compared to Voicead.
Doesn't offer the same level of script generation and voice customization features.
WEAKNESSES
AI capabilities may not be as advanced as Voicead's for script generation and voice selection.
WEAKNESSES
Focuses on broader digital advertising rather than specialized radio ads.
Limited in integration with traditional radio channels.
Provisional Personas
THE MARKETING MANAGER
Millennial. (25-34 yrs)
GOALS
Create high-quality advertising campaigns in the shortest production time possible.
Reach the widest possible audience.
Save money and time without losing quality.
PAINS
Difficulty to create scripts and finding the right voices since it takes too long.
Limited budget for recording studios and voice actors.
Hard to find studios that offer content variety to match what clients want.
Millennial. (25-34 yrs)
THE SMALL BUSINESS RETAILER
Invest in advertising for her small yoga studio.
Create perfect adds to catch audience’s attention.
Needs effective advertising to differentiate her studio.
GOALS
THE MECHANIC
Gen X. (48-55 yrs)
Needs ads that show how good his shop is and how well he treats customers.
Investing little time and effort.
Wants more local customers to find and use his shop.
GOALS
PAINS
Tight budget constraints for promotional activities.
Limited experience in marketing and advertising.
Challenging to differentiate her studio and attract clients away from competitors.
PAINS
Doesn't know much about ads and making them.
He worries that ads cost too much for small businesses.
User interviews
In order to learn about the real experiences people have had creating radio advertisement, I recruited 5 participants (fitting within the criteria of the provisional personas) for user interviews. Here, I focused on asking open-ended questions about their experiences to learn as much as possible about our users and validate my understanding of them from my provisional personas.
"Making a radio ad is new to me and seems quite complex. I'm worried about the time and effort it will demand, especially since I'm not experienced with traditional radio advertising methods in the recording studios. However, I recognize its importance in reaching our audience effectively. I'm looking for a solution that simplifies this process and guides me through the necessary steps, so we can create a compelling ad without feeling overwhelmed" - Sam
Empathy Map
To synthesize all the information I had gathered from the user interviews, I wrote my findings on sticky notes and created an empathy map. By identifying common patterns across my findings, I was able to uncover key insights which helped me understand who Voicead’s users are and what they truly need.
From analyzing the empathy map, I identified key insights about the user's needs:
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Simpler Solutions: Users are seeking easier methods to create radio ads.
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Modern Advertising Approaches: They are open to adopting contemporary advertising methods for better efficiency and effectiveness.
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Cost-Effective Solutions: Finding affordable options is a top priority.
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Enhanced Marketing Knowledge: There's a strong desire for more understanding of radio ad basics and marketing strategies.
User Needs:
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Simplified Radio Ad Creation - Tools and methods that simplify the process of creating radio ads.
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Cost-Effective Strategies** - Solutions that help manage and reduce advertising costs.
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Effective Advertising Methods - Modern and efficient advertising methods that capture better results.
Persona Profile
To make sure that my decisions moving forward in the process are user-centered, I wanted to have a clear understanding of who Voicead’s users are. Using what I learned from patterns from my empathy map, I created a user persona to represent who I will be designing for - Meet Laura!
Laura
Female, 31 yrs, Marketing specialist.
"Finding a simpler, faster approach to radio ad creation is my top priority."
GOALS
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Create engaging radio ads that deeply connect with the target audience.
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Implement cost-effective strategies to optimize advertising budgets.
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Simplify the process of creating radio ads to save time and resources.
NEEDS
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Access to user-friendly tools and methods for creating radio ads.
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Efficient processes that simplify the execution of radio ad campaigns.
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Cost-effective solutions to manage and reduce advertising expenses.
MOTIVATIONS
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Ways to make creating radio ads easier.
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Understand more about radio advertising and marketing.
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Cut advertising costs while making a bigger impact.
FRUSTRATIONS
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Creating radio ads is complicated for Laura. It is a long difficult process.
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High ad costs limit her choices.
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Client demands stress her out.
DEFINE & IDEATE
Defining the Problems
Now with my understanding of Voicead’s user, Laura, I wanted to start thinking about what problems we are trying to solve for her. Taking the insights and needs from the empathy map, I started to dig deeper to better understand what Laura’s problems are by creating point-of-view (POV) statements and How Might We (HMW) questions that would help drive my brainstorming process.
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Merging the 3 HMW questions, I found the main challenge of this project:
"How might we use modern technology to simplify the ad creation process, making it intuitive and accessible, while reducing costs and maintaining effectiveness?"
Brainstorming
Taking the 3 HMW questions, I started my brainstorming process to come up with solutions for each of these problems. I decided to use mind mapping so that I could quickly generate as many ideas as I could.
Sitemap
To start planning the architecture of the application and where these features would fit into it, I created an application map to organize the screens in a way that would be logical and intuitive for our user.
Task Flow
I had a clear idea of the architecture of the app, however, I wanted to continue to better understand how Laura would be interacting with the key screens and features in the app.
I first started by identifying what key tasks the user would be trying to complete when using Voicead based on the users’s goals. Then, I fleshed out the specifications for the key screens we would need to design to help our users complete each of those tasks. Finally, using this information, I started my process of understanding our user’s interaction with the app with task flows. These task flows helped me to see how our users would be completing these key tasks - what screens they would be interacting with and what actions they would be taking in a linear flow.
Laura wants to create a new radio slot for the summer campaign of the brand “Hotel36”
​Lofi Wireframes Sketches
Using my understanding of the user, our goals, the architecture, and the user’s interaction with the app, I worked on making informed decisions on how to design Voicead’s screens by sketching low-fidelity wireframes.
PROTOTYPE & TESTING
Sketches to Prototype
Now that I had sketched out my ideas, I wanted to test the decisions I made and make sure that the structure and flow of the app is intuitive for our users. Before working on the visual design, I wanted to first make sure that the design was functional. In order to do this, I decided to create a mid-fidelity prototype which would help me quickly test the design on real users and make any adjustments before integrating the branding and visual design.
Mid Fidelity Wireframes & prototype
To create my prototype, I first started by creating mid-fidelity wireframes on Figma of the key screens the users would be interacting with.
UI DESIGN
Branding
Voicead’s branding reflects the attributes:
Modern, Quality, Sophisticated, Artificial intelligence, and Uniqueness and I worked on setting the visual direction of their branding to convey their unique identity.
Mood board
I first began by gathering inspiration on Pinterest - looking for different brand elements around their brand attributes. I looked at different things such as color palettes, typography, logos, and imagery to help set the direction of their branding.
Visual identity
For Voicead’s branding, I focused on creating a balance between its unique futuristic approach, while still maintaining their reliability.
This color combination balances high-tech professionalism with vibrant, forward-thinking appeal.
Black is Professional and modern offering a high-tech, sophisticated feel.
White offers clarity and readability creating a clean, minimalist environment that enhances readability and helps organize content.
Fuchsia brings vibrancy, energy and excitement, capturing attention and highlighting innovative aspects of AI. Stands out against the black and white, making the design visually engaging.
UI Kit
Then, I created the UI kit for Voicead, in order to ensure consistency by having a uniform look and feel across all the website and for a more efficient design process since it provides reusable components, reducing the need to design elements from scratch each time.
INTERFACE
Final prototype
All projects showcased on this portfolio are the exclusive intellectual property of Yael Benhamu. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution of any content, designs, or materials presented here is strictly prohibited. These works are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.
For permission to use or inquire about any project, please contact me directly.