Phil Banks





For the last 10 years I’ve been embedded in high performing, consumer product teams as a designer at: 


Peloton WIP
Halter
InMusic
Nura
 Serato




  •   New York, NY            



    My role at Serato

    • Lead the UX design for Serato Sample from ideation to release. I was embedded in product teams working closely with musicians, UXR, product, engineering, and marketing.

    • Developed a deep understanding of music production workflows, concepts, terms and techniques and created intuitive tools that reduce the learning curve for sample based music production.

    • Designed tools for complex music production ecosystems, midi capable hardware, and creators at the top of their game.









    Serato Sample
    2018  |  Lead UX Designer
    DAW Plugin, hardware integration

    Learn more

    “I like being able to get the ideas out quickly… you can’t hold on to music, Serato Sample helps you get it out”

    — DJ Dahi (Produced for Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Rihanna, Drake)










    Over the shoulder of a legend - I worked with DJ Dahi on ideation for 2 weeks




    Introduction
    Serato are famously known for creating world leading DJ software.

    Many of their users also produced music and Serato believed they could leverage existing DJ workflows and technologies to create unique tools for sample based music production, creating a new revenue stream.


    Opportunities
    • Create intuitive tools that reduce the learning curve for sample based music production using workflows found in DJing.

    • Leverage existing IP in industry-leading time-stretching and pitch-shifting algorithms.

    • Leverage existing relationships with hardware manufacturers and prominent producers already associated with Serato to amplify brand credibility in music production.






    In the studio with OP - A common scene during the development of Serato Sample




    Goals

    • Create a plugin so that it could be used within producers existing workflows.

    • Prove the concept of using DJ workflows and tools before building their own standalone DAW for sample based producers.

    • 50% of Serato’s ARR to come from music production tools over 5 years.


    Early ideation

    • Collaborated with Product in design sprints.

    • Created a set of personas to clearly define define who we were designing for.

    • Empathized, Defined, Ideated, Prototyped, and Tested

    • Partnered with UXR to test functional prototypes of varying fidelities throughtout the whole process.







    The first working prototype able to be tested with users






    User testing with Clams Casino - A personal top 5 artist




    Prototyping and UXR
    • Used prototypes as a focal point for conversations, enabling users and stakeholders to interact with and provide feedback on early concepts. 

    • Undertook contextual inquiries in music studios to ensure we fully understood the ecosystems we were designing for.

    • Ensured the design was not only functional, but also resonated deeply with the community it was intended for.


    Public Beta

    • We ran a private beta as soon as we could to ensure we were getting real world feedback from users in their own production environments.

    • Vetted applicants by persona type and limited it to 500 users.

    • Monitored feedback in a dedicated forum.










    Impact

    The success of Serato Sample validated Serato entering the music production market. Since it’s release they have continued to release music production products which now make up 50% of their annual revenue.
    Serato Studio

    Serato Studio is a standalone music making software with a focus on simplifying music production for sample based producers.








    Content & reactions

    Have a look through the videos below to se how users reacted to Serato Sample and see some ways that producers have included it in their workflows.









    DJ D Star

    DJ Spinna