Mad Men Media
Bringing multiple radio stations into one usable listening experience
What this platform needed to do better for listeners and the team.
To move forward, success had to be clearly defined. This wasn’t about visual polish. It was about building a product that behaved predictably for users and stayed manageable for the people running it.
Create one clear, predictable listening experience across all stations
Preserve individual station identities without fragmenting the UX
Reduce friction for everyday listening on mobile and desktop
Build a system that made adding future stations straightforward
UX, Interface , Product design, Design system
A consistent listening experience across stations and devices, with a platform that can grow without friction.
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These were the things getting in the way
Listening worked, but only if you already knew where everything was.
From a user perspective, switching stations meant switching behaviours, layouts, and expectations. Controls moved. Navigation changed. Even loyal listeners had to pause and re-orient themselves, which is the last thing you want in an audio product designed to fit around daily life.
From a team perspective, there was no shared UX logic or design system. Every new station increased complexity, slowed delivery, and raised the risk of inconsistency. Growth was happening, but the platform underneath it wasn’t built to support it.
Consistency matters most when people just want to listen.
What happened when we untangled those issues?
How people actually listen to radio today, and what that meant for the design.
Listening behaviour is short, frequent, and often distracted. People dip in and out, switch stations, and listen while doing other things. The interface needs to stay out of the way while remaining dependable and familiar.
On the internal side, repetition mattered more than bespoke moments. Clear rules, reusable patterns, and consistency were essential. The system needed to work just as well for engineers maintaining it as it did for listeners using it.
The results?
A familiar listening experience that scales without friction.
Listeners can now move between stations without stopping to think. The experience feels familiar and dependable, even as brands change. Listening time improved because the interface no longer competes for attention.
For the internal team, new stations can be added using the same system with minimal design effort. Two additional stations have already been folded into the platform without redesigning the core experience.