Press Release
Talent Search Artist Discovery Tool by Qihang Zhang and Ruijingya Tang Is Granted the A' Design Award in Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design
Qihang Zhang and Ruijingya Tang honored for interface, interaction and user experience design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Talent Search Artist Discovery Tool by Qihang Zhang and Ruijingya Tang, designed for Chartmetric, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the A' Design Award Means
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
Regarding Talent Search Artist Discovery Tool
Talent Search is a web based tool for music talent scouting. The tool helps artist and repertoire professionals find emerging artists with strong growth potential. Streaming and social media data are translated into clear interactive visualizations, with charts, filters and rankings. An evaluative color system supports quick comparison of performance metrics. Talent Search reduces reliance on personal networks and subjective judgment. The design aims to make talent evaluation more objective, more efficient and more open to new artists.
Award Record
This recognition makes Qihang Zhang and Ruijingya Tang a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design Award
The A' Interface Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good user interface designs by the best UI/UX designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interface designers, interaction designers, user experience designers and digital product designers from all countries. Typical entries include websites, mobile applications, software interfaces, game interfaces, wearable interfaces and virtual reality interfaces. The awarded interface designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/interface
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/168884
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/168884
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!168884
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/363141
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://chartmetric.com
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Talent Search Artist Discovery Tool
- Function
- Artist Discovery Tool
- Category
- Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Software
- Colors
- White, Lavender, Gainsboro, Dark Slate Gray and Dark Slate Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Chartmetric
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Qihang Zhang and Ruijingya Tang
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #168884
Credits
- Team
- Qihang Zhang, Ruijingya Tang
- Image Credits
- Illustrator Ruijingya Tang, Talent Search Interface, 2024; Illustrator Qihang Zhang, Talent Search Interface, 2024
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Talent Search streamlines music scouting by leveraging data-driven insights to identify emerging artists with strong growth potential. Unlike traditional methods reliant on network referrals, it provides quantifiable performance metrics, reducing bias and scaling global talent discovery. Its intuitive design ensures data interpretability, employing accessible visualizations and an evaluative color system to enhance decision-making for industry professionals.
- Inspiration
- Talent Search was inspired by the need for a scalable, data-driven approach to music scouting. Traditional methods rely on industry connections and live performances, limiting accessibility and objectivity. Our design leverages advanced analytics to surface promising artists early, empowering professionals with actionable insights. Rooted in research on music industry trends and A&R workflows, it ensures clarity, efficiency, and fairness in talent evaluation.
- Research
- We conducted mixed-methods research to address inefficiencies in music talent scouting. The goal was to create a data-driven tool that enhances A&R decision-making. We used stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis, and data analytics to understand user needs. Data was collected through industry consultations and Chartmetric’s database. Participants included A&R teams from record labels, streaming platforms, and management agencies. Findings revealed that traditional scouting is subjective and network-dependent, making it hard to identify emerging artists early. Our research highlighted the need for transparent, interpretable data to support talent evaluation.
- Challenge
- The biggest challenge was translating complex music industry data into intuitive, actionable insights. A&R teams rely on multiple fragmented sources, and making diverse data—from streaming numbers to social engagement—easily interpretable required extensive iteration. Balancing usability with analytical depth was key. We overcame this by refining data visualization techniques, ensuring clarity without oversimplification, and addressing industry bias by prioritizing transparent, equitable metrics.
- Realization and Technology
- Talent Search was developed using a user-centered design approach, integrating industry research, stakeholder interviews, and iterative prototyping. Data visualization techniques enhance interpretability, employing a diverging color scale for evaluative metrics and a sequential scale for neutral data. Built within Chartmetric’s analytics platform, it leverages advanced data analytics to process streaming and social data, delivering actionable insights that empower A&R professionals in talent scouting.
- Operation and Interaction
- Talent Search allows A&R professionals to discover emerging artists by analyzing streaming and social media trends. Users can explore artists through interactive charts, filters, and rankings that highlight growth potential. The tool simplifies complex data into clear insights, helping users make informed scouting decisions. By presenting key performance metrics in an accessible way, it reduces guesswork and streamlines the process of identifying promising talent efficiently.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project commenced in May 2023 in California and concluded in November 2024. After an 18-month development period, the Talent Search tool was officially launched on November 7, 2024.
- Specifications
- Talent Search runs on Chartmetric’s web-based analytics platform, utilizing a scalable backend to process large volumes of streaming and social data in real time. It employs advanced data analytics for trend detection, statistical normalization techniques for data accuracy, and an interactive front-end with dynamic filtering and visualization capabilities. Optimized for efficiency, it ensures seamless navigation through complex datasets, enabling precise and data-driven talent scouting decisions.
- Keywords
- Talent scouting, emerging artists, music analytics, data-driven A&R, streaming insights, social media analysis, artist discovery, music industry tool, performance metrics, data visualization
