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Collections

Curated collections of Grateful Dead shows organized by theme, era, or significance.

Overview

Collections are pre-curated sets of shows grouped by meaningful themes (e.g., "Spring 1977 Tour", "Dick's Picks Vol. 1", "Europe '72"). They provide an editorial layer on top of the raw show database, helping users discover notable shows and understand their context.

Purpose: Guided discovery through curated show collections

Key Responsibilities: - Display available collections with filtering by tags - Show collection details (name, description, tags, show count) - Browse shows within a collection - Navigate between collections via carousel - Filter collections by hierarchical tags - Navigate to show detail from collection

User Experience

Collections Screen Layout

Main Components: 1. Hierarchical Tag Filter (top) - Filter collections by official/guest/era tags 2. Collections Carousel (middle) - Horizontally scrollable collection cards 3. Navigation Slider - iPod-style position slider for carousel 4. Shows List (bottom) - Shows in currently selected collection

Scrollable: Entire screen scrolls vertically, carousel scrolls horizontally

Collection Cards

Card Display: - Collection name (e.g., "Spring 1977 Tour") - Show count (e.g., "22 shows") - Tags (e.g., "Official", "Era: 70s") - Visual design with elevation

Interaction: - Tap collection → Scroll to shows section - Swipe carousel → Navigate between collections - Use slider → Jump to specific collection

Hierarchical Tag Filtering

First Level - Collection Types: - Official: Archive.org curated collections - Guest: Guest curator collections - Era: Decade/period-based collections

Second Level - Subcategories (under Official): - Dick's Picks: Official Dick's Picks series - Dave's Picks: Official Dave's Picks series - Road Trips: Road Trips series - Download Series: Download Series

Behavior: - Select type → Shows collections of that type - Select subcategory → Shows specific series - Clear filter → Shows all collections

Dynamic Count: Filter header shows count ("Official Collections (15)")

Display: - Large cards showing collection info - Current selection highlighted - Horizontal paging (one collection visible at a time) - Smooth swipe transitions

Navigation: - Swipe left/right → Next/previous collection - Tap card → Scroll to shows list - Use slider → Jump to position

Sync with Shows: Selecting collection updates shows list below

iPod-Style Control: - Horizontal slider below carousel - Shows current position (e.g., "5 / 23") - Drag to jump to collection - Visual feedback

Purpose: Quick navigation through many collections without repeated swiping

Shows List

Display: - Header: "Shows (N)" where N is count - List of show cards: - Date - Venue - Location - Rating (if available)

Interaction: - Tap show → Navigate to show detail - Shows are from currently selected collection

Empty State: If collection has no shows, displays "No shows available for this collection"

Key Behaviors

Collection Selection

Entry Point: - Default: First collection in filtered list auto-selected - From Navigation: If collectionId provided, pre-select that collection

Selection Flow: 1. User selects collection (tap, swipe, slider) 2. Collection card updates visually 3. Shows list updates with collection's shows 4. Carousel syncs to position

Filtering

Tag-Based Filtering: - Collections have tags (e.g., "official", "dicks-picks", "era-70s") - Filter tree matches these tags - Filtered collections update carousel - Shows list updates for new selection

Dynamic Updates: Changing filter immediately updates visible collections

Scenario: User viewing show detail, sees it's in a collection

Flow: 1. Show detail → Tap collection name 2. Navigate to Collections screen with collectionId 3. Collections screen pre-selects that collection 4. User sees collection context and other shows

Purpose: Discover related shows from same collection

Integration with Other Features

Show Detail Integration

From Collections: Tap show in list → Navigate to show detail

To Collections: Show detail displays collections badge → Navigate to collections with pre-selection

Bidirectional: Easy navigation between collection context and show detail

Home Screen Integration

Featured Collections: Home screen may display featured collections carousel

Quick Access: Direct link to full collections screen

Search Integration

Relationship: Collections complement search

Difference: - Search: User-driven query for specific criteria - Collections: Editorial guidance for discovery

Use Case: "I don't know what to listen to" → Browse collections

Design Decisions

Why Curated Collections?

Decision: Provide pre-made collections instead of only user-created playlists

Rationale: - New users need guidance (2,400+ shows is overwhelming) - Captures expert knowledge (Dick's Picks are historically significant) - Educational value (learn about eras and notable tours) - Reduces decision fatigue

Decision: Horizontal carousel with one collection visible at a time

Rationale: - Focus attention on one collection - Natural swipe interaction - More space for collection details - Matches music app patterns (album browsing)

Why Hierarchical Tag Filter?

Decision: Two-level hierarchy instead of flat tag list

Rationale: - Collections have natural hierarchy (Official → Dick's Picks) - Too many flat tags would be overwhelming - Matches user mental model - Progressive disclosure (type first, then subcategory)

Decision: Vertically scroll to see shows, don't use tab/modal

Rationale: - Natural scroll-down gesture - Keeps collection context visible while browsing shows - No context switching (modals/tabs) - Can scroll back to carousel to switch collections

State Model

UI State

Core State: - isLoading: Boolean - Initial load - error: String? - Error message - searchQuery: String - Search filter (future)

Collections State: - featuredCollections: List<DeadCollection> - Featured subset - filteredCollections: List<DeadCollection> - Filtered by tags - selectedCollection: DeadCollection? - Currently selected - selectedCollectionId: String? - ID of selection - selectedCollectionIndex: Int - Position in filtered list

Filter State: - filterPath: FilterPath - Hierarchical filter selection

Collection Model

DeadCollection: - id: String - Unique identifier - name: String - Collection name - description: String? - Optional description - tags: List<String> - Tag list (e.g., ["official", "dicks-picks"]) - shows: List<Show> - Shows in collection - showCountText: String - Formatted count ("22 shows")

Show (in collection): - id: String - Show ID - date: String - Show date - venue: String - Venue name - location: String - City, state - rating: Float? - Average rating

Error Handling

Collections Load Failed

Scenario: Network error, database error

UI Response: - Display error message - Show retry button - Log error for debugging

Empty Filtered Results

Scenario: Filter selection yields no collections

UI Response: - Display "No collections match your filter" message - Suggest clearing filter - Show all collections button

Technical Considerations

Challenge: Keep carousel position, selected collection, and shows list in sync

Approach: - Carousel swipe → Update selected collection - Filter change → Reset to first collection - Direct selection → Animate carousel to position

Large Collection Count

Challenge: Many collections (50+) may impact carousel performance

Approach: - Lazy loading in carousel - Only render visible + adjacent cards - Efficient state updates

Filtering Performance

Challenge: Re-filtering on every filter change

Approach: - Tag matching is fast (list contains check) - Filtering done in memory (collections already loaded) - Reactive flows prevent unnecessary recalculations

Code References

Android Implementation: - Screen: androidApp/v2/feature/collections/src/main/java/com/deadly/v2/feature/collections/screens/main/CollectionsScreen.kt:44 - ViewModel: androidApp/v2/feature/collections/src/main/java/com/deadly/v2/feature/collections/screens/main/models/CollectionsViewModel.kt:1

See Also