OVERVIEW
Since the rise of video streaming services the amount of content is growing big and people are watching more and more movies and shows. The result of so much content being offered to users makes it difficult for them to easily find what to watch.
PROBLEM
Users waste a lot of time finding what to watch. They also have to get in and out of one app to another and start over the search.
THE CHALLENGE
Design an app that reduces users' search time by connecting them with each other.
RESEARCH
Research Goals
I began the process by setting research goals to understand (1) how people choose what to watch, (2) the streaming services' recommendations accuracy, and (3) the role that social connections play in people's decision-making when they choose what to watch.
Market Research and Competitive Analysis
Analyzing the most popular video streaming services, existing competing apps on the market and social media apps in order to understand streaming services and social networks industry standards and key features.
Streaming Services
Lack of social connections, and there are no conversations between users on the platforms.
They have social features,
but those are not presented on the homepage.
Instead, apps promote movies and TV shows.
Competing apps
Social Networks
They focus only on social connections between users.
User Research
In order to understand users’ pain points and goals I created a survey and then conducted interviews with participants from Israel, Argentina and USA (interviews were conducted in person and via Zoom) focusing on users’ behavior and experience with streaming services and the relation between those services with social connections.
"It’s so cool when friends like your recommendations"
"We (Me and my friends) talk about what we watch all the time, (...) We recommend movies and shows to each other... that's how I discover new stuff to watch"
"I hate wasting my time scrolling up and down"
"Too many movies, but nothing matches my taste"
(About the Homepage)
"I don't understand most of the results"
(About the Search Engine)
""I feel like my day is over when I get home and watch a couple of episodes of some series""
Key Insights
Search vs Time
Users spend too much time searching for what to watch.
11%
0-15 Minutes
15-30 Minutes
26%
30+ Minutes
63%
Accuracy & Trust
Users choose what to watch based on friends recommendations over homepage recommendations and search engine results.
8%
Homepage
Search Engine
5%
Friends
87%
Social Connections
Users talk and share with friends what they’re watching very often.
PERSONAS
Understanding users' goals, needs, motivations and frustrations, helped me to create a persona that represents a large part of users for whom watching movies and shows is about sharing with friends, relaxing and disconnecting.
IDEATION
I started the process by brainstorming and creating a strategy that focused on the needs and key insights of my user persona.
Social Network
Users will be able to follow other users and find what to watch directly from them.
Homepage
It shows what user's friends are watching, replacing the large number of irrelevant recommendations, making it relevant to users and helping them reduce search time to easily find what to watch.
Interaction Between Users
Users can ask users they follow what to watch and send/receive recommendations.
An Improved Search Engine
It will help users to easily search for movies and shows from all of their streaming services, as well as directly from their friends' profiles.
Rate
To help users easily decide on a title, the rate given by their friends will be displayed on the home page. Users can also read friends' comments.
Information
Relevant information from specialized websites.
Information Architecture and Main User Flows
In order to visualize solutions I designed an Information Architecture Diagram that also helped me to identify the main paths users could take to achieve their goals.
Click the image to open the link
Wireframes and Mid-Fi Prototype
To visualize the early designs I started with a few sketches on paper and then created a mid-fi prototype of the main screens.
Homepage - Feed
The homepage helps users easily choose what to watch by discovering what movies and TV shows their friends have watched recently and what they think about them.
Friends Profile
On a friend profile, users can discover all the movies and TV shows that one specific friend has watched, and easily find what to watch using the search engine and filters on that specific profile. Users can also ask this friend for what to watch.
Movies / TV Shows Page
Users can find all reviews from friends and other users, a biography about the content and the rate from specialized websites. All of this will help users decide if the content is worth watching.
Rate, Comment and Share with Friends
After watching a movie or TV show, users can rate it using emojis, leave a review and send it to friends.
Find New Friends, Movies and TV Shows of Your Services
Users can find new friends to follow and get recommendations from all their streaming services combined.
User Flow #1
Find what to watch by searching on a friend's profile, rate the content, leave a review and recommend it to friends.
User Flow #2
Find a show to watch by searching on a friend's profile, to watch it later at night on a different device.
User Flow #3
Find what to watch directly from the Homepage.
User Flow #4
Customize services' recommendations.
USABILITY TESTING
Key Findings
Users found the app innovative, friendly and easy to navigate. They felt comfortable with the homepage, especially because they could find very quickly relevant information about the content, like friends' rates. Also, the similarity to the social networks' feed helped them to understand in an instant how the app is structured. The recommendation filter was well received.
Many users felt the need to protect their privacy about the content they watch and what is displayed to their friends on their homepage.
​
Some users felt a lack of streaming services as an option in the filters feature.
​​
Some users felt that the filter feature has too many options.
Recommendations
Add the icon "Hide from Friends" on the movies and TV shows page as an option.
​
Add users' streaming services icons in the filters feature.
​​
Remove some sub-genre options.
Reflections and Next Steps
Privacy. Privacy. Privacy. This topic is one of the most important takeaways from this project. It taught me how important it is for users and products, and how a simple implementation can solve such a problem of this kind. Also taught me that combining AI and user customization can bring a better experience for users.
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​Next steps: Design the smart TV, desktop and tablet version of the app.
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Thanks for reading!
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