PROJECT OVERVIEW
Flixi is a mobile app concept that allows users to browse movie options through a “Tinder” style format.
PROBLEM
The time has come.
According to a 2022 report from Nielsen Media Research, streaming services like Hulu and Netflix officially draw more viewers than cable TV. Currently, around 85% of U.S. households have at least one subscription to a video streaming service, with an average family subscribing to four streaming services.
Despite the many advantages that come with streaming platforms (including affordability and a vast array of on-demand viewing options), cable TV has continuously offered something that streaming providers can’t– the ability to easily browse through a variety of movie options, all in one place.
According to Vox, the average American consumer spends 45 hours a year deciding what to watch next. Because a majority of households are subscribed to multiple streaming services, choosing something to watch can be time-consuming.
MY DESIGN PROCESS
For my design process, I used the Product Development Life Cycle from Google’s UX Certification Course. This user-centered cyclical approach allows for iteration based on user research and testing. Within the cycle are 5 stages:
BRAINSTORM
DEFINE
DESIGN
TEST
LAUNCH
BRAINSTORM
During the brainstorming phase of the project, I conducted foundational research to establish pain points that users experience, as well as conducted competitive audits. User personas, user stories and empathy maps were also completed in this stage.
Besides getting my hands dirty and actually designing the product, this might be the stage I love most. This is where I get to tap into users’ heads and see their thoughts, experiences and feelings surrounding the type of product I want to create.
MY TARGET AUDIENCE
Before I could interview people, I had to sit back and think about who would benefit most from my app. I defined my target audience as follows:
Age 13 to 65
Movie-aficionados with both niche and vast film interests (but honestly, who doesn’t love movies?)
Those who are willing and able to set aside time for a 90+ minute film
RESEARCH GOALS
I want to understand the problems that movie-watchers face when trying to find a movie to watch.
I want to dive deeper into my competitors who have similar apps on the market right now, and pinpoint the pain points within those apps.
PAIN POINTS
Upon completing the interviews, I was left with 5 major pain points to consider:
Users spend too much time switching back and forth between streaming providers when selecting a movie.
Even though users may be subscribed to multiple streaming platforms, specific movies they want to watch are not available on these platforms.
Users often resort to writing down their “must-watch” films in a notebook or note-taking app, because streaming providers (like Netflix, for example) only allow users to save movie options based on the limited movie choices within the app.
There are similar apps on the market that let users browse through movies from many platforms, but there are quality issues and paywalls.
Users wish there was a social media platform solely dedicated to discussing movies they love (or hate).
EMPATHY MAP
Through my personas, I created an aggregated (or consolidated) empathy map that examines what my users might think, feel, say or do in relation to movie-watching.
COMPETITIVE AUDIT
The movie-selection app industry is saturated, but there are few quality apps with good UX design on the market. I completed a competitive analysis to identify key competitors and better understand how they position themselves in the market. I included both direct and indirect competitors.
SOLUTION
The time has come.
I am no stranger to the pain-staking process of sifting through many subscription platforms when selecting the perfect film to watch. After searching around for a solution, I realized there was a gap in the marketspace for a quality app that allows users to rapidly browse through movie options based on their subscribed streaming services.
This is where Flixi began its conception.
I created this app in conjunction with the Google UX Certification Program, so I was the sole team member of this app from conception to reality.
USER INTERVIEWS
I interviewed 12 participants that fit into my intended target audience, but brought a variety of different experiences and demographics to the table.
My goal for these interviews was not to confirm my own suspicions about the pain points they might face, but to learn at least 3 new things that I had not thought of before.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
How often do you watch movies at home (not at a movie theater)?
Let’s say you want to watch a movie, but don’t know which one to watch. What process do you go through to select one?
How useful would an app that allows you to swipe through film choices be in your life?
Are you aware of any similar apps on the market right now? If so, what are your experiences with them, if any?
If you have used a similar app, what did you like and dislike about it?
USER PERSONAS
Using my research participants and their pain points, I created 3 user personas with goals and interests that represent the needs of a larger group of users.
DEFINE
Based on my user research and competitive audit, I fleshed out the components that I want to include in the Flixi app:
The ability to browse movie options in a format that emulates the “swipe” function, made popular by the Tinder app.
Allow these movie options to be filtered by genre, rating and streaming providers.
Provide a safe space for movie lovers to review and discuss films by implementing a social media platform within the app.
Allow users to easily sort their favorite movies into personalized categories such as “Date Night”, “Sci-Fi Movies”, “Kid-Friendly”, etc.
To summarize, I wanted to design an all-encompassing app that would hopefully provide solutions to every pain point that was revealed to me during my research phase. It seemed daunting to create such a complex application for my first ever case study project, but I wanted to provide myself with (or torture myself with) enough design challenges to learn and grow as a UX designer.
Go big or go home, right?
DESIGN
Paper & Digital Wireframes
From there, I sketched a wireframe on paper of how I wanted my app to look, focusing on the home, settings, filters, and favorites pages.
Utilizing the typical UX wireframe format standards, I recreated my paper wireframe in a digital format using the Figma software.
UI Design
Next, I started to craft aspects of my app through a visual design perspective (As a graphic design aficionado, I won’t lie and say I didn’t absolutely love this part).
For the UI component, I knew I wanted to include a darker background with bright neon secondary colors. I chose this as a way to emulate the environment in which users typically watch movies– in a dark room, encapsulated by the bright colors on their television screen.
HI-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
Experience #1: Swiping through movie options
The structure and motion graphics of the home page closely follows other swiping apps. I wanted to keep the user flow consistent with what is universally known in similar interfaces like Tinder. Users can choose to navigate through the movies by either swiping left and right through movies, or tapping the buttons provided. Users have the option to go back to the previous movie, dislike a movie, like a movie, or add a movie to favorites.
Experience #2: Filtering movies
This experience allows users to filter the movies that are shown on the Home page. They can sort movies by Genre, Rating, and Streaming Providers.
Experience #3: Discovering and searching
This experience lets users see movie options beyond the movie carousel on the Home page. Users can see the top 10 movies from a number of streaming providers, as well as browse through Oscar winners, new releases, and movies that are yet to be released.
Experience #4: Profile page
This page allows users to view and edit their profile page. They can also see their friends list, watch history, and reviews they've written.
Experience #5: Adding to Favorites
This user flow lets users add a movie to favorites. Users can personalize different categories based on their interests.
It was now time to formulate a research plan that would allow users to test my product and hopefully validate my solutions.
My research goals were to:
1) Figure out if the “Tinder” style swiping method allows for faster and more efficient movie browsing.
2) See if the user flows are easy to navigate.
Usability Testing
I used the same 12 participants in this study as I did in my foundational research, and asked them to perform the following set of tasks using the prototype:
Add “Spiderman: Far From Home” to your favorites list.
Navigate to the “Settings” page from the “Home” screen.
Visit the “Profile” page.
Visit the “Posts” page.
Apply filters to your movie selections.
System Usability Scale (SUS)
After the usability study was completed, I sent the participants a questionnaire about their experience with the product:
I think that I would like to use this system frequently
I found the system unnecessarily complex
I thought the system was easy to use
I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system
I found the various functions in this system were well integrated
I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system
I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly
I found the system very cumbersome to use
I felt very confident using the system
I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system
System Usability Scale (SUS) Results
Results from the SUS were overwhelmingly positive, with the vast majority of users stating they could see themselves incorporating Flixi into their daily lives. A few mentioned helpful critiques, such as adding a “How-To” tutorial for those who may not be familiar with how Tinder’s swiping system works.
Another suggested that I incorporate a “Meet Up’ function for locals in the area that have the app, which would allow for movie meet-ups at local theaters, or online viewing parties for certain movies that are streamable.
I noted these critiques and will be adding them during my next iteration.
TEST
TEST RESULTS
Usability Testing
Testing was done over the Zoom video-conferencing software, with participants sharing their screen with me as they completed their tasks. I used a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to analyze my findings: task success rates.
Average task success rate: 95%. Out of 60 total tasks attempted by the 12 participants, 57 tasks were successfully completed.
WHAT I LEARNED
What have I learned from this project?
Foundational research is a must. I could not have designed a product users love without digging deep into the minds of those who will use it.
Iteration upon iteration upon iteration... They say a woman's work is never finished. I guess this applies to UX, too. Product development is a continuous cycle, with each change better than the last.
The user is always right. It's easy to go into a design with certain predetermined biases about what users want from a product. I left this case study with different insights that I never anticipated to have, all because I prioritized user research.
IS THERE EVER REALLY AN END?
In the world of UX design, the answer is no.
Even though my product has thoroughly been refined, tested, and meets the needs of users, I am a firm believer that there is always, always need for improvement. As technology advances with the times, so will the consumer's needs.
If this app was designed for the purpose of going live (which it isn’t, at least not yet!), there would need to be continuous testing to ensure we are providing the best user experience for the people we serve.
And that’s the whole point, right?
- Faith