The days of restricting ourselves to a single location to watch our favorite show are in the past; we now enjoy the liberty to transition between various devices in diverse settings.
In the world of modern digital design, the key to capturing and retaining an audience lies in the art of eliminating visual noise. It's about distilling the essence, simplifying, and embracing the elegance of minimalistic design. Each element, every color, and every detail should harmonize to captivate the viewer.
With that in mind, the design team has been continuously monitoring the performance of the A+E portfolio brands' apps and applying incremental UX and UI improvements to strike a better balance between user goals and business needs.
Mobile apps has been the prime destination to watch programming on the go. In 2020 our analytics team noticed an increase of streaming app downloads which was positive. However, they also noticed that engagement didn’t improve overtime. Audience would be visiting the app to watch only one episode of their favorite show and exit.
Through out user interviews conducted by the UX research team it became apparent that the experience wasn't providing the audience an inviting environment to engage beyond their favorite show.
Slowly slowly reshaping the existing app, one component at a time. Every two weeks with a big enough tweak without interrupting the show.
We explored a new tone which put the audience first, delivering content in a clear and positive way. It's delightful with a touch of familiarity, standing out in a sea of sameness.
The mobile app was rebuilt from ground up to provide a more fluid, personalized, and user centric experience while still considering the business needs. Delightful interactions, content curation, and immersive environments are poised to shape the future of the user experience.
We crafted a playful and premium identity that sets the Mobile app apart from other free streaming service mobile apps. The App transformation became more than a new look; it symbolized the natural evolution of the service.
Each playlist contains no more than eight cards to prevent the paradox of choice fatigue. Usability testing also provided information that the audience enjoyed shorter playlists.
Display available episodes with a toggle switch that allows users to watch without authentication to a cable provider, making it easy for cord-cutters to access available content.
There was an urgent need to bring Lifetime Network's sister brand LMN (Lifetime Movie Network) into the streaming apps which required a quick solution. Our good friend "toggle switch" was there for the job, helping audience conveniently switch between the two sister brands.
Every small detail counts to keep the audience engaged. The details - small interactions which could involve hovering, swiping, or clicking- matter. In a collection of 80 elements, why should we care about one small detail? The system is only as strong as its weakest point. If you design 79 fantastic elements, the one subpar detail is what everyone will notice. Every detail needs to be just as good as the others.
Each show goes through a life cycle from birth to becoming library content, and at times shows are canceled due to lack of viewership. Also, within a show's lifecycle there are new seasons sometimes only available to cable TV subscribers. The design team has to provide solutions to accommodate all these scenarios.
Every asset is surrounded with conditional metadata based on the trajectory of the given asset. Our goal is to offer design solutions to cover all these scenarios.
The experience should feel natural and intuitive to the audience, allowing them to perceive the design without it being obtrusive. Our goal is to subtly and subconsciously infuse emotion into our designs.
The mobile app has been rebuilt from ground up to provide a more fluid, personalized, and user centric experience while considering the business needs. Delightful interactions, content curation, and immerse environments are poised to shape the future of the user experience.