iOS App Design, Branding
Empowering users to make confident movie choices through simplicity
Timeline
3 Months
Services
UI Design
UX Design
UX Research
Branding
Team
Solo
My Role
Responsibilities
As a solo designer I performed all aspects of UI and UX design as well as user research and testing.
Platform and Tools
This project was created in Figma as a mobile application using a double diamond model.
Project Summary
Introduction
During the height of the pandemic in 2020, I, like many others, struggled to find content that matched my tastes on platforms like Netflix and Hulu. This frustration inspired the creation of Couched, a streaming service directory that recommends content based not only on viewing history but also on mood and time of day. While existing recommendation algorithms focus on user history, they fail to address deeper factors that influence choices. Through user-centered research, Couched aims to uncover the stress and indecision caused by cluttered interfaces, aiming to simplify the content discovery process. By addressing these pain points, Couched seeks to deliver more personalized, enjoyable viewing experiences.
Solution
Couched was created and developed using the double diamond model. I put an emphasis on research, evaluation and user centricity to ensure a strong, enjoyable, and usable product that solved the issues of content overload and indecision in users.
Initial Discovery
Important Questions
To come to an understanding of the problems I needed to come up with a research plan. My focus was to uncover: “What currently impedes users in their search for great content to enjoy?” In addition, it was important to explore the industry, consider recruiting methodologies, compose interview questions and determine an audience, and set a stricter project timeline.
Additional Research Questions to consider were:
What else influences what people want to watch and watch next?
Why is the current recommendation system failing or succeeding?
What are people being recommended and how far accurate are they?
How do users respond to recommendations that they like vs dislike?
Understanding the Industry
Before I could tackle the problem of finding a movie or show to watch I had to understand the streaming space. Our users would be coming from other streaming services and we hope to integrate with them so understanding them is extremely important. A heuristics analysis of competitors allowed me to do this quickly and effectively.
I learned that my competitors:
Utilize Machine Learning Algorithms to recommend content.
Categorize and recommend genres based on user history.
All have similar interfaces with different naming conventions.
The ability to continue a title was often first on open.
User Research
Talking to Real People
After competitive analysis, conducting user interviews proved to be effective at learning about why users are struggling to find content to watch. Here’s who I interviewed.
Aged 20 - 45
Low - High Levels of Comfort with Tech
5 Remote Interviews
1 Student, 4 Professionals
All Multi-Platform Users
Key Insights
After analyzing all of my research I concluded a few key points:
The current recommendation system does work.
Users are getting too much content they like and need filtration.
Content overload and indecision are the true problems that users face.
Users mentioned that it was often difficult to find the shows that they were already watching.
The problem really is about combatting indecision due to overcrowded screens.
A Familiar Face
By understanding the user’s problems, I created a key persona to guide Couched’s development. This persona struggles with the overwhelming number of options on streaming platforms, leading to stress and indecision. Many users face similar challenges when choosing content. I realized that Couched needed to offer an easy, quick decision-making process with minimal stress. This led me to define the following problem statement:
Simply put…
How might we simplify the streaming service experience for Daisy so that she feels joy?
Simplifying the streaming service experience meant consolidating services, advanced filtration and simpler browsing meant to increase decision making processes and lower stress.
Turning the Research Into a Solution
Insight:
The current recommendation system does show users what they like to see watch.
Users are seeing too much content they like leading to indecision.
Users see too many options at once.
Users are left with content overload and indecision.
At times it can be difficult to find shows users had already been watching.
Goal:
The app should not interfere with the recommendation system, only enhance it.
Filter recommended content for the user to lower decision making inputs.
Simplify the browsing experience by lessening the number of options shown at once.
Alleviate content overload and improve decision making.
Allow users to easily see recently watched content
Bringing Couched to Life
Understanding the Identity of Couched through Branding
Before moving on to high fidelity mockups I realized that I had to solidify my brand. I chose the name Couched because it represented relaxation and comfort. I wanted users to know that they wouldn’t have to work hard to find something to watch. The couch icon worked great with this concept. I decided to use an electric blue and neon red on the cushions to evoke 3-D glasses and the lights of the cinema. I wanted the brand to be mature and friendly with a focus on fun and simplicity.
Initial Sketches
Wireframes
Onboarding
At Couched onboarding starts from the moment you first sign up until you end your first session. It was important for me to allow users to connect their favorite streaming services so that Couched could become a hub for all of their streaming services.
Emotional Filtration
Emotional filtration is one of the key factors in Couched’s recommendation system and its accuracy. When we know how users are feeling we can give them movies that match their tendencies and emotions. It was key that only one emotion be choosable and the option to change was also available. Allowing a user to choose up to three kinds of titles based on genre and feeling was important because we could not only diversify recommendations, but also narrow them down as titles fulfill multiple feelings and genres.
Recommendations
These screens are where users will be spending most of their time. Having large full screen trailers immerses users from the start. In addition, showing only one option at a time promotes quicker decision making as there are less distractions such as other titles. I removed the ability to see upcoming titles because Daisy and other users needed simpler interfaces and the extra titles on screen distracted from decision making. The controls are left on the screen for easy access, but a simple tap on screen will hide them all. Most importantly an interactive onboarding session teaches users how to use the gesture based scroll navigation.
History
The history screens were made different from the recommendation screens so that users wouldn’t confuse them. This difference, however, required these screens to have their own dedicated onboarding screen as well. The horizontal scroll allowed for multiple titles to be shown at a time, which was key to quick navigation and scanning.
Onboarding
I used Figma not only to create my screens, but also to prototype them. I tested the prototype and iterated on it with two rounds of usability tests. Here were the results:
Onboarding was key to navigational success in gesture based app.
Onboarding was being skipped.
Animations in onboarding were distracting
from instructions.Continue Watching button was confusing users on recommendation page.
History
I also A/B tested what to name the History tab. The tests showed that users were more comfortable with the use of History over Unfinished. This led to the implementation of History over Unfinished.
Final Designs
Reflecting on the Experience
Creating Couched was a great experience for me with many ups and downs. At the end of the day I felt as though Couched was a great success. Users were navigating it quickly and having fun doing so. Here were a few of my most valuable lessons:
1. Lead With Research
Research was extremely important to my process. If I hadn’t mapped out the industry I would have simply recreated something already on the market. In addition, I came into the project with the wrong assumptions. I thought that recommendation systems were the problem when really the problem was in the interfaces of the streaming apps. If I hadn’t learned this I would have created an unneeded solution.
2. Validate Early and Often
Without testing I would not have been able to create a usable product. Testing allowed me to confirm my hypotheses and ensure that I was ontrack. Specifically, holding Guerilla Usability tests early on gave me confidence in my design. In addition, it also uncovered truths that I wouldn’t have considered such as the difference between “Continued Watching” and “History.”
3. Understand Your Problem Through the User
My user persona, Daisy was instrumental in helping me stay user centered. She informed major decisions such as forgoing the usability of having upcoming titles on screen. The two basic needs of the users were
- the need to easily make a decision after a long day
- the need for simplicity to keep from being overwhelmed
Having more than one title on screen was distracting for users and prevented them from making quick decisions on what to watch. Removing a key navigational indicator meant that I had to implement an onboarding cycle into the recommendations screen. Overall, I lost a bit of usability in exchange for solving user problems. Needless to say, I would not have succeeded without user centered design.