Content discovery redesign for a streaming app, based on app store review research.

CONTEXT

2023 · UI/UX bootcamp

ROLE

Solo UI/UX Designer

METHODS

App store reviews, competitive audit, user surveys, prototyping

FOCUS

Mobile UX, Motion design

CONTEXT

2023 · UI/UX bootcamp

ROLE

Solo UI/UX Designer

METHODS

App store reviews, competitive audit, user surveys, prototyping

FOCUS

Mobile UX, Motion design

OVERVIEW

A content discovery redesign for the History Channel app

A self-directed redesign of the History Channel streaming app. Working solo, I ran the research (app store reviews, a competitive audit, and surveys), then designed and prototyped the browse, free trial, and sharing flows.

ROLE

UI/UX designer

FOCUS

UI/UX Bootcamp, UI Specialization

METHODS

App store reviews, competitive audit, user surveys, prototyping

YEAR

2023

ROLE

Lead UI/UX Designer

FOCUS

Information Architecture, Wireframes, Prototyping

YEAR

2023

ROLE

UI/UX designer

FOCUS

UI/UX Bootcamp, UI Specialization

YEAR

2023

ROLE

UI/UX designer

FOCUS

UI/UX Bootcamp, UI Specialization

YEAR

2023

PROBLEM

Finding something to watch took too much work.

The app had shows people wanted to see. Its reviews told a different story about what it took to get to them.

RESEARCH

People liked the shows. They didn’t like getting to them.

App store reviews named the problems in viewers’ own words, and a follow-up survey of 9 streaming viewers showed how widespread they were.

“I have to work harder than I’d expect to find what I want to watch.”

3 in 4 wanted new content surfaced on the homepage, and 60% said personalization mattered more than any other feature.

“I haven’t had cable since 2009. This is why I don’t watch History Channel shows.”

70% stream as their main way to watch, and every respondent said a free trial would make them more likely to subscribe.

“I haven’t had cable since 2009. This is why I don’t watch History Channel shows.”

70% stream as their main way to watch, and every respondent said a free trial would make them more likely to subscribe.

“I have to work harder than I’d expect to find what I want to watch.”

3 in 4 wanted new content surfaced on the homepage, and 60% said personalization mattered more than any other feature.

“I haven’t had cable since 2009. This is why I don’t watch History Channel shows.”

70% stream as their main way to watch, and every respondent said a free trial would make them more likely to subscribe.

“I haven’t had cable since 2009. This is why I don’t watch History Channel shows.”

70% stream as their main way to watch, and every respondent said a free trial would make them more likely to subscribe.

“I have to work harder than I’d expect to find what I want to watch.”

3 in 4 wanted new content surfaced on the homepage, and 60% said personalization mattered more than any other feature.

“I haven’t had cable since 2009. This is why I don’t watch History Channel shows.”

70% stream as their main way to watch, and every respondent said a free trial would make them more likely to subscribe.

“I haven’t had cable since 2009. This is why I don’t watch History Channel shows.”

70% stream as their main way to watch, and every respondent said a free trial would make them more likely to subscribe.

“I have to work harder than I’d expect to find what I want to watch.”

3 in 4 wanted new content surfaced on the homepage, and 60% said personalization mattered more than any other feature.

“I haven’t had cable since 2009. This is why I don’t watch History Channel shows.”

70% stream as their main way to watch, and every respondent said a free trial would make them more likely to subscribe.

“I haven’t had cable since 2009. This is why I don’t watch History Channel shows.”

70% stream as their main way to watch, and every respondent said a free trial would make them more likely to subscribe.

TAKEAWAYS

Fix discovery and you fix conversion

Three findings shaped every screen that followed.

01

When browsing fails, people search.

Vague categories and look-alike thumbnails pushed viewers to the search bar. Fixing navigation meant fixing the category structure first.

02

Labels carry the brand promise.

Viewers couldn't tell scripted reality from historical programming at a glance, and that ambiguity cost trust.

03

Discovery is the conversion event.

Commitment happens when someone finds something worth watching, not at the paywall. The homepage is the most important surface in the app.

TAKEAWAYS

Fix discovery and you fix conversion

Three findings shaped every screen that followed.

01

When browsing fails, people search.

Vague categories and look-alike thumbnails pushed viewers to the search bar. Fixing navigation meant fixing the category structure first.

02

Labels carry the brand promise.

Viewers couldn't tell scripted reality from historical programming at a glance, and that ambiguity cost trust.

03

Discovery is the conversion event.

Commitment happens when someone finds something worth watching, not at the paywall. The homepage is the most important surface in the app.

TAKEAWAYS

Fix discovery and you fix conversion

Three findings shaped every screen that followed.

01

When browsing fails, people search.

Vague categories and look-alike thumbnails pushed viewers to the search bar. Fixing navigation meant fixing the category structure first.

02

Labels carry the brand promise.

Viewers couldn't tell scripted reality from historical programming at a glance, and that ambiguity cost trust.

03

Discovery is the conversion event.

Commitment happens when someone finds something worth watching, not at the paywall. The homepage is the most important surface in the app.

TAKEAWAYS

Fix discovery and you fix conversion

Three findings shaped every screen that followed.

01

When browsing fails, people search.

Vague categories and look-alike thumbnails pushed viewers to the search bar. Fixing navigation meant fixing the category structure first.

02

Labels carry the brand promise.

Viewers couldn't tell scripted reality from historical programming at a glance, and that ambiguity cost trust.

03

Discovery is the conversion event.

Commitment happens when someone finds something worth watching, not at the paywall. The homepage is the most important surface in the app.

PROTOTYPES

Three flows that illustrate where viewers decide to stay or leave.

I prototyped the moments the research pointed to: browsing for something to watch, starting a free trial, and sharing what they’re watching.

• Content discovery

• Free trial

• Sharing content

BEFORE & AFTER

Each screen removes a barrier identified during research.

Filters sit where browsing broke down, artwork leads instead of competing with the interface, and the free trial prompt appears at the moment a viewer decides.

REFLECTION

What users need is what the business needs.

This was one of my earliest case studies. I picked the History Channel app partly because it was already established, so years of app store reviews and IMDb data were public, and I could start from how real viewers talked about the app instead of guessing. That research showed me something I still design by: the users’ problem and the business’s problem were the same. Viewers weren’t leaving because of price. They were leaving because finding something to watch took too much work. Making discovery easier was the user fix and the subscription fix at once.

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