indieNOW

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iOS/ANDROID APP DESIGN

Uniquely Diverse but Somehow Familiar

View Prototype

Photo of Screens

The Client

Independent Film Lovers

The Client

Independent

Film Lovers

indieNOW launched an indie movie product two years ago. It is a freemium model with a mobile-web experience and a mobile app for iOS and Android. The company’s business strategy was to first build a user base by offering a free product and then evolve the feature set so they could monetize on a premium (paid) product.

The Challenge

Creating an Experience

The Challenge

Creating an

Experience

To increase revenue indieNOW needed to introduce a way to incorporate a subscription model to improve their profitability stream. The challenge was to come up with a plan that would allow current users who have been enjoying the service for free, to continue doing so but also provide an option for those who would like to upgrade their watch experience by paying a monthly subscription fee.

Mockup of app

The Solution

iOS/Android App

The new experience is designed as an add-on that can be accessed from within the main app and includes a seamless transition from free features to subscription benefits. I was given this challenging task with a 90-hour time constraint and worked on all aspects of the design which included its visual, UX, and motion design.

View Prototype

The Competition

Research Analysis

When I started this project, I knew that the onboarding process was going to be an important aspect of achieving our business goals. I didn't have much experience with onboarding before and wasn't sure how to approach it, but after looking at other companies' processes, I was able to get a better sense of what I could do. I found that our competitors had a clear, and simple onboarding process that let users know about new features and plans as well as how they could upgrade at any point in the app.

Image of User
Image of brandon

My Approach

7 User Interviews // 35 mins

My Approach

7 User Interviews

35 mins

The majority of respondents stressed the importance of resolution and ads. Ultimately users were willing to upgrade for quality and convenience. Additionally, users rely heavily on friends and family as well as the algorithm to recommend content to them. This meant that I had the opportunity to use this information to create an experience that was better than the competitors.



The majority of respondents stressed the importance of resolution and ads. Ultimately users were willing to upgrade for quality and convenience. Additionally, users rely heavily on friends and family as well as the algorithm to recommend content to them. This meant that I had the opportunity to use this information to create an experience that was better than the competitors.



The majority of respondents stressed the importance of resolution and ads. Ultimately users were willing to upgrade for quality and convenience. Additionally, users rely heavily on friends and family as well as the algorithm to recommend content to them. This meant that I had the opportunity to use this information to create an experience that was better than the competitors.



The majority of respondents stressed the importance of resolution and ads. Ultimately users were willing to upgrade for quality and convenience. Additionally, users rely heavily on friends and family as well as the algorithm to recommend content to them. This meant that I had the opportunity to use this information to create an experience that was better than the competitors.



The Design

What Did Users Want?

No Ads. 1080p and No Media Block.

Allow users to watch favorite movies and shows in HD without the distraction of ads or the annoyance of media blocks.

Recommendations From Friends and Family.

Allow users to discover new content via their friend's ratings on the app.

Tailored Recommendations From Onboarding.

Design a journey for the user to get customized recommendations, especially those who are new to the independent film industry.

These features needed to be included in the final design to meet the expectations users had. To accomplish this, I needed to start thinking about how users would flow through the app and develop these screens first.

View Design Process

View Design Process

These features needed to be included in the final design to meet the expectations users had. To accomplish this, I needed to start thinking about how users would flow through the app and develop these screens first.

View Design Process

View Design Process

View Design Process

View Design Process

The Usability Test

5 Users

30 Mins

4 Tasks

Usability Test

5 Users

30 Mins

4 Tasks

Users really enjoyed the onboarding process, but now that they had a taste they wanted more. 4 out of 5 users wanted a way to also select movies they enjoyed by their favorite actors to get really tailored results from the algorithm. Users responded very well to the price points and feature list included, so I steered my focus on the added features users wanted. I decided to add a feature where users could select movies by their favorite actors and have them be part of the algorithm's decision-making process. This would allow for more tailored results as well as give users more control over what they wanted to watch.





Users really enjoyed the onboarding process, but now that they had a taste they wanted more. 4 out of 5 users wanted a way to also select movies they enjoyed by their favorite actors to get really tailored results from the algorithm. Users responded very well to the price points and feature list included, so I steered my focus on the added features users wanted. I decided to add a feature where users could select movies by their favorite actors and have them be part of the algorithm's decision-making process. This would allow for more tailored results as well as give users more control over what they wanted to watch.





Users really enjoyed the onboarding process, but now that they had a taste they wanted more. 4 out of 5 users wanted a way to also select movies they enjoyed by their favorite actors to get really tailored results from the algorithm. Users responded very well to the price points and feature list included, so I steered my focus on the added features users wanted. I decided to add a feature where users could select movies by their favorite actors and have them be part of the algorithm's decision-making process. This would allow for more tailored results as well as give users more control over what they wanted to watch.





Users really enjoyed the onboarding process, but now that they had a taste they wanted more. 4 out of 5 users wanted a way to also select movies they enjoyed by their favorite actors to get really tailored results from the algorithm. Users responded very well to the price points and feature list included, so I steered my focus on the added features users wanted. I decided to add a feature where users could select movies by their favorite actors and have them be part of the algorithm's decision-making process. This would allow for more tailored results as well as give users more control over what they wanted to watch.





Original

Redesign

Redesign

The Redesign (1 of 2)

More Customization

The Redesign (1 of 2)

More Customization

During testing, users were almost disappointed that the customization stopped after selecting their favorite actors and genres. They wanted to pick movies related to those actors they also liked to be able to quickly get into the content they enjoyed. I designed a screen that adapted to their previous picks and allowed further customizability.





During testing, users were almost disappointed that the customization stopped after selecting their favorite actors and genres. They wanted to pick movies related to those actors they also liked to be able to quickly get into the content they enjoyed. I designed a screen that adapted to their previous picks and allowed further customizability.





During testing, users were almost disappointed that the customization stopped after selecting their favorite actors and genres. They wanted to pick movies related to those actors they also liked to be able to quickly get into the content they enjoyed. I designed a screen that adapted to their previous picks and allowed further customizability.





During testing, users were almost disappointed that the customization stopped after selecting their favorite actors and genres. They wanted to pick movies related to those actors they also liked to be able to quickly get into the content they enjoyed. I designed a screen that adapted to their previous picks and allowed further customizability.





Original

Redesign

The Redesign (2 of 2)

More Customization

The Redesign (2 of 2)

More Customization

When we asked users to upgrade their accounts, they found it hard to see the difference between their current plan and a new plan. I empathized completely and decided to create a plan screen that showed their current plan and a swipeable carousel to compare the two side by side.

The Result
A Reason to Subscribe

View Prototype

Conclusion

Valuable Lessons

Conclusion

Valuable Lessons

Summary:


This project was an exciting piece to work on as I got to perform my favorite way to gather research; user interviews. I learned so much from users. My initial mindset was that they would want more features, but in reality, they only cared about ads and content resolution everything else did not matter to them as long as the content was there.


I was surprised at the overwhelmingly positive feedback from my UI design based on their insights and was glad to reinvent the platform to stand out amongst its competitors.


Key Takeaways:


  1. After going through several different apps and exploring how they tackled onboarding I learned a lot from successful platforms in the industry. It showed during testing that users felt I almost read their minds in terms of what they wanted. It was a great feeling. 


  1. When I performed user interviews, all of them had a basic want and need: they didn't want anything crazy—they just wanted content without disruption. That was what was most important to them. If I could provide them with a way to get the content they wanted, without interrupting their experience, they would be happy.

Summary:


This project was an exciting piece to work on as I got to perform my favorite way to gather research; user interviews. I learned so much from users. My initial mindset was that they would want more features, but in reality, they only cared about ads and content resolution everything else did not matter to them as long as the content was there.


I was surprised at the overwhelmingly positive feedback from my UI design based on their insights and was glad to reinvent the platform to stand out amongst its competitors.


Key Takeaways:


  1. After going through several different apps and exploring how they tackled onboarding I learned a lot from successful platforms in the industry. It showed during testing that users felt I almost read their minds in terms of what they wanted. It was a great feeling. 


  1. When I performed user interviews, all of them had a basic want and need: they didn't want anything crazy—they just wanted content without disruption. That was what was most important to them. If I could provide them with a way to get the content they wanted, without interrupting their experience, they would be happy.

Summary:


This project was an exciting piece to work on as I got to perform my favorite way to gather research; user interviews. I learned so much from users. My initial mindset was that they would want more features, but in reality, they only cared about ads and content resolution everything else did not matter to them as long as the content was there.


I was surprised at the overwhelmingly positive feedback from my UI design based on their insights and was glad to reinvent the platform to stand out amongst its competitors.


Key Takeaways:


  1. After going through several different apps and exploring how they tackled onboarding I learned a lot from successful platforms in the industry. It showed during testing that users felt I almost read their minds in terms of what they wanted. It was a great feeling. 


  1. When I performed user interviews, all of them had a basic want and need: they didn't want anything crazy—they just wanted content without disruption. That was what was most important to them. If I could provide them with a way to get the content they wanted, without interrupting their experience, they would be happy.

Summary:


This project was an exciting piece to work on as I got to perform my favorite way to gather research; user interviews. I learned so much from users. My initial mindset was that they would want more features, but in reality, they only cared about ads and content resolution everything else did not matter to them as long as the content was there.


I was surprised at the overwhelmingly positive feedback from my UI design based on their insights and was glad to reinvent the platform to stand out amongst its competitors.


Key Takeaways:


  1. After going through several different apps and exploring how they tackled onboarding I learned a lot from successful platforms in the industry. It showed during testing that users felt I almost read their minds in terms of what they wanted. It was a great feeling. 


  1. When I performed user interviews, all of them had a basic want and need: they didn't want anything crazy—they just wanted content without disruption. That was what was most important to them. If I could provide them with a way to get the content they wanted, without interrupting their experience, they would be happy.

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