Netflix Party
Role
Lead UX Designer, UX Researcher, Prototyper
2021, Two Weeks
Watching video streams together online has been gaining popularity, with many third-party applications and video streaming services offering this capability, but this key feature has been seemingly absent in Netflix. How can we help provide meaningful virtual experiences for people to connect with each other while watching on Netflix? I led and created the design integration of this feature so that users may feel connected while watching videos on Netflix.
Note: This is an academic and conceptual project designed by me and my teammates. Though it would be nice to work for Netflix, this project is not affiliated with them in any manner. The tools I used in this project were Figma, Google Suite, Lucidchart, and Trello.Background
Since July 2021, the iconic video streaming service, Netflix, has had over 209 million global paid memberships.
Netflix’s brand is iconic and their site has a streamlined user flow. However, they have missed an opportunity to help enhance their user’s collective experience by opting not to provide a feature for users to watch video streams together. The goal is to integrate this feature without interfering with Netflix’s streamlined user flow and its iconic branding.
“
Can we incorporate a shared video streaming service on Netflix? Stranger Things have happened!
”
Understanding the Problem
To develop and craft this new feature on Netflix, I needed to understand people’s current behaviors, needs, wants, and frustrations through user research. Our research encompassed:
User Surveys
User Interviews
Data Analysis & Visualization
Survey Findings
For our research, we started with a survey to get to know our user’s habits surrounding program watching. We gathered 22 responses. All 22 participants watched TV with their family friends and significant others. 19 participants watched Netflix. When asked if they would participate in a video stream-sharing service provided by Netflix, 15 participants said ‘yes’.
Competitive Analysis
In addition to user research, we conducted a thorough competitive analysis by examining three leading competitors that offered video-sharing services within their apps: Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Hulu. Our evaluation focused on the different playback methods each platform provides, along with their Party features. Specifically, we analyzed the number of users allowed in a viewing party, the availability of emojis, chat functionalities, and video features. This comprehensive analysis enabled us to understand the current market landscape and identify opportunities to enhance the user experience we aim to deliver.
User Interview Insights
We went on to have more extensive conversations with our users and included some core insights here. All users we interviewed watched Netflix almost every night to decompress and relax after long work days. Our users don’t feel they have the time to learn new apps. They stick to what they know and what they have already been using. Since COVID, new video streaming apps and extensions have popped up but users had technical issues with the sound and lag time. It left them frustrated and underwhelmed. Users spoke about wanting to “feel like they are in the same room” when watching TV/Movies apart from each other.
what people had to say…
“Video streaming services are very useful in the era of Covid because there is nothing to do together. These services allowed us to do something.”
“What I like about watching things with my friends is that it’s an event for us. It pulls together our shared interests and let’s us have something to talk about afterwards.”
“My friends and I decided we all wanted to watch something together and we watched through Zoom. Anytime someone would talk, it would lag the video. I wish we could have better communication virtually.”
Synthesizing Our Findings
Using the data and findings, we conducted affinity mapping to synthesize our findings to identify key pain points for our users and discover cohesive themes and patterns.
Inventing Anna… actually, her name is Sam
From the insights we gained from our user interviews and affinity map, we created Sam the movie buff an extroverted creative writer who unwinds by watching Netflix after a long day of work. She’s not tech savvy so she sticks to apps that she knows. Since COVID, she hasn’t been able to see her friends so they set up a time to stream a movie together. The experience leaves them feeling distracted and overwhelmed due to streaming issues and they disconnect. She watches Netflix by herself. She’s frustrated that she can’t have fun with her friends and desires a more streamlined experience for the future.
To All the Netflix Users I’ve Listened to Before
Based on our findings, we narrowed it down to three key pain points users face.
Users want a shared video streaming experience feature within Netflix rather than a browser extension or a third-party application.
Users need it to be intuitive, easy to use, and navigable.
Users are frustrated with current third-party video stream-sharing services due to issues relating to connectivity or features.
Wireframing
With the research and synthesis, we started figuring out how we wanted the new feature to look. As you know, Netflix’s branding is simple and iconic. We want to keep it that way as well. So circling back to our competitive analysis, we gained a lot of insights about how to implement the video stream-sharing feature from our competitors like Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, and Hulu. By following their best practices and catering to Netflix’s brand image, we can start to ideate how we want our new feature to function and look. Heading into the wireframe…
We followed Hulu’s and Disney Plus’s implementation of video sharing by adding this new feature as a button within each movie and TV show.
We also created a lobby where our users can invite guests and wait for them to arrive
As you may recall from our user interviews, we added a video feature inside the movie so that people can have a more immersive and personal experience with one another
Testing the Wireframe
I conducted usability testing with our users to validate if the new designs would address users’ pain points. Our team drafted a script that prompted them on how they would navigate Netflix to start a video-streaming party.
During the sessions, I observed how they interacted with the wireframe. The usability testing revealed that our designs were intuitive and simple to navigate for all our users. After the usability testing, we asked them several questions about what they would improve and what they enjoyed. The pain points users collectively faced during the usability testing was:
They wanted to know if their video feature was automatically on/off and how to change the function.
They wanted the Chat Box to automatically open upon entering the Party.
They wanted to differentiate button colors to highlight “Create Party”.
Designing and Final Touches
I chose to integrate the feature as seamlessly as possible by reusing existing components from Netflix as well as trying my best to adhere to their brand guidelines. This can potentially provide a sense of familiarity for Netflix users when they are navigating this new feature.
Party Lobby
The style of this button is already utilized on Netflix’s current website as the “Play” and “More Info” button
Reused the “Profile” and “Add Profile” components from the “Who’s watching?” page to create a sense of familiarity in the experience
Viewing Session
I utilized a split-screen layout so that the users could interact with friends & family without sacrificing their content.
Video page indicator
User’s personal microphone and video indicator
Toggle to minimize or open “Video” and/or “Chat” while watching
Name tags added to display who is in the Party. There is also a little microphone icon that displays if the user or their guests are muted
Users can send a chat to their guests, GIF, or emotes
Scroll down to view other guests
Crafted Solutions & Results
Putting the pieces together, our team crafted a meaningful and enjoyable experience for Netflix users who want to connect with others through their favorite movies and shows.
Key Takeaways & Learnings
Designing a concept feature for Netflix was an incredibly fun and immensely educational experience. Working on Netflix Party required me to dive deeply into Netflix's brand identity, understand its core principles, and figure out how to seamlessly integrate a new feature without disrupting the existing user experience. Even though we didn't have the opportunity to work directly with Netflix, we meticulously followed their design guidelines to ensure our work aligned with their established aesthetics and functionality.
This project opened my eyes to the extensive thought and consideration that goes into every aspect of Netflix's user experience. I was particularly inspired by the level of detail and user-centric focus that Netflix employs, and I strived to emulate that within my designs. The challenge pushed me to think critically about every interaction, ensuring that each element had a purpose and contributed to a cohesive overall experience.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the project was seeing my users’ reactions when they interacted with the prototype. Their faces lit up with excitement, validating the effort and thought I had put into creating meaningful and engaging interactions. This project not only enhanced my design skills but also reinforced the importance of user feedback in the design process. It was a humbling reminder of the impact thoughtful design can have on users, and it motivated me to continue striving for excellence in creating user-friendly, enjoyable experiences.