Video Streaming App that Focuses on User Interaction
Hive TV is a movie and TV show streaming product with a focus on user interaction.
Introduction
Hive TV is a product design case that I started in the UCLA Extension Mentorship class with my mentor Thomas Dillmann. The task was to design a video streaming product that has an emphasis on the setup and switching user profiles. The product was designed during the time of COVID-19 so extra thoughts regarding social interaction were given to this product.
I was the product designer for this product. Thomas was my mentor and gave valuable direction and feedback to the making of this product in the early stages of this product. Fellow classmates at the UCLA Extension program also helped with feedback and user testing. I decided to continue to develop this product after the completion of the certificate.
The Challenge
What are the Requirements?
In the kick-off stage of this case, Thomas briefed me on the requirement and constraints of this product.
The product must serve the purpose of video streaming, including the categories of contents and how do they organize and display within the product.
On top of that, it must have the ability for users to create their own user profile, and the ease to switch profiles quickly. Users should be able to elect their preferences and thus be reflected in their experience with the product.
Factoring in user habits in a COVID-19 World
Hive TV was designed during the time of COVID-19. Where Americans were going through lots of changes in their daily life, including what was considered normal - like going to a movie date or a family movie night at a theater. Americans were seeking new ways to connect and socialize with their friends and family. Given this drastic change in how people connect and interact, I challenged myself to also make this product a platform for friends and family to connect, in this new norm.
Approach
Hive TV
Hive TV is the product developed to tackle the requirements and challenges above. It is a product that serves as a video content streaming product with attention to profile customization and social interaction. It is branded as Hive TV, mimicking the habitat of bees, where every member of the Hive interact and co-live in the same space, suggesting that this product is not only a streaming app but a platform to interact and socialize.
Hive TV takes inspiration from bees co-living in the Hives they build.
Profile Customization
Hive TV aims to make the viewing experience of each user truly theirs. By asking the user some questions and learning from the user’s continued viewing patterns, the product displays content that the user might like and improves over time.
Make Consuming Video Content a Group Activity
We can all agree that videos are great watched on your own, but the movie nights with friends and family are even better! Since it is tough to go to the movies and hang out with friends at home for a movie night nowadays. It will be great to still be able to do it, with the help of a digital stream platform. Hive TV’s approach is to recreate that movie night experience that we miss so much, in the safety of our homes.
Hive TV is a digital platform for friends and family to gather, hangout while watching movies and shows together.
Simplified Navigation
A streaming app has a lot of content and it can easily become “too complicated”. In the planning stage, I thought about how to make navigation within the product as simple as possible. The approach was to simplify the number of pages the app has to only three and house all contents and micro-interactions within these pages.
Simplified main pages displayed at bottom of the app.
Solution
The Hive
Hang out with your fellow bees!
The Hive is the unique feature on Hive TV that answers the social interaction aspect of the product.
On The Hive page, users can chat with their friends, see what their friends are up to, movies/shows they like and what they have watched. On top of the page, users will find the activity bar, where it displays the ongoing activities that the group is engaged in, and users can conveniently join the activity with a tap.
The activity bar is also displayed on the Videos screen (the Home Screen). So users will not miss out on activities.
The Hive houses all users social interactions and upcoming group activities.
Movie Party
Watch and laugh (or scream) with your friends
Movie Party gathers family or friends together via a video chat while having video streaming across all parties simultaneously. It recreates the experience of a movie night at home. Users can toggle on or off the video and mic as they wish for an experience to their liking.
Customized Experience
A profile that Learns what you like
Setting up a profile is easy, login and user will immediately have the option to choose an existing profile or create a new one. When choosing to create a new profile, the user can then follow a step to step guide to help the product learn the user’s preference in movies and shows. When the initial setup is done, the Videos page immediately suggests shows and movies based on the users’ preferences.
Hive TV Knows the User Better and Better, Over Time
The more a user uses Hive TV, the better it knows the user’s preferences. Hive TV factor in a user’s viewing history, search, and viewing habits to give more accurate recommendations on shows and movies over time. Users can also “like” a video, it helps Hive TV to further understand the user’s interests.
“Like” a movie to let Hive TV better understand your preference. You can also see casts and key production crew, as well as related movies or shows.
Not What you Like to Watch? No Problem.
We are all too familiar with seeing content on our video streaming app that is not exactly what we want to watch. Hive TV tackles this by allowing users to close any categories of recommendation, doing this will also update the list of user preferences in the user profile.
Conclusion and Reflection
Next Steps
I am happy with what I have designed so far with Hive TV, I would like to continue work on this and add the following features.
Add wireframes of Cast and Crew information page, that will include interactions like “like”, “follow” and ability to see movies/shows the artist has taken part in.
Add ability to search a movie/show by name, genre, artists or production crew.
Movie/show recommendation when a user finish watching a video.
Connecting to social accounts - let users connect Hive TV to their social accounts, so they can interact with friends outside of their Hive TV account.