What it is
TV TELL is an application for sharing T.V. shows with friends. You’re able to share through the app by sending and receiving “TELLs”. You can keep track of the shows you want to watch by creating WATCH lists. This is a personal project I worked on with a team of mentors overseeing my process.
The Problem
The endless scroll of finding something to watch can be daunting. There are so many TV shows and you want to watch something that is recommended by someone who knows your taste. You need a place to keep track of the shows that you plan to watch and get recommendations from friends.
The Solution
TVTELL is an application that will store your shows and filter by the channels you have access to. You can send and receive shows easily through the app, so you never have to face the endless show scroll again.
Role
UX Research
UX/UI Design
Branding & Identity
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Draw.io
Deliverables
User Surveys
User Stories & Flows
Competitive Analysis
Wireframes
User Testing
Style Guide
Visual Design
Discovery and Research
Survey
To create this application I wanted to get some input from people who watch TV shows. I surveyed 24 people. My main goal was to find out how they get recommendations, how they save or remember their recommendations and if they like what they're doing.
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How do you watch TV shows?
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How do you receive or share TV recommendations?
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How do you save or remember TV recommendations?
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What do you like and what frustrates you?
The Results...
There is a need for an application that sends, saves, and receives TV show suggestions. People want to feel organized and less overwhelmed while relaxing in front of the TV.
Most People
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Watch TV through streaming channels.
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Share and receive TV show suggestions verbally or through text messages.
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Remember or save shows by using notes in their smartphone.
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Are getting their recommendations from their friends.
Satisfied or Frustrated?
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People wish to find a better way to remember or save TV recommendations.
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They are frustrated by the endless choices of streaming channel suggestions.
Are frustrated because they don’t remember show suggestions.
63%
Get their TV show recommendations from their friends.
59%
Are looking for a new way to receive, send, and save suggestions.
84%
The Competition
Tastedive
Strengths
One place for all your recommendations. Movies, TV, books, games, etc.
Weakness
Not mobile compatible.
Rotten Tomatoes
Strengths
No account needed and an easy to understand rating system in place.
Weakness
Not personally curated.
Not social, sharable, or mobile compatible.
Letterboxd
Strengths
Caters to suggestions of users likes.
Weakness
Only movies no TV.
Only mobile.
No company is solely focused on TV Shows. Most people are watching TV shows over movies according to our surveys. This means there is space in the market for a social TV show recommendation application.
User Flows
Information Architecture
Wireframes
Adjustments made...
After my wireframes were complete I tested them on a couple people and presented them to my team. I took into account their suggestions and made adjustments.
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Landing page: needed to have a sign up field, so new users were more enticed and had less steps or clicks to join.
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Navigation: side bar needed to be visible on all pages.
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Size: needed to be decreased and designed at 100%, so viewers could see all elements of the page.
Hi-Fidelity Mockup
User Testing
After testing the first hi-fi mock up on a few people, I noticed users were confused by the TELLs. They had a hard time deciphering if the TELLs were from them or for them. Also, one tester felt unmotivated by the homepage as a new user. A new user would not have any TELLs ready for them because they just signed up. However, there are no action steps for them to change this. I remedied this situation by updating the homepage.
Visual Design and Branding
TVTELL is a fun leisure application and I wanted the brand to reflect that. I incorporated simple, yet modern color and shapes
For the shape of the logo I referenced mega phones. I warped the letters to appear as if they were coming out of a megaphone. This coincides with someone sending a “TELL”. I created a few versions and created a preference test. After testing I ended up the logo and brand identity below.
Conclusion
The problem of the endless scroll and mismanagement of recommendations for TV shows has been solved with TVTELL. The application is successful because it created a space for friends to share and save recommendations.
When I first started to create the application I knew there would be a lot of features that would be neat to incorporate. I did not want to go down the road of scope creep, so I stuck to my most viable products. With each screen I asked, how does this help the user see, save, or share? I incorporated solid infrastructure to assure the user would have access to the MVPs at all times. The bottom toolbar created an ever-present simple navigation system to support this notion.
After testing a few changes needed to be made. Mainly to make the user easily understand what a “TELL” is as it is a new terminology that was confusing to users at first. I did this by combining the TELL with something familiar, an inbox. Users are familiar with messages and inboxes. When they can interpret the TELL as a message they can better understand the concept of the application and new terminology.
During this project, I learned to test thoroughly and specifically. The high-fidelity mock-ups need to be tested early in order to catch changes that could affect the functioning of the application. I did this by specifically testing for the most viable products in multiple ways throughout the users' experience on the application.