Streamlining finding and searching content on Amazon Prime Video
For our Information and Interaction Design course, me and my team embarked on a project to redesign the video streaming website. The primary objective was to enhance the user experience by addressing critical usability issues identified through user research.
Duration
8 weeks
Team and My Contribution
2 MS Human-Computer Interaction students, 1 MFA Visual Communication Design Student
My responsibilities included developing the research plan, conducting user research, and developing wireframes and the final prototype
Tools
Figma, Miro, Powerpoint
Context
Through usability testing (n = 8), we gained valuable insights into the frustrations that users encountered while navigating the Amazon Prime Video web app.
Given the constraints of time and resources, we strategically chose to focus on improving one pivotal user flow: "Finding content to watch."
Challenge Statement
How might we streamline the experience of finding relevant content on Amazon Prime Video?
Understanding how users search for content on Prime Video
Interviewing users about how and what type of content they search for lead us to understand their search habits. This lead to the users being divided into two groups- casual and dedicated, based on their search habits- click navigation and search navigation.
User journey map for click navigation
We observed that casual users who are just exploring or have no specific movie/show in mind to watch are more likely to stick to click navigation. On the other hand, dedicated users have a movie/show in mind and prefer search navigation that involves using the search bar.
Major Touchpoints
Cramped and Unorganized UI
01
Cramped Navigation bar due to integration with market website.
Too many ads and amazon content, while deprioritizing relevant content for users.
Irrelevant recommendations for users.
Inconsistent Search Experience
02
Confusing search results that take the user to the amazon website.
The filters and sorting options at the left are also very inefficient.
Confusing Content Organization
03
Organization of content under Movies and TV shows makes it difficult to find a specific genre.
Lack of effective filtering options.
“I feel like I’m shopping on Amazon rather than searching on prime.”
-Participant 2
“The Interface is crowded in Prime Video. Not comfortable with the Prime Video’s Categories.”
-Participant 3
“I somewhat don’t like the interface, I just think there are too many things here and it’s really confusing”
-Participant 1
Design Approach
We identified opportunities from the user journey and established goals to redefine the user-flow. Then we started by reconstructing the user-flow for both types of navigation.
These user flows helped inform our design decisions and prioritize elements essential for a positive and seamless searching experience. This methodical approach allowed us to align the interface design with the refined flow.
Lo-Fi Prototyping
Since the goal wasn’t to design from scratch, we developed a collection of wireframes by building on website’s current design framework.
We started adding small refinements and features based on the established user flow, employing minimal color usage and focus on functionality.
Final Mockups
04
Current, unorganized categories section
Other refinements
In addition to refining the main intended user flow, we made small changes to improve the overall experience.
We put the “continue watching” list on top of other lists so users can conveniently pickup where they left.
Moved the sponsored and advertised content lists below the more relevant lists.
The item card shows movie/show details-name, review ratings, content rating(Pg-13, TV-MA, etc), and year it was released- for improved accessibility and quicker decisions.
Current design with messy content
Redesigned homepage and navbar
Redesigned search result page, visually consistent with other pages
Redesigned page with filters for genres and language to find content easily
Reorganized content and redesigned item cards for better accessibility
01
02
03
Pain-Point: Confusing Navigation Bar
Current design
We addressed the problem of confusing navigation bar by cleaning up the UI.
Taking into consideration the real-world scenario and business needs, we established various access points to the main website in order to have maximum possible user retention.
In addition to this, we made small refinements to make the overall experience better for the users.
Pain-Point: Inconsistent Searching
Current search results page
To improve the searching experience, we designed a dedicated search results page that is visually consistent with other prime video website pages.
We also added a way to direct users to amazon.com if they do not find the desired results.
To make the experience better, we refined the experince while typing query.
Pain-Point: No Customization
We reduced the number of options in “Categories” tab to only show major categories.
The Genres and Language options were moved to results page of those categories to give users more flexibility and control.
Added option to select multiple genres, languages and sort content.
Key Mockups
Takeaways
Our primary objective was to uphold the essence of the existing Prime Video web-app and focus on refining and optimizing the elements that resonated well with users while simplifying areas that detracted from their overall experience.
We developed a design strategy that focused on achievable improvements while considering the practical implications of implementation. This approach ensured that our design decisions were not only desirable from a user experience perspective but also feasible within the context of the company's operational realities.