Product designer
User researcher
Individual project
Figma
Mural
Miro
Adobe Premiere Pro
6 weeks
(September - October 2020)
To invoke a new user behavior by merging features from two apps with different user groups.
During the Covid-19 quarantine in 2020, much of the movie theatre experience was transformed into a couch and laptop routine. This shift created a new and awkward relationship between users and streaming services:
• Movies released on streaming services don't feel as immersive as theatre releases.
• More binge-watching leads to more binge-eating
• Frequent family movie nights = parents have to find more healthy and interesting dinners to make other than ordering pizza
I discovered that food was a common denominator in making movie and TV show experiences feel more immersive and communal. As a result, I decided to mash together two major streaming and food-ordering platforms (Netflix and Uber Eats) to tackle this challenge. I used this guiding question to lead this project:
How might we make at-home movie and TV show experiences more eventful and immersive?
Flix n' Eat is an extension of the Netflix app that offers culturally and contextually relevant food to the movie/TV show you're watching. The extension allows users to order food and snacks directly from the Netflix app and discover local restaurants that make the delicious dishes seen in movies.
The Flix n' Eat extension offers a hub of curated food recommendations for your favorite shows.
The Flix n' Eat extension offers a hub of curated food recommendations for your favorite shows.
Not sure where to get the most silver-screen accurate meal? Choose from a selection of dishes instead of looking through different restaurants.
Not sure where to get the most silver-screen accurate meal? Choose from a selection of dishes instead of looking through different restaurants.
Or see what others have ordered to go with the movie.
Or see what others have ordered to go with the movie.
Introduce new users to the extension via a simple onboarding and an optional walkthrough.
Introduce new users to the extension via a simple onboarding and an optional walkthrough.
I interviewed 8 Netflix users between the ages of 19 to 51 about their habits around watching movies and TV shows. In particular, my questions focused on any changes they experienced to their entertainment routine as a result of social distancing and quarantining.
From the interviews, I discovered 2 main behavioral patterns:
Many participants who live with families would rather watch Netflix together than on their own.
Many participants who live alone watch Netflix or Youtube most frequently during and after dinnertime.
I mapped the behavioral patterns to two main types of demographics:
Families who plan out movie nights.
Young, spontaneous binge-watchers.
I built 3 personas to represent the target users of the product, which will help guide the ideation and development of the product.
I decided to focus the app extension on 3 main features that aim to encourage users to associate food ordering to show watching.
1. Make convenient food ordering touch points directly in the Netflix app by building dedicated meal and snack ordering pages and allowing orders directly from movie pages.
2. Promote the discovery of picture-perfect and contextual food by making "filter by dishes" the default filter instead of "filter by restaurants."
3. Build rapport with current Netflix users by making an optional onboarding walkthrough with an incentive for completion.
After pinpointing the features of the app extension, I built an information architecture to map out the screens and hierarchies of the product.
Then, I made a user flow showing how a first-time user of the extension might log-in to Netflix, learn about Flix n' Eat, browse through food and movies, then finally place an order.
Then, I sketched out a prototype to translate the information architecture and user flow into wireframes, as well as map out UI elements.
Using the sketches, I built the wireframe in Figma following Netflix's style.
SPLASH SCREENS
These pages introduce users to Flix n' Eat's features.
DIETARY CUSTOMIZATION
When users join Netflix or experience Flix n' Eat for the first time, they are prompted to select their dietary preferences.
A FIRST-TIME USER'S EXPERIENCE
I created a walkthrough that guides first-time users through Flix n' Eat and offers them an incentive to place their first order.
FLIX N' EAT HUB
The Flix n' Eat hub contains meals and snacks tailored to the movies and shows suggested to the user by Netflix.
UPDATED SHOW DESCRIPTION PAGE
Users can also order food directly from a show's description, as well as see what others who watched the show have ordered.
Original show description page
New show description page
PLACING AN ORDER
The order-placing process is simple and frictionless so the user's attention isn't drawn away from their show.
• How to conduct user research on Zoom and how to present work remotely.
• Learn a lot about entertainment apps and services, as well as how people engage with them.
• Time management and workload planning!
• Validate the product through user testing.
• Research a broader user base, including UberEats, and other food delivery and entertainment service users, to build a more holistic picture of the system.
• Entertainment and delivery services have been rapidly changing since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, so it would be interesting and important to continuously monitor how these two industries adapt to their users' digital and hybrid lifestyles.
