Odyssey App
Odyssey App
Odyssey App
Making streaming experience more cinematic.
Making streaming experience
more cinematic.
Making streaming experience more cinematic.
Odyssey
Odyssey is a project attempting to address the issue of streaming services lacking the cinematic appeal of their theatrical counterparts. The platform revolves around auto-created 'teleparties' as the primary content, and I spearheaded the end-to-end design process, including user research, product strategy, interaction design, visual design, and branding.
I collaborated with another developer to balance the technical aspects of product development and the backend components of digital content streaming and teleparty creation. I was in charge of designing the overall user interaction, information architecture, UX research, and final MVP.
Odyssey
Odyssey is a project attempting to address the issue of streaming services lacking the cinematic appeal of their theatrical counterparts. The platform revolves around auto-created 'teleparties' as the primary content, and I spearheaded the end-to-end design process, including user research, product strategy, interaction design, visual design, and branding.
I collaborated with another developer to balance the technical aspects of product development and the backend components of digital content streaming and teleparty creation. I was in charge of designing the overall user interaction, information architecture, UX research, and final MVP.
Team
Me - UX Designer
Alex Lee - Software Engineer
Team
Me - UX Designer
Alex Lee - Software Engineer
Timeline
July ~August 2023
Tools
Figma, Miro, and Google Suite
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How to make streaming more cinematic?
There are several reasons why a streaming service lacks the cinematic experience of watching a movie in a theater:
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How to make streaming more cinematic?
There are several reasons why a streaming service lacks the cinematic experience of watching a movie in a theater:
SOLUTION
Shared online teleparty platform to create the communal experience of watching a movie.
SOLUTION
Shared online teleparty platform to create the communal experience of watching a movie.
WHITE PAPER MARKET RESEARCH
People prefer a communal viewing experience rather than watching alone.
Starting with white paper research, I began to draw from research articles on the topic of technology and its affordances when I stumbled upon an eye-opening excerpt from ResearchGate:
“Community building and play are significant predictors of preference for video streaming platforms......the ability of a
medium to provide advantages and cause substitution is much more important than a medium’s ability to offer the same experience.”
WHITE PAPER MARKET RESEARCH
People prefer a communal viewing experience rather than watching alone.
Starting with white paper research, I began to draw from research articles on the topic of technology and its affordances when I stumbled upon an eye-opening excerpt from ResearchGate:
“Community building and play are significant predictors of preference for video streaming platforms......the ability of a
medium to provide advantages and cause substitution is much more important than a medium’s ability to offer the same experience.”
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS + THE GAP
The competition lacks the communal building experience to increase cinematic appeal
After analyzing multiple platforms, which range from streaming services to even gaming streams, it became evident that most popular apps related to movie and television streaming lacked a communal building feature. Additionally, many of them required manual installation of teleparty features in order to invite friends to stream movies together. It was during this analysis that I realized the absence of a dedicated platform for communal movie streaming.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS + THE GAP
The competition lacks the communal building experience to increase cinematic appeal
After analyzing multiple platforms, which range from streaming services to even gaming streams, it became evident that most popular apps related to movie and television streaming lacked a communal building feature. Additionally, many of them required manual installation of teleparty features in order to invite friends to stream movies together. It was during this analysis that I realized the absence of a dedicated platform for communal movie streaming.
USER INTERVIEWS
My interviewees were 5 times more likely to use the platform when their movie viewing experiences were already created for them, rather than having to manually create it themselves.
Also communal viewing with reaction played a big role when it comes to creating the “cinematic experience”
Additional user interviews highlighted a clear preference for effortlessly finding and joining ongoing streams with others, similar to features found on platforms like Twitch. This simpler approach reduces potential complications and enhances a feeling of community involvement among streamers.
PAIN POINTS
Lack of accessibility to pre-created teleparty
Difficulty creating the communal experience themselves
Hardship associated with scheduling meetings with friends to watch movies together.
USER INTERVIEWS
My interviewees were 5 times more likely to use the platform when their movie viewing experiences were already created for them, rather than having to manually create it themselves.
Also communal viewing with reaction played a big role when it comes to creating the “cinematic experience”
Additional user interviews highlighted a clear preference for effortlessly finding and joining ongoing streams with others, similar to features found on platforms like Twitch. This simpler approach reduces potential complications and enhances a feeling of community involvement among streamers.
PAIN POINTS
Lack of accessibility to pre-created teleparty
Difficulty creating the communal experience themselves
Hardship associated with scheduling meetings with friends to watch movies together.
MAIN INSIGHTS
Many competitors lacked community-building functionalities.
Derived from the insights obtained through my competitive feature analysis, it is apparent that users exhibit a preference for a pre-established time frame for streaming events. This enables them to seamlessly join and partake in shared viewing experiences with others, eliminating the need for them to create such events themselves.
MAIN INSIGHTS
Many competitors lacked community-building functionalities.
Derived from the insights obtained through my competitive feature analysis, it is apparent that users exhibit a preference for a pre-established time frame for streaming events. This enables them to seamlessly join and partake in shared viewing experiences with others, eliminating the need for them to create such events themselves.
KEY SOLUTION ELEMENTS
Combining both chat element with scheduling experience of movie.
After assessing impact and feasibility, we decided to address the issue of lack of cinematic experience in streaming via combining the interactive element of teleparty experience in which the users can engage with one another and including the scheduling feature in which they can join or register for upcoming parties without having to do it themselves.
KEY SOLUTION ELEMENTS
Combining both chat element with scheduling experience of movie.
After assessing impact and feasibility, we decided to address the issue of lack of cinematic experience in streaming via combining the interactive element of teleparty experience in which the users can engage with one another and including the scheduling feature in which they can join or register for upcoming parties without having to do it themselves.
KEY TAKE AWAYS
Giving the users accessible medium is the key
Based on literature reviews and secondary research, over 88% of viewers only aside from shared experience of cinema, accessibility was a huge factor when it comes to using a teleparty based applications.
Our primary user research showed that over 5/8 people choose used teleparty when it was easy to organize.
KEY TAKE AWAYS
Giving the users accessible medium is the key
Based on literature reviews and secondary research, over 88% of viewers only aside from shared experience of cinema, accessibility was a huge factor when it comes to using a teleparty based applications.
Our primary user research showed that over 5/8 people choose used teleparty when it was easy to organize.
TESTING + IMPROVEMENTS
3 major improvements in my design
Based on various feedback from usability testing and mentor feedback, we continually iterated on my design over the span of 2 weeks, with three major improvements:
FUTURE SCOPE
With more time, I would prioritize refining the technical aspects to ensure that the minimum viable product is realistic within the resources that I currently posses. This requires more comprehensive and adaptable solution that covers a broader range of scenarios beyond our current discussions. This future exploration aims to address any remaining issues and enhance the solution's overall effectiveness.
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