The Problem
Disney Junior, XD and the Disney Channel were all offered as standalone iOS and Android apps under the Disney Watch branding, making it costly and difficult to manage.
The Goal
Create DisneyNOW, a new product that needed to gracefully unify three completely different brands and audiences. It was important for us to craft the feeling that the app is always talking to the specific user, be it one that is five years old or one that is ten years old. And because Disney is a trusted brand with families, we also wanted to make sure that parents felt confident letting their kids watch their favorites shows and movies on DisneyNOW. Furthermore, the business saw this as an opportunity to reduce costs by managing one unified product, instead of separate apps.
My Role
As UX Lead, I was responsible for leading the design team and working closely with the research and product teams to shape the new DisneyNOW experience. I facilitated collaborative brainstorms and created a comprehensive set of UX documentation for each platform, to ensure consensus across the org and provide engineering with functional specifications to build the experience.
The Outcome
•Kids enjoyed access to a robust content library, keeping them more engaged and loyal to the Disney brand.
•Created a more playful and entertaining experience aligned closely with Disney's brand.
•Provided parents a sense of control over their child's viewing experience.
•Reduced costs of maintaining multiple apps significantly.
Project Details
Company: Disney
My Role: UX Lead
Platform: iOS, Android, tvOS, Roku, Web
Team: Design, Product, Engineering, Research, Content, QA, Project Management
Year: 2017
Research
We started the project by hosting focus groups with kids of different ages, and included parents for the younger kids. The goal was to understand how they use the existing Disney Watch apps, and also to hear what they thought about competitor apps like PBS Kids and YouTube Kids. The idea of an experience that unified all three Disney Channels was floated by the groups, in order to get an early endorsement of the concept.
Key Focus Group Findings
•Parents shared concerns about exposing younger kids to shows geared towards tweens.
•Need for parental controls to restrict access/viewing habits.
•Parents being able to curate/manage content for younger kids is very important.
•Make sure the interface is very easy to use and doesn't require constant help from parents.
•Older kids don't want to be treated like "babies".
•Kids love the idea of personalization, and making the experience their own.
Strategy
Taking learnings from the focus groups, we outlined a strategy that would help shape the DisneyNOW experience across all platforms.
•Include parental controls.
•Provide an onboarding experience that enables parents to personalize the experience for their smaller kids.
•Lean into personalization, allowing kids to choose their own profile emoji, and save their favorite shows.
•Present shows as unique recognizable brands, and in a way that entices kids to watch.
•For younger kids who can't read, adjust the UI so words don't get in the way. E.g. navigation without labels.
•Look for opportunities to be playful by using motion and sound tastefully.
•Cross-promote content so kids get exposed to shows they may not be aware of.
•While DisneyNOW's goal is to unify content, users should still be able to filter content by a particular channel.
•Elevate the DisneyNOW brand above platforms to ensure a consistent and recognizable product.
tvOS: User Experience
I created wireframes, to visualize the interface and gather feedback from the product and content teams. These were also used by developers and QA teams to ensure things were built per specification.
tvOS: Visual Design
The design team created mockups based on the wireframes, and the experience sprang to life when artwork was introduced into the show tiles and backgrounds.
tvOS: Motion Design
To add to the playfulness of the experience, motion and sound would play a big role.
Motion Study with Sonic Branding/SFX
DisneyNOW Opening
DisneyNOW Animated Backgrounds
Mobile: User Experience
I created wireframes for phone and tablet, and except for a few nuances these are identical for iOS and Android.
Mobile: Visual Design
Building on the approach for tvOS, the mobile designs maintained the rich visuals and branding from the shows.
Mobile: Motion Design
Touch interactions opened up opportunities to take motion even further. The compulsive rewards motion study demonstrates how the UI can respond to kids interacting with it, rewarding them with delightful little moments as they use the app.
End-to-end Application Motion Study
Compulsive Rewards Motion Study
Video Controls Motion Study