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Project Chili: The new old TV experience.
ODK media is a foreign content streaming service that started with Korean content that has been operating for 10 years. For 10 years the product had minimal feature updates but the experience was never updated. The goal of Project Chili was to create a unified and connected experience between devices and services.
To the highly business and revenue-driven company, the design function was more of an afterthought and transactional. To bring the experience not just up to date but forward-facing I had to rebuild the design team, workflow and the foundation to unify all products.
Redesigning ODK media involved many moving parts. It can be broken down into three main areas: Front end client (the products), back-end platform, and visual design. Furthermore, the product can be broken down by device: Web, apps (Mobile and Tablet), and TV(CTV and STB). Also, there were four services to cover which meant the company was foreseeing 20 products to maintain.
The service with the most products, OnDemand Korea, developed each product at different periods without any coherence. Before ODK media planned to cover more product areas for other services the need for unification and a common language backbone was crucial.
Due to a near-monopoly market share in Korean content, some features of Ondemand Korea developed into its trademark experience. While preserving any beneficial experiences we interviewed users to validate our assumptions.
In addition to traditional research methods, we tried out unconventional platforms like Clubhouse for qualitative research. Especially on Clubhouse, because the audiences were interested in the topic of the room in the first place and its voluntary nature, the provided insights had an additional layer of authenticity.
We identified user pain points, needs, navigation efficiency, experience satisfaction and how users discovered contents.
Inviting people from different departments other than the design and research departments to these interviews can be crucial in showing them what UX designers and researchers do and how much impact their work has on the business’s success.
- Lillian Choi
There was a clear pain point and a trend in the industry. The nostalgic aimless browsing TV experience was gaining traction. In other words, people were getting frustrated with the ocean of choices when they expected to wind down or just enjoy watching something.
With this project simultaneously, the backend platform had to evolve and scale. Understanding the backend development process gave me insight into limitations and opportunities.
Main mission of the ODX Project is implementation of an Integrated BackEnd Model
ODX objects has its own model exist in asynchronous manner, with direction to assemble data by creating relation with each other.
The new structure had user data flow in mind from the beginning. By visualizing the flow of data we were able to strategically place personalized features. Also for each feature testing models were designed simultaneously.
Personalizing the experience isn't a single feature attribute. Also, we wanted to avoid making it feel like content advertisements. By placing recommendations strategically, users can watch their next content effortlessly.
The most frustrating users encounter in the modern VOD world is selection anxiety. Recommendations are one way to filter undesirable content, still, the users are exposed to hundreds of choices per experience. We looked back at the old television experience. People still had to make a channel decision but at any moment something was playing and at best, that provoked curiosity and kept people watching an unexpected discovery. We wanted to bring this experience back to our TVs and created "Instant Watch". The moment the user launches the app it played a content that the algorithm thinks the user would be interested in. Also, we embedded linear channels with the VOD experience.
Heat maps show that users are interacting with certain menus. So instead of exposing all content categories we minimized the top-level menu numbers and placed all other categories in a dropdown. This not only cleaned up the interface but also created space for a prime advertisement location for the web app.
As an AVOD and SVOD service, ODK makes the majority through advertisement spots. A downside of CTV apps is that advertisements are limited to video ads currently. I wanted to make the ad experience much more delightful and add value to the user experience. This ad section is a unique solution to incorporate sponsored ads. While generating revenue but also serves as a unique curation section for the users.
The goal of the interface design was to reflect the brand language; Simple and bold, distinct yet friendly, diverse but familiar. Though we were on a mission to design the product from scratch, there had to be elements that were inherited because there were over 2 million users that were used to the old interface.
To create a unified experience, maintaining the same design language is critical. We used a hybrid design system structure where only foundations are shared but patterns have their attributes per platform.
As a multicultural service, we were using different fonts for each language. This made some of our products significantly heavy and required more development costs. Based on a multi-language font Noto Sans we identified essential characters and created an optimized single font file for 4 languages. The font file size was reduced by 80%.
The connected TV app was the first product to be developed using Chili. It was the missing product to cover all devices. Between all devices, CTV apps interactions are limited arrow keys, back button, and the enter button on a remote controller.
To ODK media the main banners are the main source of content advertisement and direct a heavy amount of traffic.
To reduce operation costs the banners are the same ratio as the content posters, landscape, and portrait.
To emphasize popular content we used vertical posters.
Followed by a sponsored advertisement space. The background can be static or motion graphics.
Depending on the user data various curation carousels are placed here.
For OTT services content posters are probably the most important element. It's the very first thing that the users see and the first thing users use to determine a choice when exploring. Also, poster design on an OTT platform is extremely challenging because each poster has its brand and character and they compete with each other.
Posters are what people use to determine their decisions. And having insight into how users react to the design was a critical function that the company was lacking. Without AB testing capabilities built on the backend, I utilized Google Optimize, Google AdSense, or manual switching to generate the data.
In 2021 ODK media began to create original content. Most of them were pilots but I had the opportunity to be involved in art directing.
A documentary program that provides an opportunity for self-growth and inspiration for the future generation of Korean-American entrepreneurs on their pursuit of finding the American Dream.
A special online concert for Korean Americans to celebrate the Korean Moon Festival holiday, Chuseok. Three popular Korean singers will share user-submitted stories as well as perform live on stage.
Of countless things, a manager can do to keep a design team running smoothly, opportunities for personal growth were most needed in this group. I think people often do their best work when they are on a growth path. Growth motivates and challenges not only themselves but also others. And when this is supported with clear direction and empowerment, the team becomes inspiring.