WHY & WHY NOT DESIGNING FOR TVs?
From 2015 to 2018, I was a UX designer for Hisense’s Smart TV team. Despite the attention given to web, mobile, wearable, even bots and Virtual Reality, so little has been given to TV user experience.
"Embrace ambiguity." -- Patrice Martin, IDEO.org
On the other hand, I believe understanding how users interact with the world outside screens is very important in a smart-everything near future. The TV experience involves a different environment, physical remotes, and different interpersonal relationships.
Difficulties in reading and interaction magnified by distance
Conventional remote only allows elaborate interactions
Separate input and output devices = less coherent feedback loop
Multiple users physically present in one space
Testing Has Been The Key
If you conduct competitive analysis of TV OSs, you’ll see a lack of consensus. I had to learn about user behaviors myself. I worked with teammates who shared the same interest to create a browser-based simulator that supports large quantities of testing outside the lab.
Task completion time collected from 100 participants of our remote tests. The step-by-step inputs captured also helped us to learn how users interact with UI using Direction Keys and how it could affect the efficiency.
Usability testing of TV setup, which also tests interaction with physical products
I also employed various other props, whether it was still mockups, functional prototypes, or competitor solutions. Coming from a user research background, I believe UX designers must embed themselves into the field whenever possible.
To see I put the learnings into design, click here.
However, the deeper I went, the more I realized that working WITHIN the device is not enough.
The Perceived Value of TV Is Decreasing
Knowing that I work on smart TVs, people often ask my opinion about buying one. And my honest answer would always be “no”.
Since the internet is replacing broadcasting companies as the primary provider of entertainment and knowledge, the unique value proposition of TV set also diminishes.
data source: Nielsen Group
Moreover, TV as the display for more immersive experience will keep being challenged by new technologies.
Netflix VR for Android
Microsoft HoloLens shown Netflix in its demo
Meanwhile, the essence of TV's role as the home entertainment hub is forgotten. The keyword is "entertainment", not just "television".
A concept mobile app where people receive updates of news and their favorite shows aggregated from various sources at anytime and any place.
It was also a bummer how long it can take for traditional industries to reinvent themselves and become as data-informed and agile as Silicon Valley is.
Although I have left the world of designing with hardwares at the moment, I do still believe the great opportunities in ubiquitous computing and the look forward to the challenges it will bring to UX designers. Is this also what you are passionate about? Let’s chat!