BBC iPlayer TV App
Role: Lead Designer
Launched: September 2011
Awards: Connected TV Awards - Winner
BBC iPlayer is an online service developed by the BBC which lets you catch up on last week's television and radio. On TV, iPlayer is present on several platforms in several different forms. I was briefed to redefine the TV iPlayer and deliver a strong central concept, taking advantage of the opportunities provided by IP-connected devices, which could also be implemented over a multitude of different platforms and devices.
Research + Ideation
We started with a review of the existing iPlayer landscape (2010), we documented the UX and performance inconsistencies, strengths and weaknesses.
Initial sketches and concepts from the design of the v3 iPlayer. Various user scenarios and user journeys were imagined so we could explore the realms of what we could do with the new TV iPlayer. We focused on generating as many ideas as possible in answer to our list of design challenges. We went for quantity over quality at this point.
As an exploratory task, we imported our iPlayer IA into different competitors and interfaces to see how it performed. For each import we discussed the positives and negatives for each, and look this lessons into the wireframing phase.
Explorations + User Testing
Early visual designs explored both horizontal and vertical navigation models. We hired a prototyper to build two Flash prototypes, both of which went through several rounds of user testing. The horizontal model was preferred.
We then spent several weeks refining the visual design of the horizontal model. The design was tested on a range of TV screens and types to ensure it was all TV safe.
Visual Design
