Project
My role
As part of the BBC's 80/20 Career Development Scheme, I worked with the Research and Development team on this project. My role focused on:
Designing and developing "supporting content" for both on-demand and live TV
Collaborating with the UX principle to map out and finalise key content categories
Developing and prototyping new media player features to demonstrate how additional content could enrich the viewer's experience
Time
June to August, 2024
Project highlights
Information overview
Through user research and stakeholder discussions, we established a hierarchy of information based on viewer needs and technical feasibility.
Plot & Characters
for fictional content only
Cast & production
for all content
Static content aka “Extras”
Small, bite-sized content attached to a specific timepoint that’s not tied to the scrub-bar
Synchronised content aka “Views”
display when you are playing media, optional but relevant to specific moments
Key features
Projecting these information into the current media player ecosystem, here are some features we developed.
[01]
Plot & Characters
This content category enhances the viewer's experience by providing detailed information about the storyline and characters in fictional content. It can include: Plot recap, Characters infomation to remind you what they are, Dialogue/Lyrics, Fictional Locations like Hogwarts, Mordor etc..
Fictional content example
[02]
Cast & production
This content gives viewers a closer look at the talent and craftsmanship behind the production, enhancing their appreciation for the work. This can include:
Live event example
[03]
Extras
Small, bite-sized content attached to a specific timepoints that’s not tied to the scrub-bar.
These extras enrich the viewing experience, offering more interactive, behind-the-scenes, and contextual content that deepens audience engagement.
Photo gallery & graphic
Behind-the-Scenes Galleries: Exclusive glimpses into the production process with images and videos.
Static graphics: like election result visuals or 3D objects
Participation
Comments and emoji reactions
Participation (Interactive polls)
Single option poll
Participation (Interactive polls)
Multiple options poll
Participation
Send to phone
[04]
Multi-View
This feature empowers viewers to personalise their viewing experience during live events:
Multiple camera angle options for sports and performances
User-controlled perspective switching
Picture in picture
View 1
Side by side
View 2
Challenges & Approach
[01]
When I joined the project, there was already some early discovery work and concept mapping for visual features. However, these ideas lacked coherent structure and clear purpose.
Therefore, I initiated rapid ideation sessions with our UX team to expand our thinking. We researched features from leading media platforms to help us understand where to start designing supportive content for media.
Amazon prime's X-Ray feature
FIFA football's interactive viewing experience
F1's multi-camera viewing options
Spotify’s video podcast
[02]
The BBC has multiple platforms and various content types, making it challenging to create a unified approach to personalisation. We needed to understand what information appears in current BBC experiences and what unique content could be surfaced to our audience at the right time.
To make ensure our framework would satisfy the needs of various BBC teams with different priorities, we worked with other UXers from Live, Media, iPlayer, and Sounds to understand their current position on improving media playback and how our flexible media approach would work for them.
Live
Media
iPlayer
R&D
Sounds
[03]
To ensure the project runs smoothly and effectively demonstrates its value, we conducted stakeholder mapping based on the information available. This helped us understand how to engage with different roles at various stages and allowed us to pitch the project at the right time, with the right information.
[04]
We faced the challenge of creating innovative features while ensuring they could be implemented within BBC's existing technical infrastructure. Rather than reimagining the entire media player experience, we built upon existing patterns to ensure our concepts would be immediately understandable and technically viable.
current player UI
Project outcome
Transitioning from a research project to product implementation presented challenges in maintaining the integrity of our vision while accommodating practical constraints. We created documentation and prototypes to effectively communicate our framework to product teams, helping them understand not just what we designed but why.
Earlier this year, with funding secured, the project was transferred to the product area. The iPlayer team picked up our work, and we conducted a proper handover workshop. Our approach proved successful, with the Sounds team adopting features like 'jump to' and the 'extras' concept for their proof of concept testing. This means BBC audiences will soon see interesting features explored through our framework, enhancing their media consumption across BBC platforms.
Key Learnings
Working within established design patterns while introducing innovation creates more readily adoptable solutions
Cross-team collaboration is essential for framework projects that span multiple products
Balancing information density with usability is critical for supplementary content that shouldn't distract from the primary viewing experience
Designing for the constraints of TV remote navigation forces clearer, more focused interface solutions
