WHAT WAS THE PROJECT?
Suggested Disney+ added feature that provides subscribers with enhanced viewing experiences
Company: Disney+
Star Lores is a qualitative research study and design project that resulted in the creation of an interactive streaming desktop prototype.
Project Summary
Timeline & Team
8 weeks start to finish solo passion project.
85% of usability test participants said they would use Star Lores either Frequently or Very Frequently.
Why You Should Care
Qualitative Research
Experience Design
Visual Design
Prototype & Usability Testing
Content Design
Responsibilities
MY ROLE IN THE CREATION OF STAR LORES
User Research
Developed product strategy and conducted qualitative user research with intended target audience.
Experience Design
Designed information architecture and interface, created prototype, and conducted usability testing.
Content Design
Developed friendly and welcoming brand voice for Star Lores.
WHAT PROBLEM IS STAR LORES TRYING TO SOLVE?
Disney+ viewers that are interested in learning more about the cast, soundtrack, or Marvel characters need to conduct their own independent research.
Marvel content influences Disney+ subscribers:
4 in 10 subscribers say that Marvel content is the main reason they subscribe to Disney+.
Amount of TV shows available on U.S. streaming services:
Disney+ is also a laggard with regards to its tv shows volume when compared to its largest direct competitors and most are from franchises.
Amount of movies available on U.S. streaming services:
Disney+ has a limited library of films available to stream when compared to its major streaming competitors and many are from franchises.
PROJECT STRATEGY
Proposed Solution to the Problem:
Imagine you are watching your favorite Marvel TV show or film and can:
Navigate to any scene & discover who is in it
Learn more about the stars
Become an expert on the characters
Discover who sings your favorite MCU songs
Enjoy extra content
Sounds pretty sweet, right? Disney+ already offers an unbeatable array of beloved franchises and Star Lores would ensure an incomparable streaming experience.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Star Lores is a suggested added feature for Disney+ that provides subscribers with easy-to-access information on the MCU cast, character trivia and lore, soundtrack, and bonus materials that will provide viewers with a delightful, informative viewing experience that could be replicable for all of Disney+’s franchise shows and films.
85
Usability Score
86%
Customer Satisfaction
85%
User Frequency
DESIGN PROCESS
I conducted this independent 8-week passion project from strategy to prototype.
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
This is how Disney+ subscribers compare Disney+ with some of its competitors (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Apple TV+, and indirect competitor YouTube Premium) on service satisfaction, service ease of use, and amount of time to find enjoyable content.
Of all the major online tv streaming services, Disney+ ranked highest in subscriber satisfaction.
User Satisfaction:
Disney+ subscribers find content they want to watch faster on Disney+ than on any other streaming platform.
Locate Content:
Disney+ ranks second in streaming learnability amongst its major competitors.
Ease of Use:
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
Streaming competitors have a greater quantity of films and tv shows
Competitors also have more original content available
Disney+ original content are from existing franchises
Users confused about the correct viewing order for Marvel films and shows
Key insights gained from industry research on Disney+ and its direct competitors are:
“There still isn’t as much content as I’d like, but what is there is enough to fill a few weeks worth of movie or TV show nights, especially if you’re a fan of Marvel and Star Wars films and shows.”
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
I planned and conducted 8 remote interviews with a diverse group of participants (four men and four women) who range in age between mid-teens to mid-forties. All participants had consumed MCU content and were Disney+ subscribers.
Participants were grouped into one of three categories: MCU Newcomer, Casual MCU Fan, MCU Superfan.
MCU NewcomerCharacter wikis with information on character history
MCU film & tv show suggestions
USER NEEDS
MCU Casual FanBonus Content (easter eggs, deleted scenes, & teasers for future MCU films or episodes
Filmography information of the stars in the MCU film or show
USER NEEDS
MCU SuperfanWays to navigate to specific scenes where certain characters or songs appear
Character wikis with comic book comparisons
USER NEEDS
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
The Casual MCU Fan
Based on the research, I focused on creating a persona of the Casual MCU Fan - the most common type of Disney+ subscriber. Meet Arielle Johnson.
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
I then created a user journey map to visualize how Arielle would discover Star Lores and interact with the product and discovered that casual MCU Fans like Arielle love to learn more about MCU films and shows than what is readily available on Disney+.
MCU viewers of all level of connection with the material want to know more about character histories, actor filmographies, film and tv show recommendations, and bonus content (such as Easter eggs).
PRODUCT STRATEGY
The market research and individual interviews revealed design opportunities for Star Lores.
“I consider this feature one of Amazon’s unsung heroes, as it’s equal parts interesting, informative and practical.”
PRODUCT STRATEGY
I created a sitemap to help clarify the navigational hierarchy for Star Lores and to help determine visually which sub-features most logically belong to which feature category.
I discovered during this process the site pages users would likely spend the most time exploring due to the level of contextual and visual detail of most interest to MCU viewers - namely, the On Screen Character Depiction, the In Comics Character Depiction, and the Extras screens.
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Based on market research and individual interviews, I mapped out what character information would be most valued for Disney+ subscribers of all familiarity with a MCU film or project.
Star Lores Characters feature includes CTA inviting users to explore Full On-Screen Character Bio and it also provides interactive, customized content areas based on Character Timeline and Combat Skills & Abilities.
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Based on market research and individual interviews, I mapped out what character information would be most valued for Disney+ subscribers of all familiarity with a MCU film or project.
Star Lores Characters feature includes CTA inviting users to explore Full On-Screen Character Bio and it also provides interactive, customized content areas based on Character Timeline and Combat Skills & Abilities.
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Arielle Johnson, a casual MCU Fan, is most interested in Black Panther actor filmographies and film Extras, including Easter Eggs, Deleted Scenes, and World Building.
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Arielle Johnson, a casual MCU Fan, is most interested in Black Panther actor filmographies and film Extras, including Easter Eggs, Deleted Scenes, and World Building.
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Arielle Johnson, a casual MCU Fan, is most interested in Black Panther actor filmographies and film Extras, including Easter Eggs, Deleted Scenes, and World Building.
VISUAL INTERFACE DESIGN
I worked on all wireframes & interactive high-fidelity prototype for Star Lores.
The biggest challenge I had when creating a high-fidelity interactive prototype for Star Loreswas attempting to harmoniously combine elements of Disney+’s available Black Panther information with Marvel Comics details, with the end goal of creating a unique feature that could be adopted and enfolded into Disney+.
PROTOTYPE, TEST, & ITERATE
I planned and conducted 7 anonymous, virtual usability tests via Maze.
I used Maze for Star Lores’ usability testing because I wanted to observe how participants interacted with Star Lores and identify product pain points via heat maps. Every product iteration design decision was research-driven with actionable user insights.
85
Usability Score
100%
Task Completion Rate
PROTOTYPE, TEST, & ITERATE
86% of participants were either Satisfied or Very Satisfied with Star Lores.
PROTOTYPE, TEST, & ITERATE
72% of participants Agreed or Strongly Agreed that Star Lores was intuitive and easy-to-learn how to use.
PROTOTYPE, TEST, & ITERATE
86% of participants would use Star Lores either Frequently or Very Frequently.
PROTOTYPE, TEST, & ITERATE
Usability testing revealed that some users were confused as to what Star Lores is and how to use it without context.
Proposed Solution
Supply users with a product description page and tutorial of how to use Star Lores.
PROTOTYPE, TEST, & ITERATE
Some participants struggled with trying to enter Star Lores to explore its features without context.
Supply users with a Disney+ film description page to more naturally mimic the user experience of deciding to watch a film and explore a new product that provides information and context about that film or show.
Proposed Solution
PROTOTYPE, TEST, & ITERATE
Due to the extent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)films and shows library, users expressed interest in film show and recommendations based on criteria like favorite character.
Multiple touchpoints for film and show recommendations were introduced based on user interviews and usability test feedback.
Proposed Solution
OUTCOMES & LESSONS
of participants reported they would use Star Lores either Frequently or Very Frequently.
86%
72%
Learnability Score
86%
User Satisfaction Score
85
Usability Score
OUTCOMES & LESSONS
Star Lores is built for you, the MCU fan. Because sometimes you want to do more than just watch. You want to know stuff. Star Lores is there for you to fill in the gaps. Enjoy your enhanced viewing experience.
Conducting more research to determine how in-demand Star Lores would be for other major Disney+ franchises to better understand the extent of viewer buy-in and interest.
Creating relevant and easily digestible content for other Disney+ franchises.
Next Steps
A friendly, succinct, helpful brand voice is the best way to keep users interested in learning about available Star Lores features.
Star Lores would be replicable and in-demand for Disney+ franchises like Star Wars and Pixar.
What I Learned