Nasa needed help creating a cross-platform application for hosting its live programming and other curated, high quality video content. In line with Nasa’s vision of making science more accessible – the platform is free and allows users to download the content.
Overview
A streaming service designed
to make science and education
accessible to everyone.
The Intro
The Vision
We aspired to create an established, inclusive experience that focuses on big picture science. Promoting exploration was a design pillar that carries throughout the experience. The platform engages viewers by recommending related content, whether it be video, website, or article.
DELIVERABLES
- Key Screens
- Prototypes
- Research
CATEGORIES
- UI/UX
- Motion
- Application
CLIENT
NASA
YEAR
Jan – Mar 2022
Visible. Accessible. Upgraded.
Visible. Accessible. Upgraded.
Visible. Accessible. Upgraded.
Visible. Accessible. Upgraded.
Visible. Accessible. Upgraded.
Official. Modern. Cool. Accurate.
Official. Modern. Cool. Accurate.
Official. Modern. Cool. Accurate.
Official. Modern. Cool. Accurate.
Official. Modern. Cool. Accurate.
Established. Authentic. Accurate.
Established. Authentic. Accurate.
Established. Authentic. Accurate.
Established. Authentic. Accurate.
Established. Authentic. Accurate.
Promote Exploration
We wanted to keep education and continual learning fun by encouraging exploration and surfacing related content – whether that be video, article, or Nasa webpage. The user's journey should have no dead ends.
Improve the LIVE Experience
Nasa has so much cool, educational content streaming daily – like launches, announcements, and video from the International Space Station. So we designed an experience that could promote upcoming events and get people excited in an engaging and interactive way. Event pages feature event details, galleries, countdowns, and more.
Stay in the Know
Viewers may subscribe to their favorite content, add unaired events to their watchlist, sign up for notifications before live programming begins, or relive past streams.
Mobile Experience
Desktop Experience
The desktop platform experience will be integrated into Nasa’s revamped website along with many new features that make consuming content more delightful, engaging, and accessible.
Timeline
Comparative Audit
We compared streaming products across industries to get a baseline for what the market is doing and where we can find opportunities to differentiate.
Dark Mode
A majority of streaming platforms default to dark mode.
Thumbnails
Well curated thumbnails create a unified, engaging experience. Most streaming platforms use varied, stylized titles within the thumbnail.
Scroll Patterns
Most platforms utilize both horizontal and vertical scrolling. Horizontal being used to scroll through similar content from a specific category.
Who’s Watching
All platforms use personalized accounts to tailor content based on who’s watching.
My List
Most platforms have a list feature to save or add content for later viewing.
Search
Search is a primary feature found in all platforms navigation.
Social Viewing
Many platforms are experimenting with social viewing.
Short Form Content
Some platforms have incorporated short form content into their platforms.
For You
Most platforms have a recommended for you section.
Download
Download for later is present in most platforms.
Original Content
Every platform produces some form of “original” content.
Ratings
While rating functionality is present in all platforms, most exclude detailed or textual reviews.
Refined group watch feature promotes social viewing.
Unique, engaging and memorable hover effects on studio thumbnails.
Netflix adapts your thumbnails based on genres and actors.
Automatically plays previews and trailers of content the user interacts with.
Experimental video scrubber shows viewer interest.
Thumbnails feel less cohesive from millions of content creators producing their own.
Users can choose to share videos with a custom start time.
Creators can index their videos for easy video navigation.
Has live chat for streamers and gifting option.
Initially confusing structure and naming conventions. Combines content from other platforms into Apple TV’s AppleTV App which is different from their AppleTV+ service.
Also has social viewing features across ecosystem. Shareplay.
Sections that introduce character profiles of popular shows to better acquaint viewers.
Refined group watch feature promotes social viewing.
Unique, engaging and memorable hover effects on studio thumbnails.
Rotten Tomatoes hover effect shows rating.
Has live channels
Schedule feature is nice and simple.
Has social viewing feature.
Has live channels.
Integrates ads.
Inconsistent with thumbnails. Sometimes has titles under thumbnails, other times not.
Has live chat where anyone can discuss.
Nice content tagging system.
Can gift / award streamers.
Audience Perceptions
We asked the NASA team to vote and align on how they want NASA to be perceived.
We asked the NASA team to vote and align on product experience characteristics.
We asked the NASA team to brainstorm and vote on which connotations they wish to avoid.
Delivery & Documentation
Platforms
Native Mobile:
Delivered mobile and tablet experiences for iOS and Android.
Web Experience:
Delivered S, M, L, XL breakpoints for variety of device sizes.
TV Experience:
Delivered Apple TV, Fire, and Roku Experiences.
