TV Interface Design
The onset of the pandemic further emphasized the importance of accessible church services and video content for remote viewers. This was an interesting challenge because I’d never designed a TV experience. With web and mobile interfaces, the trackpad and touchscreen allows simple navigation. On TV, with only a remote with limited controls, designing the interface and experience required a mindful approach for each user flow and affordance presented on the screen. Given the shorter timeline, I wasn’t going to try to reinvent the wheel. Leveraging existing patterns similar to popular streaming services like Netflix, I aimed for a design that users would find intuitive and easy to navigate.
One of the biggest issues I find with today’s TV app interfaces is the lack of clarity around where I am on the screen. With all of the graphic thumbnails and competing text, I don’t think apps make it apparent enough where my hover/cursor is on the screen. As a user, I feel briefly confused before knowing which controls to click to get where I want to go.
With this struggle in mind, I wanted to make those selected states for content cards and navigational buttons stand out to the user compared to the default state. Orange is used as that visual cue to the user to show the hovered/selected state. I figured it was bright enough to stand out against the dark navy and it served as a main brand color of Crossroads Church. Drawing from Crossroads Church's distinct brand identity, I opted for a dark UI to optimize the viewing experience and align with the church's visual aesthetics.
