NETFLIX | KIDS AND FAMILY
Choose Your Character: Likes and Favorites
When a child likes a show, it’s usually because they enjoy the story, characters, or both. However, when a child likes a character, it’s because they have formed an emotional connection with them. Let's explore what that connection with a character looks like on Netflix in the form of interaction.
Imagine This...
Your child sits down in front of the TV, and they hear a warm greeting from behind the looking glass is followed by a virtual, familiar face who presents a few personalized selections of previously-watched content. From the next room, you hear from the next room the show-opening of Boss Baby for the umpteenth time this week. Just another routine day.
This practical reality did not yet exist on the Netflix Kids platform, but it is this inherently personable and smooth scaled-artifact of a user experience that is being carefully tinkered with by product designers and researchers behind the tall glass doors of the Netflix Inc., Los Gatos campus. And it is the thought of this scaled-artifact experience which brought about my consideration in testing new paradigms of interaction between children and their favorite characters.
This practical reality did not yet exist on the Netflix Kids platform, but it is this inherently personable and smooth scaled-artifact of a user experience that is being carefully tinkered with by product designers and researchers behind the tall glass doors of the Netflix Inc., Los Gatos campus. And it is the thought of this scaled-artifact experience which brought about my consideration in testing new paradigms of interaction between children and their favorite characters.
The Challenge
Empower kids to connect with their favorite characters.
On the Kids and Family platform, oft-watched episodes remained naught for discovery. The "virtual best friend" we found to be so important from research was, in product, non-labeled and thus, felt non-important in the experience.
Product Goal
Increase rewatch and discover moments around character-focused content on the Kids and Family Platform.
The Problem Space
Through competitive market research, I catalogued interaction opportunities where the Netflix Kids platform could leverage this emotive connection between audience and character. The playing field between utilitarian and delightful interactions that spark joy deserved some competitive research. Markedly through creating visual artifacts, sips of bittersweet black coffee, and a Monday Morning meeting, I began locally evangelizing to my product manager and research partner so to plant a seed and garner support for the idea.
The Competitive Landscape
Regarding the competitive landscape, we found that between entertainment platforms and social platforms, interactivity with "like" or "favorite" style interactions could be separated between two utilties: first person and third person.
Pikachu exists in multiple series and standalone pieces of content. The rating button exists in each of these on redundant levels- could there be a way to collectively bookmark these titles based on liking the representative character of this title group?
Artifacts from early design exploration.
Methods and Challenges
The excitement expressed by my team after the presentation of aforementioned visual artifacts felt tangible. As well, while some form of a dual utilitarian-delight experience felt right, there remained questions lingering in my mind.
Systems Questions and Responsible Design
• The user-system models appear straightforward, but how would the systems behind the red curtain work?
• Can kids understand by examination the visual mechanisms for "liking" a character, before ever interacting with the visual?
• What is the expected behavior after liking a character? What would kids even expect would happen?
• What universal shapes *spark joy*, beyond region and beyond language?
• How can we educate and empower the user with choice, rather than making choices for them?
On any platform where kids are sole-drivers of an experience, education and choice should remain in good culture above interactions that encourage spoon-fed automation. In an industry rife with metaversal irresponsibility, it is not rare to see interaction and experience designers curb morals for a paycheck.
Keeping the team lean, I partnered with our consumer insights researcher Fazar, as well as a contracted product writer, and we began whiteboard-to-screen work for qualitative testing.
• Can kids understand by examination the visual mechanisms for "liking" a character, before ever interacting with the visual?
• What is the expected behavior after liking a character? What would kids even expect would happen?
• What universal shapes *spark joy*, beyond region and beyond language?
• How can we educate and empower the user with choice, rather than making choices for them?
On any platform where kids are sole-drivers of an experience, education and choice should remain in good culture above interactions that encourage spoon-fed automation. In an industry rife with metaversal irresponsibility, it is not rare to see interaction and experience designers curb morals for a paycheck.
Keeping the team lean, I partnered with our consumer insights researcher Fazar, as well as a contracted product writer, and we began whiteboard-to-screen work for qualitative testing.
Qualitative Testing
Qualitative testing helped us understand how people from different cultures see icons differently, which, for a global streaming service, goes without saying as incredibly important. Here are the details of the symbols used to represent "favorites", and the hurdles we faced while testing during the start of COVID-19.
We narrowed down our options for testing to three symbols: Heart, Star, and Thumb. Chosen for universal familiarity.
Challenges: COVID-Precendence and Personalization
In generating assets, shyness was not in my vocabulary. Asset count neared the high 200s. In considering personalized content-titles, multiple content age-sets, and localized treatment for our select countries into account, it was quickly realized that assets needed to be produced above the early estimates by an order of magnitude. Because characters are so central to a child's choice and streaming experience, it was made certain that qualitative participants were presented characters whose presence felt familiar. In a qualitative product test, the less "macro variables" the better.
Shedding the incredible complexity of this "Likes and Favorites" test, precedence was established in that this was the first remote qualitative test during COVID for the Netflix product. And a largely successful test at that.
Shedding the incredible complexity of this "Likes and Favorites" test, precedence was established in that this was the first remote qualitative test during COVID for the Netflix product. And a largely successful test at that.
Sample of title personalization by age for a single region, Japan.
Evaluation and Reward Demo Screens
Evaluation and Reward Demo Screens
Key Learnings
Between a count of 32 of participants, in 3 countries, over 4 days, the results of this qualitative test have proven far-reaching in their affects towards shaping a choice-and-delight driven future in the Netflix Kids and Family platform. Per the static-screen user experiences presented to participants, a mechanism through which kids may express joy or excitement between themselves their favorite characters vies necessary for any personalized entertainment platform. Specific to Netflix, a mechanism is necessary which sits markedly separate from the lackadaisical "Netflix Ratings" button.
Summary
1. Kids grasp the concept of “favoriting” once they interact with an icon.
2. There is a desire for a more impactful reward experience (sound effects and animations).
3. Successful Evaluation Iconography: Kids intuitively understand the meaning of dotted and filled-in icons - and how to interact with them.
4. The heart icon was universally understood by kids and was the most viable "favorite" icon.
5. It would be beneficial to allow kids to “favorite” content at every level - including characters for kids who find it useful.
2. There is a desire for a more impactful reward experience (sound effects and animations).
3. Successful Evaluation Iconography: Kids intuitively understand the meaning of dotted and filled-in icons - and how to interact with them.
4. The heart icon was universally understood by kids and was the most viable "favorite" icon.
5. It would be beneficial to allow kids to “favorite” content at every level - including characters for kids who find it useful.