Concept · Personal Project · 2021

Netflix Website
Redesign

Reducing cognitive overload and simplifying the decision-making process for content discovery — by bringing ratings and social recommendations inside Netflix.

Type Concept / Personal project

Role Solo UX / UI Designer

Prototype View in Figma →

The problem

Lost in a sea of content

Netflix users often feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of content available — feeling lost, with the problem currently inadequately addressed by numerous and unreliable recommendations. Users routinely exit Netflix to search ratings and ask friends for recommendations, then return to watch.

How do we reduce the time users spend deciding what to watch — without them having to leave Netflix to do it?

Research

Understanding the frustration

With this project stemming from a personal pain point, I conducted 8 one-on-one user interviews and collected 58 survey responses to validate whether others experienced the same problem — and more importantly, why.

"Netflix recommendations are hopeless."

"It's too overwhelming — there are too many selections and I end up wasting time endlessly browsing and not watching anything."

"Most of the time, I decide what to watch through work colleagues' / friends' recommendations and then go online to look at reviews before making a decision."

The majority of Netflix users seek sources outside of Netflix to decide what to watch — usually friends' recommendations or online ratings and reviews.

Affinity map from research — Affinity map — themes from interviews & surveys

Personas

Harris & Jennifer

Representing busy Netflix users who rely on friends' recommendations and external reviews before committing to watch something.

Harris Stevenson persona — Persona — Harris Stevenson

Jennifer Lee persona — Persona — Jennifer Lee

The solution

Bring the decision-making tools inside Netflix

After ideation through Crazy 8s, MVP matrix and dot voting with peers, three key features were identified as the most effective solution:

External ratings (Rotten Tomatoes / IMDB)

Many users searched ratings and reviews before committing to watch. Bringing this inside Netflix saves time and effort — no need to exit the platform.

External ratings lo-fi wireframe — External ratings — lo-fi wireframe

Share recommendations between friends

37.9% of users currently find content by asking friends for recommendations — communicating outside of Netflix entirely. This feature enables sharing and receiving recommendations directly within the platform.

Share recommendations lo-fi wireframe — Share recommendations — lo-fi wireframe

View friends' recently watched / rated

Users regularly ask friends what they've watched and enjoyed. A social "My Community" hub enables users to browse friends' activity and receive recommendations without leaving Netflix.

Friends recently watched lo-fi wireframe — Friends' recently watched — lo-fi wireframe

Testing & iteration

2 major improvements from testing

1. Less clicks

To reduce clicks and incorporate the social aspect more seamlessly, I combined the two screens for sharing content into one — listing Netflix users at the top and showing options for sharing outside Netflix underneath.

Before and after sharing flow iteration — Before / after — sharing flow iteration

2. Easier visibility

The "My Community" page was updated to combine the list of friends with their recommendations, rather than showing them separately — enabling users to quickly scan friends' recommendations without extra navigation.

My Community improved layout — My Community — improved layout

Final design

Hi-fi prototype

Re-created in Figma adapting Netflix's existing UI, incorporating all feedback from lo-fi testing with consistent brand typography and colour.

Hi-fi external ratings and sharing — Hi-fi — external ratings & sharing

Hi-fi My Community page — Hi-fi — My Community page

View final prototype in Figma →

Success metrics

How I'd measure success

Increase in user retention rate

High frequency of use of the new features

Shorter time to choose content to watch

Higher time on platform per session

Decrease in frustration signals during browsing

Reflection

Key learnings

This project required adapting a social media system within a content streaming platform without shifting focus from Netflix's primary function — a design challenge that required careful balance of new features against existing UX familiarity.

With more time, I would incorporate a newsfeed in the My Community function, add comments and ratings from friends in content description pages, and extend the changes to mobile and TV platforms.

Netflix WebsiteRedesign