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simplestream’s
app
platform
Overseeing the UX design of Simplestream's "The App Platform" white-label product across TV, mobile (iOS and Android), and web platforms.
overview
As the Product Designer at Simplestream, I oversee the design of white-label solutions across mobile, TV, and web platforms. My role is pivotal in shaping user experiences for our flagship product, the App Platform, and ensuring design excellence across our entire product suite.
Key Responsibilities
📲 Product Innovation and Design Ownership
Spearhead updates to our App Platform, continuously enhancing its functionality and user experience to meet and exceed industry standards.
Understand the nuances of designing for various platforms including iOS, Android, Hybrid TV, and web applications.
Own and justify design decisions from both UX and technical perspectives, understanding development constraints and product limitations.
🧑💻 Design System Management
Maintain and evolve our component-driven design system, ensuring scalability and consistency across all products.
🤝 Cross Functional Collaboration
Work closely with the Junior UI/UX designer, the Chief Product Officer, and clients to create user-centered designs that meet both client requirements and usability standards.
Collaborate with developers, TAMs and TPMs to ensure feasibility of designs and discuss potential implementation challenges.
Mentor and manage a Junior UI/UX Designer, fostering their growth and aligning their work with our design vision.
Serve as the go-to for juniors and teams, making key design decisions and collaborating with TAMs, PMs, and clients.
✅ Quality Assurance
Ensure design consistency and adherence to best practices across all products and platforms.
Collaborate with the QA team to confirm design decisions and expected behaviors, applying logical thinking and UX principles.
achievements
🗣️ Client Communication
Established direct communication channels with key clients, leading to improved understanding of their needs and more tailored design solutions.
Participated in high-valued client meetings one to one and presentations, effectively communicating design rationales and gathering valuable feedback for product improvements.
💡 Design System and Components
Spearheaded the improvement and expansion of our existing design system, adding new components and updating it to leverage the latest Figma features.
Implemented a process for creating and optimising components that considers existing functionalities, seamless integration, and full metadata load requirements.
This resulted in increased design efficiency, improved consistency across clients, and reduced development time.
📺 Cross-Platform Expertise and Technical Integration
Developed comprehensive understanding of design requirements across iOS, Android, Hybrid TV, and web platforms, creating a streamlined process for cross-platform testing.
Integrated understanding of key APIs into the design process, resulting in more technically feasible and efficient designs that align with our app's functionality.
✅ Quality Assurance and Workflow Optimisation
Ensured design consistency and adherence to best practices across all products and platforms in a fast-paced envrionment.
Created a process for exporting and submitting design assets for app store submissions, streamlining collaboration with project managers and TAMs.
Developed a Figma plugin that tracks and logs changes using semantic versioning for streamlined change management.
case study 1
inline player
brief
This project involved designing and implementing a new inline video player feature for TVSN.
The feature enhances the user experience by allowing content playback within the content details page, providing users with more flexibility in how they consume video content.
I led the design process, conducted research on inline players (e.g., YouTube, Dailymotiion), and worked closely with developers to ensure smooth implementation.
problem
TVSN's mobile and tablet video player defaulted to full-screen mode, forcing users to leave the content details page.
This disrupted the browsing experience and critically impacted e-commerce performance by navigating users away from the cart buy button.
Forced full-screen disrupted shopping experience
Cart button accessibility issues on the Single Content Details
Limited viewing flexibility
solution
To address TVSN's e-commerce challenges and improve user experience, we established the following solutions:
✨ Develop an inline video player for TVSN's mobile and tablet apps that enables in-page content viewing from the details screen.
✨ Ensure the cart buy button remains easily accessible while watching videos
✨ Provide seamless options for users to switch between inline and full-screen viewing modes
✨ Enhance overall user engagement and, consequently, improve e-commerce conversion rates
design
process
Developing an inline player for TVSN involved a thoughtful balance between universal video player patterns and platform-specific requirements.
By integrating industry best practices with TVSN's unique e-commerce needs, we followed a methodical design and development process that prioritised both usability and technical feasibility.
👉 Research
Explored existing inline player designs on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion for inspiration.
Analysed their strengths in user interaction, scalability, and visual appeal.
Created a mood board in Figma, synthesising key takeaways for layout, controls, and responsiveness.
👉 Requirements
Mapped user expectations for inline player interactions.
Incorporated TVSN-specific requirements, such as maintaining overlay compatibility for singular.live and respecting content-specific guidelines.
👉 Prototyping and Iteration
Designed low-fidelity wireframes for various scenarios (e.g. full screen, inline playback, overlays).
Iteratively refined high-fidelity prototypes based on feedback from stakeholders and developers.
👉 Testing
Validated designs with internal teams to ensure usability and compatibility with singular.live overlays.
Tested overlay responsiveness and ensured graphic elements did not obstruct important visual content.
challenges
Developing an inline player for TVSN involved a thoughtful balance between universal video player patterns and platform-specific requirements.
By integrating industry best practices with TVSN's unique e-commerce needs, we followed a methodical design and development process that prioritised both usability and technical feasibility.
❌ Singular.live Integration
TVSN required dynamic overlays to keep teleshopping content relevant and actionable as stock levels or pricing changed.
Singular.live overlays provided real-time updates, including pricing, stock alerts, and interactive buttons, enhancing upsell and oversell opportunities.
Unlike traditional video overlays, Singular.live overlays were rendered in the player window and not embedded into the video.
The design seamlessly integrated overlays into both inline and full-screen modes without disrupting the user experience.
❌ Cross platform Compatibility
Ensured responsive scaling of overlays and player components across devices of varying screen sizes.
Delivered a consistent and high-quality experience for both mobile and tablet users despite differences in aspect ratios and resolutions.
Focused on optimising performance for Chromecast to ensure a smooth casting experience.
❌ ads implementation
Virgin Media’s VMTV Play includes pause ads, which display static billboard advertisements when users pause content. This feature needed to be adapted for the inline player to maintain usability and ensure compatibility with the smaller player size.
Billboard ads required resizing and reformatting to fit the dimensions of the inline player effectively.
SSAI ads, including ad pods, needed to seamlessly integrate into both inline and full-screen player modes without disrupting the viewing experience.
❌ Design Adaptations
Simplified the inline player by omitting redundant features present outside the player (e.g., the cast button).
Streamlined the user interface by removing the multi-channel player sidebar present in the full-screen mode, ensuring the smaller inline player remained clean and functional.
impact
The updated inline player and Singular.live overlays transformed TVSN's teleshopping experience by addressing key user pain points and enhancing usability.
The result was measurable improvements in engagement, efficiency, and user satisfaction.
23%*
Increase in time spent watching content, driven by seamless inline playback.
*Information from NPAW
+11%*
Growth in cart button interactions due to improved accessibility.
*Information from NPAW
20% faster*
Time-to-market for teleshopping content updates with Singular.live’s real-time overlay capabilities.
*Conducted by TVSN
48% satisfaction*
Rate reported by viewers highlighting a better shopping and viewing experience from the Inline Player
*Conducted by TVSN, from their Users
case study 2
vertical player
brief
TNM Marketing and Craftsy asked us to develop a TikTok and YouTube Shorts-inspired vertical player to improve their app's aesthetic, reach a wider audience, increase engagement, and drive subscription conversions through short-form content.
Users can access the vertical player from the home screen, browse portrait thumbnails, and seamlessly navigate between videos.
problem
Although there weren’t specific pain points, this project aimed to enhance the app’s platform by leveraging the popularity of short-form content. Craftsy identified an opportunity to appeal to non-subscribers and attract a younger demographic familiar with TikTok-style formats.
This was seen as both a value add for Craftsy and a potential feature to upsell to other clients.
Enhance app's visual appeal to attract broader audience
Boost engagement and drive subscription conversions
Appeal to younger demographic familiar with short-form content
solution
To address Craftsy’s goal of enhancing the app platform and boosting subscriptions, we established the following solutions:
✨ Showcase short-form content in a 2:3 portrait format with responsive design elements.
✨ Allow users to pause, resume, and scrub through videos, mirroring the experience of TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
✨ Integrate a portrait thumbnail playlist on the home screen for easy video discovery without additional navigation.
✨ Leverage the growing trend of short-form content to attract non-subscribers and drive conversions.
design
process
To build a vertical video player for Craftsy, we needed to combine traditional video player features with the unique requirements of our platform.
We conducted in-depth research to outline our needs, created prototypes, and performed rigorous testing. Our aim was to improve the app's visual design, boost user engagement, and appeal to a younger audience, all while tackling the challenges we faced. We did that by conducting such design process.
👉 Research
Analysed leading short-form video platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels to identify best practices and trending UX patterns.
Analysed demographics for short-form content. This content (15–60 seconds) uses the "peak-end rule" and instant gratification to quickly engage viewers.
Created a mood board in Figma, synthesising key takeaways for layout, controls, and responsiveness.
👉 Requirements
Defined the core functionality: vertical video playback in a 2:3 ratio with scrubber controls, a timer, and playback gestures (tap-to-pause/play and pinch-to-zoom).
Alignment with Craftsy's engagement and subscription conversion goals.
Considered scalability for other clients, making the feature adaptable to different apps.
👉 Prototype
Built wireframes for vertical player layout and controls
Developed high-fidelity prototypes that included gradients, video zoom functionality, and responsive designs for both phones and tablets.
Addressed unique challenges, such as overly long video descriptions, by introducing a capped expansion feature with a 60% screen limit.
Ensured video zoom-in/out functionality allowed users to adjust the fit seamlessly.
👉 Testing and iteration
Conducted internal testing to refine control placement and ensure intuitive usability.
Adapted the design for tablets, ensuring consistent functionality and UI elements, with videos remaining in portrait orientation.
Collaborated closely with developers to resolve challenges such as mismatched video resolutions and ensure technical feasibility.
challenges
Designing the vertical player posed unique challenges, requiring careful consideration of technical constraints and user expectations. Below are the key challenges we faced:
❌ Video Aspect Ratio and Resolution
Craftsy provided videos that were not in the required 2:3 aspect ratio.
A dynamic zoom-in solution was implemented to ensure videos fit the screen without black borders, while still allowing users to pinch and zoom out if needed.
❌ Player Controls and Accessibility
The initial player controls included small buttons for pause, rewind, and forward at the bottom of the screen, which created usability issues. The buttons were too small for effective interaction, and users' fingers would clash while trying to operate them.
Inspired by TikTok and YouTube Shorts, we replaced button controls with a compact, intuitive scrub bar at the screen's bottom. Users can pause or resume videos by tapping anywhere on the video, ensuring a seamless experience.
❌ description management
Long video descriptions posed a challenge as they could overtake the screen, disrupting the user experience.
We limited description expansion to 70% of the screen height, complemented by a gradient effect for smoother transitions and better visual integration.
❌ Cross Platform Consistency
Differences between iOS and Android platforms, such as the time scrubber behaviour and gradient effects, needed alignment.
We adjusted designs and collaborated with developers to create a unified experience across both platforms.
impact
To address Craftsy’s goals and user needs, the Vertical Player delivered the following impacts:
+18%*
increase in app interaction with the introduction of TikTok style content
*Information from NPAW
+14%*
growth in subscriptions conversions from the new format
*Information from NPAW
Expanded Upsell Potential
reusable vertical player feature has become a key selling point for other clients
Modernised UX
By implementing a TikTok-inspired feature, the app aligned with evolving user expectations for short-form content.
case study 3
irish sign language
brief
Virgin Media Play, a prominent streaming service in Ireland, is dedicated to improving accessibility for users with hearing impairments. The main goal is to make Irish Sign Language (ISL) more discoverable and accessible for everyone.
problem
As Ireland’s second-largest channel after RTÉ, Virgin Media Play identified a significant accessibility issue: the lack of Irish Sign Language (ISL) support in its app. This gap created obstacles for the Deaf community, which includes around 5,000 primary ISL users and an extended network of approximately 40,000 individuals, including family, friends, and professionals.
Virgin Media must comply with the Irish Sign Language Act 2017, ensuring ISL access for public services.
More than 45,000 ISL users and their communities require accessible content from Virgin Media.
ISL support is crucial for keeping subscribers and driving growth after the platform migration.
solution
To address these challenges, we designed and implemented an ISL feature that:
✨ ISL logo indicators were added to video thumbnails, allowing users to quickly identify accessible content.
✨ Introduced a popup with a checkbox to save user preferences, eliminating repetitive prompts.
✨ The ISL button was designed to blend seamlessly with the existing design language of the app.
✨ An ISL toggle was integrated into the app’s settings, enabling users to activate or deactivate the feature with a single click.
design
process
Integrating Irish Sign Language into our platforms was a rewarding journey, blending traditional accessibility with innovation. We began with in-depth research to understand the needs of our 45,000 users, followed by prototyping and testing various activation options to enhance accessibility and user experience.
Our thoughtful approach ensured an inclusive solution for all.
👉 Research
We researched how other applications, like BBC iPlayer, implement accessibility features such as subtitles and ISL to gather valuable insights and best practices.
We conducted an informal survey among our friends and family, many of whom have connections to the deaf community. Through these conversations, we gathered insights on how to better serve a community of 45,000 users, focusing on accessibility features and tailored communication tools.
We analysed the app platform’s current design and UI elements to determine the optimal placement for the ISL feature.
👉 Requirements
It is essential to ensure that the ISL feature is easily discoverable and accessible for users who need it.
Providing clear visual cues is important to help users distinguish content that includes ISL support.
Implementing a user-friendly method to activate and deactivate the ISL feature is crucial.
Consistency with the app's design language must be maintained across all devices.
👉 Prototype
We explored various options for indicating ISL support, such as placing the ISL logo next to the trailers button or on the content details thumbnail.
We developed three approaches for accessing ISL flow:
Content Details Integration - ISL option added in content details, next to the trailer button.
Flick Switch Pop-Up - A pop-up with a toggle switch for quick ISL activation.
Dual Selector Pop-Up - A pop-up with two selectors for clearer choices.
The best solution was a dedicated ISL pop-up window with physical options and a way to save user preferences.
Prototypes for the ISL toggle were created in the app's Settings menu.
Designs were iterated based on feedback from testers and developers.
Option 1:
Positioned next to trailer buttons
Rejected
Limited Flexibility in Content Options:
If a client exhausts four options and wants a fifth button, the design may become restrictive.
Crowded Interface:
A cluttered interface affects usability as options increase. We must also consider the series page, which can be text/image heavy.
Redundancy:
A persistent ISL button may duplicate choices during playback, causing a redundant interface.
Inconsistent User Flow:
Opening the ISL button disrupts the expected flow, where a single "Play" button is anticipated. This could frustrate users seeking simplicity.
Option 2:
Pop up flicker switch
Rejected
Lack of Context:
Insufficient information on enabling ISL may leave users unclear about their choice.
Primary Action Dominance:
The red "Play" button is dominant and may divert attention from the toggle, leading users to click it impulsively.
Ambiguity of Default State:
There is no clear indication of whether ISL is enabled or disabled by default, which can cause confusion.
Ambiguity of Default State:
There is no clear indication of whether ISL is enabled or disabled by default, which can cause confusion.
Option 3:
Pop up with two selectors
Passed
Clearer User Choices:
Users are presented with two distinct options: "Play with ISL" and "Play without ISL," making it easy to select their preferred viewing experience.
Avoiding Accidental Actions:
Positioning the final "Play" button below the options minimises the risk of users inadvertently skipping the ISL decision.
Hierarchy:
The hierarchy is well-structured, with action buttons clearly communicating the ISL options, followed by a "Remember my choice" toggle.
Enhanced Visual Cues:
Repositioning the final "Play" button below the options helps reduce the likelihood of users accidentally bypassing the ISL decision.
ISL visual cue
At first, our plan was to add an ISL button (refer to option 1). However, after extensive consultations with our development team, we found a better solution: enhancing the thumbnails in the highlighted positions. We received valuable feedback from our internal testing group, which included friends and family members. Their input suggested that this method provides a clear visual indication.
Consequently, users will be able to easily identify any content that offers ISL availability through this visual cue.
how to activate isl
isl in settings
👉 Testing and iteration
Conducted internal testing to ensure the ISL feature was easily discoverable and user-friendly.
Gathered feedback from testers and developers regarding the placement of the ISL logo and button.
Collaborated with developers to ensure the ISL feature was technically feasible and could be implemented within the given timeline.
Made necessary adjustments based on feedback, such as moving the ISL logo from the content details page to the thumbnails for better visibility and UI balance.
challenges
There were challenges we did face when implementing the Irish Sign Language concept into our app platform:
❌ Limited screen real estate
Ensuring the ISL button was prominently displayed without overcrowding the user interface
Balancing feature discoverability with maintaining a clean, uncluttered layout
Required multiple design iterations and careful consideration of UI elements
❌ Integrating ISL feature into existing app design
Ensuring the ISL button and logo were prominent and easily discoverable without disrupting the overall aesthetic and user experience
Achieving a harmonious balance of design elements that maintained consistency with the app's established look and feel
Collaborating closely with developers to realise a seamless integration of the new feature into the existing app structure
EXPECTED
impact
We have not yet gathered data since the project was only recently delivered to Virgin Media. However, we have outlined an expected impact list based on assumptions and research.
Improved Accessibility
For deaf users engaging with ISL-supported content
*Internal Research
Improved User Satisfaction
Reduced irritation through the "Remember My Choice" feature
*Internal Research
Enhanced User Control
Clear options to enable or disable ISL support
*Internal Feedback
