Wireframing for Video Streaming Service

Design Scenario:

I’m designing for Crunchyroll, a popular anime streaming service, on mobile. My goal is to enhance usability and improve the user experience by refining key features on the anime details page.

Project Goal:

Enhance the anime details page for a cleaner, more intuitive experience. My aim is to reduce clutter while making essential features easy to access.

Ideas for Enhancement:

1. Add Label to Sorting Icon:
   • The sorting icon currently lacks a label, unlike the download button, which has one. Adding a label to the sorting icon will make it more user-friendly.
2. Remove Season Dropdown for Single-Season Series:
   • If a series has only one season, there’s no need for a dropdown button. It simplifies the interface and makes it more direct.
3. Remove the Three-Option Button for "Mark as Watched":
   • The "Mark as Watched" option is available in the top-right corner. Having it next to the season dropdown creates unnecessary clutter. Removing it from next to the season chooser streamlines the layout.

Wireframe Fidelity:

I’ve chosen high-fidelity wireframes for this design, as it provides a more detailed and polished look, ideal for testing user interactions and layout before development.

Rationale Behind the Wireframes:

1. Clarity and Simplicity:
2. The goal of these changes is to eliminate redundant features and make the interface more straightforward. This improves the user experience by providing clear, accessible options without overwhelming them with choices.
3. User-Centric Design:
4. These edits focus on reducing clutter, focusing only on essential features, and enhancing the clarity of buttons and icons.

Competitive Analysis:

Crunchyroll is one of the best anime streaming services, with a wide variety of shows, a large user base, and frequent updates. However, here are a few competitors and their strengths and weaknesses:

1. Netflix (Anime Section)
   • Strengths: High-quality original anime content, vast library of other genres.
   • Weaknesses: Smaller anime collection compared to Crunchyroll, lacks some niche titles.
2. Funimation
   • Strengths: Great selection of dubbed anime, solid user interface.
   • Weaknesses: Service merging with Crunchyroll, some content limited to specific regions.
3. Hulu (Anime Section)
   • Strengths: Good selection of anime titles mixed with other genres.
   • Weaknesses: User interface is not as focused on anime, less variety compared to Crunchyroll.