IMDb Redesign
For this project, we tried to optimize the organization system, navigation system, and search system of the IMDb website to increase user intuitiveness and create a more inclusive movie/TV searching experience.
Duration
11weeks
Oct - Dec 2022
Team
Working in a team of 4
Skills
User Research,
Usability Testing,
High-Fi Prototype
My role
UI/UX Designer
Overview
The Internet Movie Database, otherwise known as IMDb, is an online database aimed towards helping people find new information about movies, television shows, actors, directors, and other film and television show related content. One can look up movies and shows by different categories and rankings to view more information about the film, which can include their ratings and reviews. Users can also find local movie theaters, their current showtimes, and the films and television shows available through different streaming services.
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Even though IMDb provides numerous information, through our research, the current design of their site can be confusing to the users.
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Therefore, the primary aim of our recommendations is to improve the inclusivity and diversity of the site by highlighting films and series outside of mainstream media and beyond North America.
Problem
The current IMDb website has legacy features and an unclear information hierarchy that inhibits users from finding information efficiently on their site.
User research
We conducted interviews and usability testing to understand better users' habits and their familiarity with the IMDb website.
Our goal for the research is to:
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Understand how users receive information about movies and tv shows
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Understand how users stay updated on new and upcoming box offices movies
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Discover users' perceptions and opinions of IMDb
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Uncover users' searching techniques on IMDb
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Learn about users' paint point when looking for information on the home screen
Interview
Due to the limitation of time, we were only able to interview one user. Our questions include some general behavior questions and questions related to IMDb.
Key Interview Question:
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How do you find movies/tv shows? What are some of the popular platform you use to find out about movies/tv shows?
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How often do you look up the cast member or directors in the movies/tv shows you have watched?
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Have you heard about IMDb? What do you know about IMDb?
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Have you use IMDb website before?
Interview findings
Our interview uncovers that users rely on word of mouth and social media to get information on upcoming movies and tv shows.
Usability Testing
Our usability test focuses on the homepage, the search results page, and the dropdown menu. It exposes the organization and labeling dilemmas that take the user away from their movies and tv show searching goals.
I highlight the dilemmas on each page on the pictures below:
Homepage
Search Results Page
Dropdown Menu
Personas
To help set our product goals, we created personas for our targeted users based on our interviews. This way we can understand more clearly on their pain points and solve for their needs.
Sitemap
IMDb’s website presents an overabundant amount of content on nearly all of its pages. This, coupled with the site’s underlying co-existing hierarchy model, leads to an unwieldy user experience in which navigation to enshrouded content is inexpedient and troublesome. Our sitemap ensures our new navigation system enables a streamlined search process and establishes a simpler information hierarchy.
Synonym Ring
The words and phrases used for subject indexing schemes throughout the platform are repetitive and relatively unintuitive. For example, in the movie categories within the navigation drop-down menu, there is a contextual link for “Top 250 Movies” as well as another for “Most Popular Movies”.
To minimize confusion with IMDb’s subject indexing taxonomy, our recommendation is to consolidate terms labeling the contextual links on the drop-down menu. This can be done by creating a controlled vocabulary in the form of synonym rings. Our synonym ring helps ensure that the language we use is accessible across a variety of search scenarios. Therefore, when users click on the drop-down menu category, the result that is shown will include all information related to the corresponding synonyms.
Content Models
Our content models ensure that our recommendations help users find access to content more quickly.
Final Solution
Integrating organization schemas, modern-day vocabulary, and popular search features increases usability and promotes a more inclusive space.
1. Predictable and Organized Homepage
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Utilizes topical and chronological organization schemas to enable an easy movie/tv show searching experience
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An inclusive space that promotes both independent and foreign films
2. Modernized Navigation System
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Implements an individual drop-down for each topical label to increase visual and information cleanliness
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Utilizes topical labels and chronological sorting schemas to create a predictable navigation system
3. An Intuitive Search System
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Implements a modern horizontal scroll system to enable the user to filter through information (inspired by Nordstrom)
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Consolidated the "Advanced Search" feature to create a precise link
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Utilizes the space at the bottom of the page to place "Recent Searches" at a more visible location
Reflection
IMDb has a large amount and a wide variety of information, so initially, our team hoped to redesign more pages and features. However, due to the time limits, we were unable to redesign as many pages as we wanted. We had to scope down and choose the ones that we think are more important.
For future improvements, I would perform more user interviews and usability tests because this would increase the validity of our design decisions. I also think completing a market analysis would be useful because it would enable our team to see how IMDb could stand out in the market.