movie trailer app case study

Movie Trailer App Ux case study

Mobile Payment Bank App UX Case Study Task

UX Design Case Study - Movie Theater App

As part of Google’s immersive UX certificate program, my prompt for the project is to design a mobile ticketing app for a movie theater in Portland .

Market Research
Competitive Analysis
User Interviews
Empathy Maps
User Journey Maps
Low-Fidelity Prototype
Usability Tests
High-Fidelity Mockups
High-Fidelity Prototype
Usability Studies

Business Problem

Since the pandemic, people’s preference for movie consumption has changed..

According to a recent survey published by Variety , 70% prefer stream over theaters. Only 13% prefer theaters over stream, and the remaining 17% are unsure. Moreover, this trend is also reflected in the revenue of each industry - streaming services thrived while the traditional theaters suffered.

As the pandemic got worse, Indirect competitors turned direct.

My competitive analysis revealed that more and more movies became available on streaming platforms and digital media stores on premiere days. On the other hand, theaters were slowly reopening, but they had to follow safety guidelines and regain consumer trust.

How might I compete in the market, and differentiate the experience?

Understanding the Users

Who are we serving.

To learn about consumer opinions, I need to identify the primary users to conduct user interviews. According to my research, Caucasians, Asians, and African Americans at age 25 – 39 are likely the primary user group.

Digital premieres might not be as convenient as I thought.

Through interviewing 5 matching people, I discovered that they weren't all happy about the digital premieres due to the added complexities and limitations.

People are too busy to keep track of new movies’ platform exclusivities.

4 people wish that there is a streaming option for new movies.

People need to do additional research due to insufficient info on many platforms.

2 people expressed that they aren’t aware of new releases due to the shift to working from home.

Based on the learnings from the interviews, I identified the two main types of customers in the market.

While some Interviewees enjoyed the convenience of digital premieres, others missed the immersive theater experience.

Kevin is a Project Manager and a father of two who needs a pay-as-you-watch option for streaming new movies because he is tired of subscribing to a new platform for one movie.

While I miss going out to watch movies with friends and family, I am happy with the convenience of streaming.

Mia is a busy Barista who needs straightforward access to new movies because it is a hassle to keep changing subscriptions for exclusivities.

It is quite overwhelming to start because there are so many streaming platforms, and I miss watching movies in theaters.

Revisiting the Prompt

Will a movie ticketing app help?

The research and interview insights revealed that a simple ticketing app might not fill the gap. The business could expand its potential by selling movie tickets for other theaters. However, adding a streaming option for movies would be necessary to differentiate itself from the competition.

Iterating the Solution

The personas helped me determine the key screens in the experience..

Keeping the persona needs in mind, I sketched out wireframes on paper to explore different possibilities. Moreover, these sketches allowed me to map out the user flows.

The movie detail screen had to present the right information to address the pain points.

All pain points are rooted in unwanted additional works. Rather than actively encourage users to spend time outside of the app, I aimed to include all the needed information for decision-making in every step.

Critic Scores : Users could quickly decide to proceed or not with movies.

Cast & Crew: Profile pictures and names allowed users to identify actors they liked.

Director: The brief description enabled users to set expectations on the storytelling style.

Universal Ticket System: Users could choose their preferred way to watch a movie with a simple direct purchase.

Low fidelity movie detail screen with annotation

Low fidelity prototype revealed oversights and opportunities early.

I conducted remote unmoderated usability tests with 5 people to verify my approach. While participants confirmed that many designs are pleasant additions, they also revealed a major oversight from the cast profile screen.

Many participants expressed that they got lost after exploring the movies on the cast profile screen.

Additionally, few participants highlighted that the flow felt unfinished because they couldn't see the ticket in their library.

Confusion point in the low fidelity prototype

Movie discovery shouldn't have been in the secondary flow in the cast profile.

Redesigning the home screen allowed users to discover movies easier at a glance, and removed the confusion point that took users out of the main flows.

Movie List : Instead of seeing one movie at a time in two different sections, users could see 3 at a time and toggle between sections in the new design.

Trailers: Users could discover movies the theater way with a dedicated trailer section for current and upcoming movies.

Home screen comparison between low fidelity and high fidelity

Touch target size could make or break the experience.

Keeping the touch target's width and height of every interactive element at least 44px provided better accessibility. It also ensured users tap on elements with accuracy.

Touch target highlight on the seating screen

High fidelity prototype established a realistic experience to receive a more accurate evaluation.

In the second round of remote unmoderated usability studies, participants responded positively to the whole experience with only a few minor feedbacks. For example, participants wanted to see the expiration date of streaming tickets on the checkout screen.

High fidelity screens of home, movie details, and order summary

Final Result

A movie ticketing app has a streamlined transaction process and a delightful movie discovery experience that

doubled the completion rate from the initial low-fidelity concept and

received high satisfaction ratings from participants in the final usability study.

A quote from user feedback

The app is very clean and straightforward, even little kids know how to use it.

I was surprised by the number of oversights discovered through the usability studies. Thanks to the user feedback, I improved the design tremendously from my initial concept. I also learned that using shapes as placeholders is very confusing to users.

With hindsight, I do wish that I would've considered the risk tolerance and scope more because it is likely not a fitting solution for a small company due to the risk and implementation cost.

Thanks for taking the time to review my work. If you have a project opportunity or design feedback, please feel free to send me an email:

Cinetap: UX Case Study (In Progress)

I found from the sruvey that most users purchase snacks every time or most of the time, so this is a critical part of the moviegoing experience., i used the screener survey to get a general idea for how users currently feel about the process of ordering snacks., you may also like.

Movie Snack Ordering App

This proposed mobile application was made for fictional movie theater Reel Deal Theater, in an attempt to raise the sale of their snacks to movie-goers. The main flow focused on for this project was adding snacks to a user's cart and checking out. In addition to the design, research was conducted to create user personas, user journeys, and competitive audits; and usability studies were performed.

This project is a personal project, and is not shipped.

About the Project

The app should use a dark color scheme, in the event someone would like to use it while in the movie theater
Snacks should list the same options you could ask for at the counter, with an area for special requests
It should be possible to log into a rewards accounts to earn and redeem points for purchases

Business Research

Cinemark , a US-based movie theater company identified as a direct competitor. Cinemark markets itself as being very accessible and open. It trusts its customers to know what they want and make their own decisions, offering all their items in a clear and open fashion. It takes advantage of its assigned seating to offer unique experiences for their clientele, such as item delivery to their seat.
AMC Theaters , a US-based movie theater company identified as a direct competitor. AMC Theaters is more casual and laid-back, being located alongside amusement parks and tourist attractions primarily. Their goal is to be just as fun as the places around them, and offer experiences like “to-go popcorn” and an icee machine.
Regal Entertainment , a US-based movie theater company identified as a direct competitor. Regal tries to be a higher-end cinema, with its Crown Club and referring to their customers as royalty. Their popcorn tends to be fresher than that of their competitors, and they know it. The top quality they use in their products is evident in their marketing efforts.
HOYTS , an Australia and New Zealand-based movie theater company identified as an indirect competitor due to their location. HOYTS markets itself to customers as being a fun stop along the way if they want to see a movie or have a good time with their friends and family. Due to my lack of familiarity with this brand in comparison to the others, I did not have previous in-person experience to draw from, possibly altering the report slightly.

User Research

How often do you go to the movie theater?
How many people typically go with you?
What snacks or drinks do you take with you into the movie?
What do you like and dislike about getting snacks at the movie?
Is there any way you could think of to improve the process?
Signage should be placed around theater to promote the app, or cashier should mention it to customers
Doors should be push-to-open to accommodate people carrying snacks
Cashier should confirm if customer wants drinks or other snacks before ringing up next customer
The app should offer ways to connect rewards card with purchase
Seating should be assigned to limit issues if exiting mid-movie
A delivery service should be created to bring orders directly to seats
Offer a bonus or discount for first-time users
Add a way to invite people to group orders
As part of group ordering, separate out items into groups for distribution and preview in-app
Allow selection for pick-up time in advance of final order confirmation
Have dedicated staff at pick-up area to handle in-person payments

Low-Fidelity Design

UX Research Study

Prompt: Add a snack to your cart. Follow-Up: How easy was this task to complete?
Prompt: Add a second snack to your cart. Follow-Up: How easy was this task to complete?
Prompt: Go to any other screen, then return to your cart. Follow-Up: How easy was this task to complete?
Prompt: Complete the checkout process for all items in your cart. Follow-Up: Is there anything you would change about this process?
Prompt: Do you see any possible uses for this application? Follow-Up: Would you personally use this application?
Prompt: How did you feel about this application overall? Follow-Up: What did you like and dislike about this application?
The bottom navigation was the correct option in this app
The snacks screen would recieve more feedback if product images were placed
The cart screen offers a good set of options for items and next steps
Instead of a notification, there should be a dedicated way to get to the cart
There should be a way to earn points on an order or log into an account
The confirmation screen needs a slight redesign and clearer instructions

High-Fidelity Design

In Conclusion

(Live Training) Case Study: "135% growth in cold call meetings booked month-over-month"

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User reviews

May 7, 2024 (United Kingdom)
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