Analyzing results from past experiments and research revealed insights that informed our direction. I synthesized the research into key insights:

A UX-driven hypothesis emerged. It needed to be clear, concise, and repeatable. At its core, it needed to communicate what we were hoping for and how we believed we would get there.

THE HYPOTHESISFor viewers to find live creators they’ll watch and enjoy over time, they need to be able to seamlessly preview and switch between streams.

But everyone can read and ideate quietly on their own. I needed to socialize what I was thinking and get feedback from my peers and stakeholders. I wanted to get them excited about the idea and leadership interested in funding it further.

I visualized flows and screens to share concepts with stakeholders. Seeing the core problem mapped out brought clarity. Why were we making exploration so difficult?

I analyzed our organizational structure and recognized it mirrored the fragmented user journey – siloed teams were producing disconnected experiences. My proposed holistic solution aimed to address these root internal causes. This strengthened stakeholder confidence.

Divergence is my favorite part of the design process. It’s rare you’ll work things out on your first paddle out. 🏄🏽‍♂️

Working closely with UX Designer Ed Scherf, Watch experience co-lead, we went wide in exploration across dozens of variations, then landed on three broad strategies that we tested with participants in a concept study.

v1v2

This additional click after selecting a stream never quite landed. Participants found it disruptive and unnecessary.

• PROS Layered on contextual complexity on interaction.
• CONS Participants shared that additional clicks got in their way of joining.

v1v2v3

The gift of the “Left Nav” is that it’s accessible across most surfaces. It’s a familiar pattern to most users, especially on the web. It’s also a great way to keep the video player in view, which is a core part of the Twitch experience.

• PROS Leveraged familiar patterns and simplified engineering needs.
• CONS Lacked discoverability, especially for new users.

This placement conflicted with the Channel Page architecture. Prepending atop video and chat introduced overloaded information density. Disrupting mature interfaces adds risk of coordination bottlenecks.

• PROS Maintained familiar, existing patterns.
• CONS Added to crowded Channel Page space. Does not scale well.

Testing revealed this reimagined Browse page best resolved discovery pain points. Participants cited reduced friction sampling streams and greater control while exploring.

• PROS Lessened pogo-sticking and afforded design flexibility. Less coordination required.
• CONS Necessitated changes to information architecture.

With leadership urging boldness, we pursued the most ambitious direction. We wanted to explore wholesale-replacing the existing Browsing experience.

Why not [signal] on a card?

Progressive disclosure focuses browsing.

Limiting cards to key attributes helped with comparison between streams. Saving additional details for post-selection manages cognitive load.

Is this good for everyone?

New users especially engaged with this browsing mechanic.

This discovery mode drove improvements in their adoption and retention.

Does autoplay impact discovery?

Autoplay works great – except when it’s unexpected.

An easy play/pause toggle maintains agency while allowing for the benefits of autoplayed content.

Do we allow controlling audio?

Audio controls doesn’t have to mean “volume slider”.

Users just wanted to quickly mute unexpected, loud streams – we built a click-based 0% 50% 100% system.

Do we keep the grid view?

More streams can be compared in the grid.

We eventually prioritized it as the default view, after exploring different approaches to adopt it.

Does Chat help discovery?

Chat speed, variety, and subject matter communicate vibes.

Chat previews concisely showcase engagement quality – how the community engages each other and discusses diverse subjects.

Should we punt users after awhile?

Shorter previews may maintain momentum.

60-second previews appeared to outperform 150-seconds in separate tests. A causal link isn’t certain without isolating preview length as a variable.

Where do we stop on responsive?

Optimize for common viewport sizes.

Supporting heights below 720px aligned with data showing prevalence of smaller screens.

So, what happens when we do this?

Exposure alone may not solve discovery.

Static recommendations degrade with browsing depth. Responsive models may better match emerging content.

A new layout with a stream preview

Simplifying the process of evaluating preferred dimensions while exploring new content.

Category information popover

Diving into the category's current status, including descriptions from IGDB and real-time stats on viewers actively engaged within streams.

Hiding the preview

Preferences around concealing previews directly from the interface.

Alternate carousel layout

The original layout that started it all. However, we deprioritized it due to expected behavior around vertical scroll.

Onboarding

Providing context (and an introduction to settings soon™) around the divergent, new experience, and how to use it.

Clips playback

Using the traversal-forward interface for quickly getting through popular Clips in a category.

Stream collections (non-category)

Applying the same interface to collections of streams, like those created for homepage discovery.

Previous design ~2019

Fun fact: I actually designed this layout when we added new sorting features—where my PM graced me with the opportunity to redesign it at-large—in 2019. 😅 Teaching me that if you stick around long enough, you’ll inevitably have to contend with your past decisions.