Design Critique - Netflix iPhone App

BACKGROUND

Started in 2007, Netflix has grown to become a household name for on-demand entertainment. In the beginning, Netflix was purely a dvd rental service, but has grown into a streaming service. Users subscribe to the service to stream movies and TV shows to their chosen device.

Using the design principles of consistency, visibility, affordances, and conceptual model, Netflix’s iPhone app utilizes a straightforward interface that allows users to focus on the content they want, rather than how to obtain it.

CONCEPTUAL MODEL

In practicing the principle of having an easy conceptual model for the user to understand, Netflix’s interface keeps the number of state-to-state transitions low and simple to grasp. When the user opens the app, they first login, then select one of the profiles they’ve created for different members of their family, and then pick one of the available movies to watch from various categories. Rather than create several menus for various possible categories that take you to separate pages, Netflix created a simple one-page interface for browsing movies that is easy to remember and simplifies the user’s process.

VISIBILITY

The iPhone app practices excellent visibility by highlighting movie choices with their DVD artwork, much like a user would see at a movie rental store, such as Blockbuster. The user can quickly decide if this movie is interesting just by glancing at the associated artwork, rather than reading a list of titles. Seeing a representation of the movie with its artwork allows the user to clearly choose a movie and launch directly into it. 

AFFORDANCES

The app’s affordances are well designed; the user doesn’t have to question the way they can interact with the application. When a user is selecting a movie, it is clear that scrolling the icons left and right will reveal more options. Once a user has selected a movie, the user has full control of playback and can interact with it much like any other video application. Instead of providing ambiguous controls, the application lets users quickly navigate with natural interactions.

CONSISTENCY

The iPhone app interface is consistent with the interfaces of other devices. All of Netflix’s apps utilize the same conceptual model of steps: first login, select who’s using the app, then pick something to watch. Even better, Netflix remembers where you stopped watching your movie across all of a user’s devices. No matter which device the user picks up, they encounter the same consistent experience. This allows users to go from device to device without focusing on figuring out what to click, it becomes second nature to select the movie they want to watch.

Desktop version of Netflix