Design Omission: The Cure to Being an EOP?
Since my second semester at Brown, my friends have dubbed me an enemy of progress (eop), someone who will distract you from making advances in your work. At first, I really fought against it. But the more I’m in group settings, the more I see a pattern in my behavior that justifies my qualification as an eop. This has all culminated in the purchase of a 50 inch Roku TV to distract my suitemates from getting any working done this year.
While I love the TV overall and it has added a lot of value to my humble grad center abode, the UI of the remote app could use some work. The pros of the app are that it is convenient, has a tab bar that is easy to use, and a variety of features are supported in the app (addition of channels, control of the TV, and ability to cast from phone to tv). My biggest grievances with the app usually comes with the remote control feature of the app while I’m using a search bar or setting up a channel.
Given the dynamic nature of the rest of the app and how it integrates with the smart tv, I was expecting this to conform at certain locations (like search bars) as well. Unfortunately, on apps like Youtube, Spotify, or Hulu where typing text into a search bar is essential to accessing the content that is being hosted by the service, you have to type every letter similar to a standard remote. Setting up channels also contains a missed feature. Whenever you add a channel that depends on a monthly subscription, you are prompted to go to a website on another browser on your phone and authenticate there, a feature which could be within the app.
My metric for the evaluation of the app’s UI features comes mainly from intuitive use. While this app is called a remote, it essentially exists to enhance the experience of using the tv and minimize the tedious aspects of adding channels, using content, etcetera. Additionally, I think my evaluation of the layout and clutter are informed based on using apps that function in a similar manner as well as what is most efficient(the layout and general design are overall great though). Along those lines, I can infer why most portions of the app were added. Using a regular remote to add channels is much more tedious than just adding it through the app and refreshing the TV. Tab bars are extremely popular in most modern design patterns so a lot of users would be familiar with the flow. Given the target demographic (probably users a little older in a household setting), it does most of what it should. The search feature which finds tv shows, movies, and articles then tells you how to display it on the TV is an added plus.
All of the features mentioned in the last paragraph contribute to it being a memorable experience that progressively gets easier to use and more integrated into my routine using the tv. The only major design choices I would make have been outlined earlier in this post. Typing through character by character discourages me from using to TV to distract my friends, stopping me from being an EOP. So hey, maybe the app is perfect just the way it is!
