Add a Feature to YouTube Shorts

A Conceptual Project

As users increasingly consume short-form videos through YouTube Shorts, it brings attention to a need to enhance user engagement by providing additional functionality. With the implementation of a “Save” feature for YouTube Shorts, we aim to empower users to easily save their favorite Shorts for future reference enhancing the user experience.

Overview:

Roles: UX/UI Designer, UX Researcher

Team: Valerie Bui (solo)

Tools: Figma, FigJam, Google Meets

Duration: 4-5 weeks

View Prototype

Background

In 2020, YouTube Shorts made its way into the YouTube platform providing short-form videos to its users, making it a direct competitor to TikTok and Instagram Reels.

For this case study, I will be researching YouTube Shorts’ potential, its strengths & weaknesses, and understanding what YouTube Shorts has to offer its users compared to TikTok and Instagram Reels. With these findings, I will find a user-centered solution to enhance the experience of using YouTube Shorts.

Discovery

Competitive Analysis

Key Takeaways:

Given that YouTube already has an existing diverse audience, YouTube Shorts has the potential to grow and increase in usage. Against TikTok and Instagram Reels, YouTube has the advantage of having a user base that spans across a wider age spectrum.

There are many features that YouTube Shorts can gain compared to its competitors. This gives the opportunity for YouTube to introduce new features and uniquely refine its features.
As a result, it is important to explore ways to enhance the experience for YouTube Shorts users while encouraging continued engagement.

User Interviews

Target Audience

Based on the market research, individuals between the ages of 15-35 were gathered as the target audience for user interviews

Participants

6 participants

Methodology

In-person and Zoom meetings
Affinity mapping

Our Goals:

Learn and understand current users’ behaviors and motivation when watching YouTube Shorts
Identify frustrations/difficulties users face when interacting with YouTube Shorts
Understand how users compare YouTube Shorts with competing platforms

Key Takeaways:

Users found Shorts to be unenjoyable because of the overwhelming design and layout which diminishes the user experience
Users pointed out how there is no function to “Save” a Short which limits the accessibility to videos they find interesting or want to revisit later
Half of the interviewees found that the Shorts’ content was engaging while the other half thought the content wasn’t as engaging but mentioned that it may be due to the fact that they do not interact with Shorts enough to better curate the desired content

Affinity Mapping

Define

User Persona

Based on market research and real data from interviews, a persona was synthesized as reference to understand user behaviors, needs, and motivations.

POV Statement:

I’d like to find ways to help YouTube Shorts users save and conveniently access their saved Shorts so they can organize and revisit their favorite Shorts. This gives them a more personalized and enjoyable viewing experience.

HMW Statement:

How might we make it effortless for users to save and organize their favorite YouTube Shorts while encouraging return visits?

Ideation

User Flow

I've created a comprehensive user flow that traces a user's path, starting from the initial discovery of a Short, moving on to saving the Short into a playlist, and ultimately returning to the Short within their Library.

Design Inspiration

Utilizing these screenshots helped me in guiding my design decisions, ensuring cohesiveness within the app's interface.

The placement of the ‘Save’ function will be placed in the menu popup when users tap the kabob menu at the top right.

When revisiting the saved Short, users will conveniently access it through their ‘Library’. The Shorts and long-form videos will be distinguished & displayed in the same manner of YouTube’s established ‘History’ layout.

Design

Low Fidelity Wireframes

High Fidelity Wireframes

Usability Testing

I conducted a usability testing to gather feedback from potential users who fit the target audience and they generally had positive feedback about the feature. Although the feature was proven to be useful, there are changes to be made. The key areas that I focused attention for design refinement are:

Navigation: Streamlining the Short-saving process by reducing the number of steps.
Preventing User Errors: Implementing a confirmation dialog after saving a Short to mitigate potential mistakes.
User Interface: Enhancing the layout for Playlists and Shorts to optimize the user experience.