AT&T Homezone
Individual Contribution
Product Concepts
Information Architecture
UI Design
UI Specifications
Prototyping
Front-End Development
Overview
AT&T Homezone features digital video recording, movies on demand, and photo and music sharing. This set-top box was one of the first in the market to have dual-tuner satellite receivers, allowing you to watch and/or record different programs in two locations. AT&T Homezone was designed on the MediaPortal platform. I was responsible for the telvision and music services.
One project I was heavily involved in was the creation of the music service. The Homezone music service was powered by Yahoo! LAUNCHcast (now known as Yahoo! Music). As the UI Designer for this project, I was tasked to design the Yahoo! LAUNCHcast television experience.
Process
Design Analysis
Since Yahoo! LAUNCHcast was specifically built for the web, I first examined the web navigation, UI patterns, and system components.
Insights
Keeping in mind that I was designing for the tv medium, my analysis revealed the following:
- Simplify the User Interface. The user interface and navigation, must be designed to accomodate the input devices used
- Maintain Design Consistency. Its important to maintain some familiarity with the web version. We don't want a completely different tv experience than the web where the user has to re-learn the system.
- Make it Direct and Easy. Ensure that the design does not interfere with the users goals, but still promoting play through dIscovery of new content.
Design
Wireframes, Concepts, FInal Design
Television comes with its own design constraints (input device, distance from the viewing area, aspect ratio) and different design patterns (navigation, "safe space", fonts and colors). Having an understanding on the platform limitations, several concepts were produced and continually iterated.
For additional information, feel free to contact me.