Project overview

Project Background
In 2022 Cricut began a new chapter: The ability to show social media videos on the design space homepage. With the rising popularity of TikTok and Instagram reels for crafting, our members are learning about Cricut and crafting techniques in quick bite size videos. In addition, Cricut has hundreds of highly produced videos on YouTube that are very popular among our members. Adding a video capability to home will help support our efforts for onboarding and education, product releases, and engagement.

High-Level Design Goals and Objectives
• The ability to show social media videos on the design space homepage
• The ability to play videos on the canvas while working on the project

Survey

We started our researching process by conducting a survey among our current users about how they currently consume Cricut related video content? What? When? And Where?

Key Findings:
• Watching crafting videos is intentional and begins with a search
• Most often, users watch Cricut videos on YouTube.
• Watch most videos before crafting and when looking for instructions or solutions, usually immediately before crafting. Later, if more guidance is needed, they will rewatch while making.
• Most respondents watch on their phone, while some use computers for a larger screen. One user casts the videos onto her TV "making it easier to view"

Heuristic Analysis & Common UI Patterns

After conducting a survey about our users' needs and frustrations. I decided to do heuristic analysis and common UI patterns at the same time. I chose popular educational and entertaining video platforms such as Youtube, Masterclass, Etsy, Instagram, and Tiktok. I found their strengths and weaknesses; so I can build a right video platform based on the result of this analysis.

Strengths:
• Each video tiles include title: singer/maker and name of the content and caption: Production. Views. Date uploaded
• Search the video: shows the latest on the top in a smaller tile than default and continue a same format as a default page under the latest
• Play a snippet of the video while on hover on tile before click
• Ability to watch later and save to favorites on the tile

Weaknesses:
• Not being able to add the video to favorites or bookmark them from these tiles
• If user wants to bookmark the video, there is an extra step of clicking on this ... and click on save option
• Showing hashtags under the searched video tiles
• Not being able to have any interaction with the tile unless user click on the video

Persona

Based on the research findings in heuristic analysis and survey, I created this persona with the same characteristics, frustrations, and needs as our users.

Hi-Fi Screens

By gathering all the information about our users' needs and frustrations, I created high-fidelity video hovercraft which exist in our homepage tiles but have an ability to be shown in all our pages specially canvas and users can minimize/maximize it based on their needs.

Next Step

Test, iterate, and repeat.