UX/UI Design | July 2022
TikTok Search
Reinventing the sad paths users encounter to improve the short-form video viewing experience.
Overview
The Highs & Lows Of TikTok
TikTok is the most popular short-form video application with 1B monthly active users. Consuming video content changed the game once TikTok rose to success in October 2020. Other social media platforms such as Instagram later incorporated short-form video features to their apps to compete with the popular app.
While this app could steal your attention for hours, there are still pain points that people face everyday. I explored the challenges avid users are facing and worked on a redesign to help create a better experience.
Project Details
Role:
UX/UI designer on a solo conceptual project
Tools:
Pen & Paper, Figma, Optimal Sorts, Google Suite, Maze
Timeline:
Five-Week Design Sprint
Problem Statement
Whenever you see a funny video, what is one of the things you do after? You probably want to share it with a friend so you can talk about it together. What if something interrupts you and you didn't get a chance to share it with someone? Then you would have to type in such a descriptive description in the search bar to find it OR if you liked the video, you can search your likes. However, most of the time you are not able to find it and share it with your friends.
Users need a way to easily locate videos they have previously viewed to share with friends because the search function is difficult to navigate through and there are too many videos to sift through.
Hypothesis
I believe that if I improve the search process for users, then they are likely to interact and share more content with friends and family. I will know this to be true when we see an increase in screen time usage across the application.
The Why
According to a survey I conducted for this project, 87% of frequent TikTok users share videos with other people because they find the content relatable, funny, and informative. If users are unable to find videos to share, their viewing experience would be affected.
Current Screens
Research & Insights
Is TikTok A Really Good App?
To understand the pain points users are facing, I conducted a survey with 48 individuals to learn more about their short-form video usage.
84%
of individuals use TikTok Daily
56%
of those individuals use other apps such as Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat
71%
of those individuals share videos with other users
From there, I recruited 8 individuals to interview to further understand any struggles they faced when using the app.
#1: Inability To Find Videos Through Search/Liked Videos
"I" Statements
-
I wish I could easily search through my liked videos
-
I forget to like videos when scrolling through my FYP which makes it hard to find them in the future
-
I use the search feature to look for videos, but often give up since I can't find it
#2: Awareness Around Viewing History
"I" Statements
-
I did not know there was a watch history feature
-
I wish I knew about this feature whenever I accidentally refresh my FYP
-
I wish this feature was more accessible
After looking into the users, I explored other platforms to understand how users can navigate through search and viewing history.
TikTok is really doing well when it comes to these features, so we really have to focus on enhancing the experience so users don't switch to the other platforms.
Persona
What Do We Know About The Average User?
Through our research and interviews, I created a persona to better understand the average TikTok user.
Name: Jane Stinson
Age: 24
Location: New York, NY
Bio:
Jane is a Gen Zer who uses TikTok in her free time for entertainment. She enjoys seeing content that is relatable and likes sending it to her friends. She rarely uses other platforms for short-form video content as she believes TikTok is the most up to date with trends and easy to use.
To further understand how Jane feels when using the application, I created a journey map showcasing the highs and lows experienced throughout the process.
.jpg)
Click to see more.
Key Takeaways
#1
Users are struggling with navigating through their liked videos, so they need a way to easily filter through them
#2
Users were not aware of the Watch History feature so this feature needs to be more accessible when users accidentally refresh their FYP
Concept & Design
How Might We Simplify The Search Experience To Reduce Frustration For Users When Encountering A Sad Path?
Sketches
Before jumping into the design, I first sketched out key screens to help visualize how users can navigate through the following tasks:
Search: Recently Viewed
Including another tab for recently viewed videos would help people narrow down their search
Profile: Watch History
Rather than digging through settings to find the Watch History, it should be included under profile for easy access
Wireframes
From the sketches, I created wireframes in Figma to help break down the full story from start to finish.
Please note that I used a TikTok UI Kit to help follow creative guidelines within the application. UI Kit Credit to La Noche.
Testing
Does The Design Hold Up In The Real World?
I conducted usability tests on the following tasks to understand how well the design works:
Task #1
Use search to look for a video you previously viewed
Task #2
Navigate to your Watch History via an alert that pops up after accidentally refreshing the FYP
Task #3
Find a video you viewed yesterday that you forgot to like
Task #4
Go to your profile and search your likes for a specific video
Test Results
66%
of users found the "Recently Viewed" tab helpful when searching for videos
77%
of users were able to find their "Watch History" within the "Profile" tab
77%
of users found the "Search" feature within their "Likes" easy to use
Revisions
While most users were able to navigate through all the tasks successfully, there was some confusion with the filters when searching through "Likes" in the "Profile" tab.
Unclear Filters
-
Problem: Users found the filter for "Likes: Latest to Earliest" confusing
-
Solution: I updated the language to clarify that selecting this would show your liked videos relative to the date
Final Prototype
Addressing The Sad Paths In The Final Product
After the usability tests, I made some tiny adjustments and finalized the prototype to speak to the following scenarios:
Looking For A Specific Video?
Users can now use "Search" to find previously viewed videos via the "Recently Viewed" tab
Accidentally Refresh Your FYP?
A notification pops up when you refresh your FYP and asks if you want to view your "Watch History" allowing users to view previously viewed videos within the "Profile" tab
Wanna Search Through Your Likes?Users can search and sort their "Likes" to look for a specific video to rewatch or share with other users
Future Roadmap
Reflections On My Journey
TikTok is an application I shamelessly use too often, which is why I chose to work on it as a passion project. Despite the countless hours I spent on the app, I have learned so much through it. However, when it came to the project, there were definitely moments I wish I didn't spend on TikTok.
Here are a couple of things I would want to do next:
-
Clear Usability Tests: Whenever I conduct usability tests, I always find some people that have trouble with the prompts. For future projects, I need to work on using clear language for the tasks while also not giving away each step needed to complete the task
-
Sharing Videos via Groupchats: For the next part of this project, I would like to address the ability to create groupchats on TikTok to allow for users to be able to send videos to multiple people without leaving the app