YouTube Bookmark
Designed a bookmark feature on YouTube to help users mark and quickly return to specific video moments with ease.
Role
Product Design, Research
Tool
Figma, Zoom, Canva
Duration
8 weeks/ 2 months
Overview
What is Youtube Bookmark?
YouTube, the world's most popular video platform, is always adding new features to improve user experience. This case study of introducing a YouTube Bookmark Feature is a great example – a feature lets users easily save and go back to important moments within any video. From valuable information to funny clips, the bookmarking feature streamlines navigation and makes YouTube an even more useful tool.
Problem
YouTube Users Struggle to Save Their Favorite Moments
YouTube users currently struggle to easily save and go back to specific moments within videos. They have to rely on taking notes, using other apps, or just trying to remember— all of which are inconvenient and time-consuming. This makes watching YouTube less enjoyable.
Product Preview
A Built-In Bookmarking Feature for Ease-of-Use
This project will provide a simple way for users to save, organize, and share specific moments within videos. The key features include the ability to bookmark timestamps within videos, integrate bookmarks into the user's library for easy access, categorize bookmarks for better organization, and share bookmarked moments with others.
Streamlined Bookmark Process
Provide a streamlined process for bookmarking moments within YouTube videos, allowing users to effortlessly mark and revisit specific segments of interest.
Customizable Options
Provided users with customizable options such as categorization and labeling of bookmarks, enabling them to organize and manage their saved moments effectively.
Seamless YouTube Experience
Seamlessly integrated the into the existing YouTube platform, keeping things familiar while adding a powerful way to save moments within videos.
Competitive Analysis
The Opportunity to Improve Video Navigation and Engagement
While some platforms offer similar content to YouTube, none have a built-in feature for saving specific moments within videos with timestamped bookmarks. Tools like VideoAnt offer note-taking options, but lack seamless integration with YouTube. This presents a significant opportunity for YouTube to stand out and improve the user experience.
Vimeo
Twitch
Facebook Watch
VideoAntNo Direct Competitors
None of the analyzed platforms offer the exact timestamped bookmarking feature envisioned for YouTube.
Opportunity for Differentiation
YouTube can fill this gap and differentiate itself from competitors by offering a unique and valuable feature.
Niche Audiences:
Platforms like Vimeo and Twitch cater to specific communities, leaving a gap for a more general-purpose bookmarking solution.
Potential for Enhanced UX
Implementing bookmarking would significantly enhance the YouTube user experience by making it easier to engage with and reference content.
The competitive analysis reveals a gap in the market for a user-friendly, integrated bookmarking feature on YouTube. This feature would address the current challenges users face in saving and revisiting specific moments within videos, enhancing the overall user experience on the platform.
User Research
Need for Simple, Efficient Ways to Revisit Video Moments
To understand user needs and expectations for a bookmarking feature, I interviewed five participants from our target audience with diverse backgrounds and ages. The interviews revealed three key considerations:
Need for Bookmarking
Users want an efficient way to revisit specific moments in YouTube videos for various purposes, including learning, entertainment, and sharing.
Desired Functionality
Users expect an intuitive bookmarking feature that allows them to easily mark and return to key moments in videos.
Emphasis on Simplicity
Users prefer a simple solution that focuses on the core functionality of revisiting video segments without unnecessary complexity.
How might we provide a simple and efficient way that allows YouTube users to easily locate and revisit specific moments within videos?
Designing with Empathy through User Persona
Empathy is key! That's why I created this persona, Lisa, a sales manager who uses YouTube for fun (cooking tutorials, music) and learning (travel). Lisa represents the target audience for the YouTube Bookmark Feature. Designing for users like Lisa ensures the feature is useful and enjoyable for a wide range of people.
Lisa Smith
A 28-year-old busy sales manager who unwinds with YouTube in her free time. She enjoys a variety of content, from cooking tutorials and music videos to travel vlogs, using the platform for both entertainment and learning
Pain Points/Needs
Forgets timestamps of interesting parts and struggles to relocate them.
Desires a way to categorize and save favorite moments for easy access.
Manual searching for moments interrupts enjoyment and discourages use.
Wants to easily save and share favorite moments but lacks the tools to do so.
Solution Ideation
How Bookmarks Make Watching Even Better?
Leveraging insights from market and user research, I started by a brainstorming process to tackle identified challenges. My goal is to create a user-friendly and efficient bookmarking feature that enable users to:
Streamlined Saving
Streamline the process of saving and revisiting specific moments within videos. Users can easily mark favorite segments for quick access later.
Seamless Sharing
Share bookmarked moments with others effortlessly, fostering content discovery within your network.
Personalized Organization
Categorize saved moments with custom tags or note for better organization and enhanced content discovery experience.
Privacy Controls
Users have the flexibility to choose who can view their bookmarked moments, ensuring privacy on the platform.
Flows
Visualizing User Paths with User Flows
To ensure a seamless and intuitive experience for users, I designed the YouTube Bookmark Feature to feel natural and easy to use. Users can effortlessly add bookmarks while watching videos and revisit them later from their library without needing to re-learn the platform. Two key user/ task flows are:
Adding a New Bookmark: Users can pause the video at their desired moment, click the bookmark icon, and optionally add a title or note. Bookmarks are automatically saved to their library.
Accessing Bookmarked Moments: Users can easily navigate to their library (e.g., through the account menu) and find their saved bookmarks organized by video. Clicking on a bookmark will take them directly to that moment in the video.
Rapid Prototyping
Building the Blueprint with Sketching
After planning the user journey, I created some basic low-fi wireframes that followed YouTube's current design. These sketches helped us visualize how the bookmark feature would look and work within YouTube. They ensured everything fit smoothly with YouTube's existing interface and made it easy to use.
Hi-Fi Wireframes
Refining the Bookmark Look & Feel
I turned the initial sketches into high-fidelity wireframes, meticulously illustrating the visual integration of the bookmark feature within the YouTube interface. These wireframes demonstrate the user flow for adding and accessing bookmarks, ensuring a cohesive and visually appealing user experience. The design prioritizes clarity and ease of use, aligning with YouTube's established design principles while seamlessly incorporating the new bookmarking functionality.
Testing
User Experience Evaluation
I conducted usability testing with 5 participants, focusing on how they created and accessed bookmarks. The results were positive, with participants finding the feature intuitive and easy to use. They successfully created and accessed bookmarks, expressing high satisfaction with the feature's practicality. Some minor suggestions for improvement were noted, which can be addressed in further iterations.
Create a new bookmark for a specific music momentUser Testing Questio
Access saved bookmarks from account library pageDo they find the process intuitive and easy to navigate?
Was it clear to them how to find the bookmarks you created ?
Are there any difficulties or confusion during the tasks?
How do they feel about the overall experience?
Are there any areas that they think need to be improved?
User Testing Highlight
Positive:
The process were easy and straightforward
The feature was effective and efficient
High levels of satisfaction with the feature
Areas to Improve:
Simplify the process by removing the tag field
Improve share button placement
Consider to refine icon and explore terminology
Final Revision
Optimizing for User Satisfaction
Guide by user feedback, I implemented key changes to finalize the YouTube Bookmark Feature's design. These changes include removing the tag field and relocating the share button for a simpler, more intuitive experience.
#1 Removing the Tag Field
To simplify the bookmarking process, I removed the tag field. Users can now add hashtags directly to their bookmark notes, just like they do in video comments. This creates a more streamlined and familiar experience with clearer interface.
#2 Relocating share button
I moved the share button directly into the bookmark information section. Now, users can share bookmarked moments without any extra clicks, making the process faster and more intuitive.
Final Prototype
Introducing You to Youtube bookmark Feature
“Your Videos, Your Moments, Your Way”
Lessons Learned and Beyond
Reflecting on the case study of adding a bookmark feature to YouTube, I've learned several valuable lessons. The critical takeaways include:
Putting Users First
By conducting user interviews and usability testing, I gain invaluable insights into user behaviors, needs, and expectations. This allows me to create products that solve real problems and provide a seamless user experience.
Less is More
Users appreciate clarity and efficiency. I prioritized these by focusing on the core need: a simple way to mark and revisit important moments in videos. This streamlined approach avoids unnecessary complexity, creating a better user experience.
Iteration is Essential
By actively seeking user feedback throughout the design process, I can continuously identify areas for improvement and refine the feature alongside users, shaping design decisions at every step. This user-centric approach will guide my future work.
Going forward, as a product designer aiming to contribute to this field and provide people with user-friendly and streamlined products, I'll carry these lessons with me and continue to refine my skills as I grow in my career.
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