📺 beIN CONNECT – Smart TV App

🧠 The Challenge

beIN MEDIA GROUP operates across 43 countries and acquired Turkey’s largest Pay-TV platform, Digiturk. While its mobile and web platforms were widely used, the Smart TV experience lagged behind—with poor navigation, low engagement, and unclear hierarchy.

The ask:

Design an intuitive Smart TV app experience for beIN CONNECT that could scale across major Smart TV platforms while elevating the overall user experience.

 

🎯 The Goal

  • Improve user navigation and content discovery
  • Reduce user confusion and support issues
  • Deliver consistent design across Android, Samsung, Apple TV, and LG
  • Align with the OTT brand vision of beIN CONNECT

 

💡 My Role

As Senior Product Designer, I led end-to-end design for the new Smart TV app—from research to final handoff. I worked closely with product managers, engineers, and executive stakeholders (including the CFO) to align on goals and execution.

 

🔍 Market Research & Benchmarking

To ground our approach, I conducted a competitor analysis of local and global Smart TV apps—benchmarking platforms like Netflix, BluTV, Amazon Prime Video, and regional streaming services.

Outcome:
  • Identified common interaction models
  • Mapped friction points in existing experiences
  • Created a presentation deck for directors to align on project goals

This analysis secured stakeholder buy-in and allowed the project to officially move forward.

🧩 UX & Wireframes

With stakeholder alignment in place, I created wireframes for Phase 1, focused on:

  • Clear, remote-friendly navigation
  • Scalable content modules
  • Accessibility considerations (TV distance, color, contrast)

After feedback rounds with stakeholders and engineers, the wireframes were finalized and moved into prototyping.

 

🧪 Prototyping & User Testing

I built interactive prototypes for user testing and demo purposes.

We conducted testing sessions with 20+ users to observe how they navigated the experience with a remote. Based on insights, I optimized the navigation flow and reduced complexity, ensuring important content was never more than a few taps away.

🎨 UI Design

Once the wireframes were validated, I transitioned into high-fidelity UI using Sketch.

Key focus areas:
  • Remote-first design patterns
  • Big-screen readability
  • Consistent visual hierarchy
  • Motion and transitions for smooth navigation

I completed designs for Android TV, Samsung, LG, and Apple TV—tailored to their platform guidelines. Final assets were delivered via Zeplin.

📊 Results & Impact

🎮 +60% improvement in user satisfaction through optimized navigation

👥 Conducted testing with 20+ real users to validate usability

🚫 Reduced user confusion by simplifying the IA and focus states

📺 Delivered scalable UI across 4 major Smart TV platforms

 

🧠 Reflections & Learnings

This project sharpened my skills in remote-first design and thinking in 10-foot experiences. I learned how important simplicity, clarity, and focus management are in TV UX. I also got to influence senior stakeholders and make a tangible impact in a highly visible product.