Sling is a cable TV alternative that allows users to stream live sports, news, shows, and movies. They went from being the #1 streaming service in 2015 to being far surpassed by Netflix and Hulu in a mere couple of months. The Sling experience quickly became outdated and fell behind competitors. WillowTree partnered with Sling to redesign their marketing website & cross-platform streaming service app.

Sling TV

The Vision

A modern, mature, & cinematic TV streaming experience.

Sling envisioned a more modern, mature, & cinematic TV streaming experience. WillowTree became an embedded team at Sling and we worked with them to define critical business goals aimed at driving engagement.

I worked with a team of 3 other designers to reimagine the Sling streaming experience across TV, responsive web, iOS, and Android. At the beginning of the engagement, we created a cohesive design system to design at scale across each platform. I led the visual design and crafted the website homepage, checkout flow, TV guide, and video player experiences.

WillowTree led the redesign of 12 streaming platforms through the use of a new & cohesive design system and business-driven approach.

Create a superior streaming service with flexible elements to be used dynamically across mobile, web & TV.

WillowTree created a style guide with flexible elements to be used dynamically across the website & TV app.

WillowTree created a style guide with flexible elements to be used dynamically across mobile, web & TV.

WillowTree created a style guide with flexible elements to be used dynamically across the website & TV app.

Based on the user research and business goals, we defined the key elements of our proposed solution and focused our efforts on creating user customization & personalization, improving feature discoverability, and integrating upsell opportunities for upgrades.

All designers worked simultaneously on different sections, which necessitated that we spend a large portion of our design efforts towards creating and maintaining an extensive, yet flexible design system. This would ensure a cohesive user experience despite screen size differences as well as enable seamless device handoff for users.

The master library was housed in Sketch where we could regularly make updates and add new components.

For development purposes, we later exported the library to InVision’s design system management software where it lived as a source of truth for development and marketing assets.

Crafting a more beautiful interface that lends to more user-centric streaming activities.

We collaborated with Sling UX teams to push the visual design into new territories; we incorporated channels colors, new photography, & new background graphics to bring visual interest to the interface.

After completing some usability testing, we learned that users prefer a lighter UI when they are learning something new or reading text. Conversely, users prefer a dark UI when they are watching content or immersed in an experience. To cater to this research while still presenting users with the concept that Sling offers users a cinematic experience, we used both dark and light interfaces across the site and TV app.

After completing some usability testing, we learned that users prefer a lighter UI when they are learning something new or reading text. Conversely, users prefer a dark UI when they are watching content or immersed in an experience. To cater to this research while still presenting users with the concept that Sling offers users a cinematic experience, we used both dark and light interfaces across the site.

Each webpage of the marketing site is managed by a different product team with varying needs.

With over 20 different product teams, a modular design system allows Sling to build and implement new pages across breakpoints. Each product team can curate the content they want to market and fit the content into the pre-designed components.

This shared library portfolio yields a massively increased velocity while consolidating technical complexity across the enterprise.

With over 20 different product teams, a modular design system allows Sling to build and implement new pages across breakpoints. Each product team can curate the content they want to market and fit the content into the pre-designed components.

This shared library portfolio yields a massively increased velocity while consolidating technical complexity across the enterprise.

With over 20 different product teams, a modular design system allows Sling to build and implement new pages across breakpoints. Each product team can curate the content they want to market and fit the content into the pre-designed components.

This shared library portfolio yields a massively increased velocity while consolidating technical complexity across the enterprise.

With over 20 different product teams, a modular design system allows Sling to build and implement new pages across breakpoints. Each product team can curate the content they want to market and fit the content into the pre-designed components.

This shared library portfolio yields a massively increased velocity while consolidating technical complexity across the enterprise.

PRESS

“Sling TV announces completely redesigned app, and it looks way nicer”

- The Verge

“The interface is cleaner, it's easier to perform tasks like recording TV and it simply feels like a more complete product.”

- Slash Gear

“Overall, the new design is much more visually appealing, easier to navigate, and just makes sense.”

- The Streamable