Situation:

TikTok’s core experience was originally designed for mobile phones, resulting in a vertical video format that didn’t translate well to larger screens like TVs, tablets, and foldables. This led to an awkward viewing experience, with significant negative space and a lack of optimization for communal viewing. With the growing use of TikTok on larger devices, we needed to rethink the experience to make it more engaging, especially as TikTok TV became a social, co-watching experience in living rooms.

Task:

As the lead product designer, I was tasked with redesigning TikTok for large-screen devices, including TVs, tablets, and foldables. The challenge was to optimize vertical video content for these screens, create new interaction patterns that fit their unique form factors, and enhance the co-watching experience for TikTok TV. Additionally, we needed to introduce seamless casting from phones to TVs, minimizing the need for cumbersome keyboard inputs.

Action:

To tackle these challenges, we conducted a series of A/B tests, user surveys, and usability sessions, focusing on key areas of improvement:

• TV: I redesigned the interface to maximize screen real estate while emphasizing social interaction. We introduced features like “social co-watching,” where users could sync TikTok experiences with friends and react together, making TikTok TV more interactive. The vertical video format was adapted with dynamic side panels, reducing negative space and displaying real-time reactions and comments from connected users.
• Tablets & Foldables: The ergonomics of tablets required a complete overhaul of the interface. I reimagined the layout, moving key navigation elements to more accessible areas and optimizing content display to better fit the larger screen size. For foldables, we created a fluid interface that adjusted as the screen folded or unfolded, offering an adaptable viewing experience.
• Casting: We simplified the process of casting TikTok videos from a phone to TV, allowing users to easily share content with friends and family. This eliminated the need for clunky keyboard inputs, with seamless transitions via one-tap casting.

Result:

The redesigned TikTok experience for large screens led to notable improvements:

• User engagement on TikTok TV increased by 17%, based on post-launch surveys and analytics over a 3-month period.
• Social co-watching adoption reached 28% within six months, boosting session length by an average of 18%.
• Tablet users reported a 24% improvement in navigation ease, according to follow-up usability surveys.
• The new casting feature resulted in a 15% rise in content sharing on large screens, with users finding it 37% more efficient than previous methods, according to internal A/B testing.

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