Reflection point: Patterns and Flows
I was asked to write a post about an app that I love and use often. I spent the last ten minutes just wondering, “Do I even use an app enough to say that I love it?”. But then I realized that I had Netflix opened.
I watch Netflix as a way to unwind and get involved in a story without having to pick up a book… I watch Netflix when I want to educate myself on the latest documentary… I watch Netflix when I just need some background sound while I’m doing something else.
I’ve been a customer of Netflix for what feels like a decade because of it’s versatility and ease-of-use. Everything is organized in a way that makes sense through modularity and sectioning.
On top of that, I’m able to personalize the experience by adding shows and movies to “my list” while also keeping track of where I am on the many shows that I’m viewing through the “continue watching” list.
There are only a few ways to decide on a show to watch (four to be exact but one does lead to turning off the TV).
Netflix makes it incredibly easy to reach the end of each user flow path by allowing you to hover over titles to watch trailers without having to load a new page.
Even when you know what you want to watch and you search for it (via a reactive search by the way), you are still able to watch the trailer anyways.
There are not many options in terms of what you can do on the app. There are very conventional elements like the top navigation, a search bar, a profile dropdown, notifications, etc.
It’s the very fact that there are not many options that makes Netflix so powerful and easy to use. If you haven’t used Netflix before, I suggest you give it a shot!