BBC Ideas is a website of short films for curious minds, built to win back the BBC's under-35 audience.
As UX lead, I shaped its strategy, research and design across three agencies. My research changed the brief: I won the case to make it a truly on-the-go, accessible product, with subtitles on every film.
Planned as a one-year experiment, it won a Webby and is still running today.
COMPANY
BBC, the world's largest public service broadcaster
MY ROLE
Lead UX Designer
TEAM
D8 (branding)
Magnetic North (UX)
Softwire (development)
TIMELINE
2018
2×
engagement target
150M+
plays across 500+ films
Webby Award
Public Service & Activism
The Problem
The BBC was losing under-35s to short-form video on YouTube. Leadership gave us one year to win them back on the BBC's own platform. Success meant reach and engagement, with a target of one video watched per session.
The Process
Research and discovery. I led competitor benchmarking, a review of the BBC's GEL design system, and, with our in-house user researcher, many rounds of testing.
Hall testing with 60 people in one day showed people weren't sure what BBC Ideas was, so we reworked how the site explained itself before launch.
Vision and alignment. Based on the initial research findings, I set three design principles that gave all three agencies one way to judge a design:
Also using the research, I framed the work as three "How might we" questions, to maximise opportunities for creative solutions:
Insight: Understanding of the BBC Ideas proposition was mixed
Challenge: How might we get users to understand the BBC Ideas concept
Insight: Off-product ads will be the main form of acquisition
Challenge: How might we get users to stay and watch more than one video
Insight: Collections of short form videos were new to the BBC
Challenge: How might we create a quality short form video experience
Product strategy. Product wanted a mobile experience. The research showed our audience watched in short moments through the day, often without headphones.
I argued that BBC Ideas had to be designed around how people actually watch, with subtitles in every film, not added later.
Product challenged the cost. I made the case with the research, the BBC's accessibility guidelines and the risk of a fine, and got agreement. It moved the strategy from mobile-first to truly on-the-go.
Design direction. I chose to build on proven GEL design system components wherever we could, and to spend design time only where the patterns were new. With the PM and Magnetic North, I shaped a scope that fitted the budget.
Delivery. I ran the three agencies as one team, with daily stand-ups and Slack.
Magnetic North led ideation and wireframes, and I set the UX direction and reviewed the work against the brief. My quick prototypes gave users and engineers something real to react to before build.
An early prototype shown to users in usability sessions
Solution
We launched BBC Ideas with three standout features:
Collections: themed groups of films that prompt the next watch, and the main lever for engagement. A bold visual style set them apart from single films without needing bespoke artwork.
Likes and play counts: a familiar pattern that gave commissioners a signal for which films to make next. Some viewers chose films with low play counts, as buried treasure.
Universal design: as a member of the BBC's Accessibility Champions Network, I knew a design that works for disabled people works better for everyone. Subtitles, large buttons and large text made the site accessible, and easy to use on the go.
Results
The collections pattern did its job: viewers kept watching past the first film. Planned for one year, BBC Ideas became a permanent BBC service.
- 2× target engagement: 2+ video watches per session, against a target of one
- 150M+ plays across 500+ films and playlists
- Outlived the experiment: planned for one year, still running today
- Webby Award for Public Service & Activism
Credits
UX — BBC
Tom Killeen
Branding Agency
D8
UX Agency
Magnetic North
Development Agency
Softwire