The Challenge

Warner Home Video is the home video distribution arm of Warner Bros. As home viewing became the go-to choice for millions of movie fans, the company noticed a lack of consistency in the form and function of menus produced by different studios. As an industry leader, WB sought to establish the standard for optimizing digital menus to best suit the needs of at-home movie viewers.

The company turned to Centralis to develop a set of best practices to maximize ease of use for key movie-viewing interactions, such as starting the movie, accessing the menu, and exploring special features. 

The Process

We partnered with WB to select five movie menus that illustrated a range of approaches to information architecture, navigation, and visual design. 

Our UX experts evaluated the menus against Centralis design standards and developed hypotheses to test in subsequent usability sessions. We rated the various menu designs against one another to illustrate what worked well and what should be left behind.  

During usability testing, we created a realistic movie watching experience in our in-house lab. Our family-room style setup included a sofa and large screen TV, with multiple camera angles to capture participants’ actions. We accommodate both in-person and remote client observers by live-streaming the sessions via web conference. 

The Impact

Findings from our expert evaluation were supported and augmented by feedback from real users, which enabled us to confidently suggest a set of 18 best practices for movie menu design. Our analysis outlined the strengths and weaknesses of each of the five menu designs, as well as recommendations for an optimized menu template.

Warner Home Video proceeded with the Centralis template for all new movie releases. Over time, the design became the industry standard for movie menus.