Letterboxd
Designing a More Social Network
The Problem:
While Letterboxd positions itself as a social platform—emphasizing features like tracking films, saving watchlists, and sharing recommendations—the social aspect feels limited. Users can view and comment on friends' activity but lack tools for direct collaboration or interactive sharing.
The Solution:
Adding a feature that allows users to discuss films and reviews they love with their friends directly within the app.
ROLE
UX Researcher, UI Designer
TOOLS
Figma (Plugins), Maze
DURATION
75 Hours
INDUSTRY
Entertainment
Design Process
Behind the Screens
Platform Audit
As a longtime film enthusiast and regular Letterboxd user, I began this project by auditing the current platform. I identified opportunities to enhance social connections, aiming to bring users closer to each other and the movies they love.
One key problem I wanted to explore was the lack of a direct messaging feature. To validate its potential value, I conducted research to see if current users would find it beneficial and if it could attract new users to the app.
User Surveys
I decided to send out surveys to reach a broader audience and gather quantitative data that could highlight trends between users and non-users of the platform. This data would also be valuable for presenting clear insights to stakeholders.
I received a total of 12 responses.
Key insights:
Majority of current Letterboxd users rated their satisfaction with the current social features on the app 3/4 out of 5.
Only being able to share outside the app isn’t very intuitive, as it disrupts the user experience and weakens the connection users have with the platform.
Competitor Analysis
With these social movie platforms compared side by side, it becomes clear that Letterboxd has a significant opportunity to stand out by enhancing its social features.
Setting the Scene
Who are we solving for?
How might we streamline the recommendation process so users don’t have to rely on external platforms?
User Flows
Opening Direct Messages
By integrating the new feature into the “activity” section of the app, this flow enhances the user experience while maintaining familiar navigation patterns.
Direct Messaging Film Reccomendation
Building on the direct messaging feature, film recommendations can be sent directly to friends.
The flow includes an option to add personalized comments when sending a film to a friend, encouraging deeper engagement and conversation within the app.
Direct Messaging Film Review
Building on the direct messaging feature, film reviews can be sent directly to friends.
The flow also includes an option to add personalized comments when sending a recommendation to a friend, encouraging deeper engagement and conversation within the app.
Pivoting and Prioritization
Idea:
Another idea I had was exploring a Personalized Recommendation Feature that would use an algorithm to suggest films based on a user’s watch history, reviews, and favorite genres. This feature aimed to mimic platforms like Netflix while providing tailored suggestions directly within Letterboxd.
Why it didn’t work:
Through user interviews, I discovered that Letterboxd users value the app for its human-centric approach to film discovery. A few expressed distrust of algorithmic recommendations, preferring to discover movies through friends rather than automated suggestions.
What I learned:
This feedback showed the importance of preserving Letterboxd’s identity as a community-focused platform. Instead of relying on algorithms, I pivoted to focus on features that allow users to share personalized recommendations with friends in the app.
Rough Draft to Final Cut
Sketches
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Opening direct messages
Sending a review to a friend
Sending a film to a friend
Final Screens
Opening direct messages
Sending a film to a friend
Sending a review to a friend
Testing the Scene
Research Goal
To evaluate the usability and user experience of adding a direct messaging feature in Letterboxd.
Methodology
Unmoderated usability testing of high fidelity prototype with 5 participants - target demographic of current Letterboxd users.
What Worked Well:
Direct messaging feature rated highly valuable by users (4.6/5 average rating)
Users successfully completing most messaging tasks despite varying complexity
Room for Improvment:
High misclick rate (43.8%) when users were turning on the friend notification in the direct message details
It took users longer to share a review from the friend activity feed (34s average)
Prototype
Rewrites (Iterations)
That’s a Wrap
This project was particularly exciting for me as a frequent Letterboxd user and film enthusiast. Designing a feature to make the platform more social allowed me to merge my passion for film communities with thoughtful design solutions.
Along the way, I faced challenges in balancing new features with Letterboxd's existing user experience, ensuring that the flow felt intuitive and non-intrusive.
Moving forward, I plan to refine the design based on additional user feedback, explore further social integrations like collaborative lists and group chats, and continue testing ways to enhance engagement without disrupting what makes Letterboxd so beloved.