streamVerse is a conceptual streaming aggregation platform designed to simplify how users discover, organize, and engage with content across fragmented streaming ecosystems. The project explored how personalization, unified discovery, and intelligent recommendations could reduce subscription fatigue, decision paralysis, and the growing complexity of navigating multiple streaming services.

Originally developed as part of my graduate studies in UX Design at Maryland Institute College of Art, the project evolved beyond a traditional UI exercise into a product strategy and ecosystem design challenge focused on improving the end-to-end streaming experience.

Hypothesis

Users who have access to personalized and relevant content from all their services in one place will spend less time overthinking and searching for content and have more time to enjoy them.

Research & Discovery

The research phase focused on understanding how users discover, track, and consume streaming content across multiple services.

Key Findings

Content Discovery Was Fragmented

Users frequently jumped between platforms trying to determine:

• where content was available

• what subscriptions they already had access to

• whether content was worth watching

This created unnecessary friction before viewing even began.

Recommendation Fatigue Reduced Engagement

Many users felt overwhelmed by large content libraries and inconsistent recommendation systems. Endless browsing often resulted in users abandoning sessions without selecting content.

Users Wanted Personalization — But Also Control

Users appreciated personalized recommendations, but wanted more transparency and control over how recommendations were generated and organized.

Subscription Management Was Becoming Increasingly Complex

Users struggled to keep track of:

• active subscriptions

• overlapping content

• watchlists spread across platforms

• rising subscription costs

Design Strategy

The product strategy centered around four core pillars:

Unified Discovery

Create a centralized search and discovery experience across multiple streaming services.

Intelligent Personalization

Leverage viewing preferences and behavioral signals to surface more relevant recommendations.

Simplified Decision-Making

Reduce browsing fatigue through curated pathways, smarter categorization, and personalized recommendation clusters.

Ecosystem Thinking

Design streamVerse as a platform layer that could integrate with existing services rather than compete directly against them.

Designing the Experience

Defining Tasks with Jobs Stories and Setting the Path with User Flows

Designing the Solutions

Designing the Core Experience

Personalized Home Experience

The homepage was designed to function as a dynamic recommendation hub tailored to each user’s interests, viewing behavior, subscriptions, and engagement patterns.

Rather than overwhelming users with massive content libraries, the experience prioritized:

• contextual recommendations

• continue-watching experiences

• curated collections

• trending and relevant content

• personalized discovery pathways

Cross-Platform Search & Discovery

One of the primary goals was reducing the friction of discovering content across multiple services.

The platform introduced:

• unified search

• streaming availability indicators

• content aggregation across providers

• centralized watchlists

• recommendation clustering by genre, mood, and interests

This reduced the need for users to manually navigate between disconnected streaming ecosystems.

Subscription & Content Management

streamVerse also explored how users could better manage their streaming ecosystem through:

• subscription visibility

• platform usage insights

• centralized saved content

• cross-platform watch tracking

• personalized viewing organization

The goal was not simply content discovery—but reducing the operational complexity of modern streaming consumption.

Usability Testing

Usability testing was conducted to evaluate how users interacted with streamVerse’s personalized discovery and cross-platform streaming experience. Participants completed common tasks such as searching for content, browsing recommendations, and managing watchlists across multiple streaming services.

Found value of all streaming types & service content aggregation in a single product

Improved Content Personalization: Relevant and considers user control and emotions

User Interface Improvements: Simplify some interfaces and interactions

Product & Technical Considerations

A major part of the project involved evaluating the real-world constraints and complexities of building a streaming aggregation platform.

Key considerations included:

• reliance on third-party streaming APIs

• content licensing limitations

• recommendation transparency and trust

• metadata normalization across providers

• scalability of personalization systems

• subscription platform integrations

• platform partnership dependencies

Addressing these considerations helped ground the project in realistic product and ecosystem challenges rather than treating it purely as a visual design exercise.

The scope of this project largely focused on users and while there is potential value streamVerse can deliver for users, there has to be business value and incentive for streaming services. That is the next step to explore.

Outcomes & Impact

streamVerse demonstrated how UX design could help simplify fragmented digital ecosystems through aggregation, personalization, and systems-level thinking.

The project established a framework for:

• reducing time spent searching for content

• improving cross-platform content discoverability

• simplifying subscription management

• reducing decision fatigue

• increasing engagement through personalized experiences

More importantly, the project reinforced the importance of designing products not just as isolated interfaces—but as connected ecosystems shaped by user behavior, operational constraints, and platform relationships.

Reflection

streamVerse became an important milestone in my evolution as a designer because it pushed me beyond interface design into broader product strategy, ecosystem design, and systems thinking.

The project challenged me to think about:

• platform interoperability

• personalization ethics

• ecosystem complexity

• behavioral UX patterns

• scalable product architecture

• balancing business constraints with user needs

Many of the principles explored in streamVerse—including ecosystem design, personalization, intelligent workflows, and connected user experiences—continue to influence how I approach product leadership and UX strategy today across in any industry—thoughtful balance of user needs, business objectives, and technology implementation.