
By Tim Bleasdale, creative director, Ostmodern
Author:
ContributorPublish date:
Dec 20, 2018
In our digital world of OTT apps, websites and on demand products, it can be tempting to think of design purely as creating pretty pixels'. In reality, the way an end product looks is only a small part of the design process. In fact, it's only a fraction of what a visual' or user interface (UI) designer has to think about during the product design process.
Design is a way of thinking
For example, the ultimate visual layout and implementation of an interface is often preceded by a multitude of creative and strategic challenges, which need to be thought through or designed .
At this point, I need to be clear about what I mean by design'. It's a word that has different, subtle meanings which have evolved throughout the years. Design can mean:
'To make, shape'
To mark out, point out; devise; choose, designate, appoint (14th Century)
An intention to act in some particular way (18th Century)
Or the rather sinister: to contrive, plot, intend (16th Century)
Design encompasses so much more than just:
To plan execute and fashion with artistic skill'
Or a drawing, especially an outline' (17th Century)
It is important that designers not only gather the information they need to make creative decisions, but help others to apply creative rigour to their own thinking. For this reason, we always encourage others to think like designers. This is the idea of design thinking' that you may have heard about. My favourite element (and I believe the most important) of the design thinking' concept is empathy'.
It's crucial to begin with empathy towards everyone who is integral to a products development. This means empathising with and understanding: your audience; the demands of the business; and the people who will help you deliver the product. Understanding their expectations helps to create products which are very close to what all these groups need. This means that after launch, the number of iterations and improvements required to keep a product successful, and to anticipate change, will be much easier to manage. Too many times, I've seen businesses that do not empathise fighting a losing battle, trying frantically to engage their users after the fact, constantly labouring to reduce churn, and always being on the back foot.
Form should follow function
This saying is an old but good one. It is increasingly relevant in the diversifying marketplaces of video content and broadcast.
Looking at the high functioning products in this space, it's tempting to follow what they do as best practice for everything. I hear so many people referencing Netflix, wanting to be the Netflix of this', the Netflix of that'. But we forget that Netflix is designed from the ground up to compete in a particular environment, and if that's not your environment, then maybe you don't need to be like Netflix. In fact, it's probably best that you're not like Netflix.
I'll concede that there are certain paradigms that these high functioning products like Netflix popularise. They offer methods of interacting that people come to understand or even expect. However, that doesn't mean that copying these products feature-for-feature will be right for your business, content, or audience. It's a common myth in this industry that a product has to have every single feature going in order to compete a sort of feature space race. At Ostmodern, we don't follow this thinking. We believe that if you are always following you'll never innovate, and subsequently you'll never fulfil the needs of your audience. You'll never create a standout product. It's also worth remembering that if your aspirations don't fall within what's feasible you may not even be able to launch your product: your product will become the Netflix of lost causes.
The 80/20 approach
This is why empathy is so important. If you understand the expectations of your audience, your business objectives, and any complexities of the build, you'll be able to get the most out of delivering a lean set of features. This leads to what we refer to as the 80/20 approach, which is a nice way of ensuring your product asserts its personality and stands out from the start without breaking the bank or gambling on a crazy feature set.
When developing a new product or conducting a reset, our focus is to launch a product that can evolve with its users in the right direction. However, the key objective has to be that it will just work. In the case of video and broadcast products, this usually means that people need to be able to find and consume the content efficiently. It's the bread and butter of the products we make for a launch product, this is probably what you should focus 80 per cent of your effort on. This leaves 20 per cent of the effort to implement a unique interaction brand and features that differentiate your product and resonate accurately with your user base.
It's for this reason that we always meet and get into the mindset of an audience when defining product strategy. Understanding how they want to be spoken to, and what they really care about, is going to save a lot of time and money.
Where are your principles?
To develop a truly differential product, an understanding of your uniqueness needs to be referenced and reinforced throughout the development process.
This can be done by turning that empathy and understanding into rules or product principles.' Having product principles' which are driven by an audience makes further design decisions easy. Done well, the design process can work as a kind of snowball effect where each individual decision makes the next decision easier. Living by product principles' is t
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
02/04/2026
Evergent will showcase new innovations in subscriber lifecycle management and monetization at NAB Show 2026 (Las Vegas, April 18 22), including:
New advances i...
02/04/2026
WUPPERTAL, Germany April 1, 2026 Riedel Communications is proud to be part of Binghamton University, State University of New York, Athletics' milestone...
02/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have today announced new, fully managed, cloud-native Master Control services designed to meet the growing operational demand...
02/04/2026
Avid today announced it will showcase new innovations designed to help media companies win in the new media economy at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas Co...
02/04/2026
PlayBox Neo helps AIS PLAY kick-off premier football content direct to fans
PlayBox Neo has provided MIMO Tech with a brand-new major installation to extend it...
02/04/2026
Globo has transitioned its primary content distribution to Secure Reliable Transport over a fully IP-based managed backbone using Synamedia's Quortex PowerV...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Al-Fadl Salem The Danish singer recently performed for the queen of Denmark.
April 1, 2026
By
Editorial Staff
Image by Junia Morrow
Wh...
02/04/2026
Taku Hirano's Career Is Defined by Identity Whether he's performing, composing, teaching, or developing instruments, the do-it-all percussionist sees ...
02/04/2026
2FM Breakfast to extend on weekday mornings from 6am to 10am
Doireann Garrihy m...
02/04/2026
RT News & Current Affairs is pleased to announce the appointment of RT Radio 1 reporter, Barry Lenihan, as Political Correspondent.
Barry has reported across...
02/04/2026
No joke - GFN Thursday is skipping the tricks and heading straight into the games. April kicks off with ten new titles, bringing fresh adventures to GeForce NOW...
01/04/2026
As sports media organization continue to seek out new ways to streamline their p...
01/04/2026
The SVG GFX Forum hit New York City earlier this month for a day packed with sessions focused on the creative strategy and technology behind today's cutting...
01/04/2026
This year, Spotify celebrates the five-year anniversary of EQUAL, our global pro...
01/04/2026
Analogue-style tape splicing in the digital domain
In this era of digital recording and multiple layers of Undo, it seems that the fading art of tape splici...
01/04/2026
Latest release introduces new Orbita Engine
Zero G's latest release marks the start of a new series of libraries, as well as introducing an all-new engi...
01/04/2026
Until now, one format has largely been left behind
Warm Audio's extensive product range includes modern-day recreations of all manner of sought-after s...
01/04/2026
A piano with glass vessels for strings!
The Crow Hill Company's recently released Gong Piano offered a refreshing new take on piano libraries, harnessin...
01/04/2026
Remote Streaming Studio Condenser
Aim Audio have just revealed their latest creation, the ESSENCE RS Remote Streaming Studio Condenser, which becomes the wo...
01/04/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/04/2026
Bilbao, April 1st, 2026 - AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technolog...
01/04/2026
Green Hippo is excited to announce the launch of its new Hippotizer Media Server training courses at Pixel Academy, a purpose built AV learning hub combining ha...
01/04/2026
TAG Video Systems, a global leader in IP-native broadcast monitoring, multiviewing, and quality control, today announced a collaboration with Oracle Cloud Infra...
01/04/2026
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leading provider of wireless audio solutions and RF management, was on site at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, wher...
01/04/2026
AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technology solutions, has deployed next , the new IPTV platform of the Austrian telco LIWEST, marking the first st...
01/04/2026
LTN, a leader in fully managed IP video transport, and Ateme, a global leader in video compression and delivery solutions, today announced a collaboration integ...
01/04/2026
Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations for Creative Pros in Adobe Illustrator
Deepa Subramaniam April 1, 2026
0 Comments
I'm excited to share that...
01/04/2026
Boland Communications Introduces QD4K315HDR10 QD-OLED Series Monitors for Live P...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Mediagenix Showcases Semantic Intelligence-Powered Title Management, Schedule Op...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Victoria Mon t Brings the Multi-Hyphenate Mindset to Career Jam 2026 The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer shared how versatility and self-inves...
01/04/2026
UKTV today announces that Jonathan Newman has formally stepped into the role of ...
01/04/2026
A New Season of Expression: Save 30% On Ivory 3There are moments in music when everything changes-when new ideas break through and redefine what's possible....
01/04/2026
Wuppertal April 1, 2026
Binghamton University Strengthens Student Run Producti...
01/04/2026
Back to All News
A Demon Falls for a Human in Long Vacation: Netflix Greenlight...
01/04/2026
Back to All News
All WWE Is Now Live Only on Netflix in Italy
Entertainment
01 April 2026
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
ALL WWE IS NOW LIVE
ON NET...
01/04/2026
Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 1, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
01/04/2026
Rugby fans won't miss a moment of the action this spring, with full Women...