Designing for Discovery in In-Flight Interfaces
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APEX Insight: For a more engaging in-flight entertainment system, Timothy McGuckin, design director, EMEA, Massive Interactive, says its the delivery, not the content that has to change. “I want people to come away with the reaction of, ‘Oh I’ve discovered something!'” he says.
The more content we bring on board, the more complicated the user experience, said Timothy McGuckin, design director, EMEA, Massive Interactive. During his presentation at APEX MultiMedia Market, he gave the example of his sister who tweeted about watching so many trailers she ended up going to bed because it got too late to watch an entire movie.
McGuckin envisions an in-flight entertainment concierge service that curates content based on a passenger’s preferences and that leaves passengers with a feeling of discovery. For example, you’re at a restaurant, with a the meal you want to eat in mind, but then the waiter tells you about an enticing special and you end up ordering that. “That’s probably not something I would’ve chosen, but that sounds perfect,” he explained.
McGuckin calls this “relational discovery.” Netflix, YouTube and many online shopping sites already use this. But applied inside an in-flight entertainment system that offers video, music, onboard shopping and messaging, a movie could relate to a TV show, a destination could relate to a duty-free product and an actor could relate to a tweet.
“Relational discovery” works against “decision paralysis,” which often occurs when a viewer is overwhelmed with choices.
“Relational discovery” works against what he described as “decision paralysis,” which often occurs when a viewer is overwhelmed with choices – a feeling most Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify or YouTube users will be able to relate to. The challenge for designers is addressing the paradox of choice: finding the sweet spot when determining how much content users should see on a given interface.
Personalization of in-flight entertainment systems can be as simple as reflecting your seat number, telling you what flight you were on last or offering a list of unfinished movies that remain to be watched. “How about someone bringing something to you?” McGuckin suggests.