Helping Netflix users spend less time choosing and more time watching
Personal Project
Overview
Netflix has thousands of options. Somehow, choosing one is still the hard part.
Opening Netflix often starts the same way: scroll through a few rows, open a title, go back, and keep looking. When other people are involved, that indecision turns into a debate over everyone's moods, preferences, and time.
I designed a lightweight recommendation flow that helps people narrow down what they want and arrive at one pick — whether they're watching alone or choosing with a group.
Problem
Netflix gives users plenty to watch, but not much help making the final decision.
Existing recommendations still leave people comparing dozens of options. The interface is optimized for browsing, not for helping someone actually pick something to watch.
The result is a familiar loop: open Netflix, scroll rows, open titles, back out, keep scrolling. Eventually, someone gives up and rewatches something they've already seen — or the group never actually starts the movie.
Exploration
I started with a random movie generator.
The first idea was simple: Netflix would choose something at random and remove the need to browse altogether.
But pure randomness creates a different problem. It's fast, but it ignores why someone is watching, what they're in the mood for, and how much time they have. Users would probably keep regenerating results until something happened to feel right — which is basically browsing again.
💡 So I shifted the concept from "pick something random" to "help me make a decision."
Decision
A few lightweight questions. One confident recommendation.
The experience asks users four things, then recommends one title based on the answers.
Are you watching alone or with other people?
Do you want a movie, series, or either?
What are you in the mood for?
How long do you want to watch?
For solo viewers, this creates a faster path from opening Netflix to pressing play. For groups, the same questions become a way to combine everyone's preferences and find a shared match.
Key design decisions
Six choices shaped how the flow actually works.
Starting with context, not content
The first question is "How are you watching?" That lets the experience branch immediately — solo viewers move straight into their preferences, while group viewers get the additional invitation and waiting steps they need.
Mood over genre
Genres describe what a title is. Moods describe what someone actually wants from the experience. Someone may not know whether they want a comedy or an animated movie, but they probably know they want something comforting, funny, or mind-bending.
Keeping the questions intentionally lightweight
The flow only asks for information that meaningfully changes the recommendation: content type, mood, and watch length. Adding actors, languages, release years, and detailed filters would give users more control — but turn a quick decision tool into another search interface.
One recommendation, not another catalog
The goal was to reduce decision-making, so the result focuses on one match. A page full of personalized recommendations might be more flexible, but it would return users to the same comparison loop the feature is meant to solve.
Letting groups join without profiles
I initially explored using Netflix profiles to represent each participant, but that assumed everyone was sharing the same account and added more setup than the feature needed. Instead, the host shares a QR code or link, and anyone with access can submit their preferences without creating a profile.
Giving readiness control to the host
Rather than asking the host to declare group size upfront, the interface shows how many people have submitted. The host decides when the group is ready and moves everyone forward — visibility and control without unnecessary setup.
Solution
Five moments make up the full experience.
Each step is deliberately short. The whole flow can happen in under a minute for solo viewers and a couple of minutes for groups.
01 Choose the viewing context
Solo or group. This first choice branches the entire flow.
02 Set lightweight preferences
Content type, mood, and watch length. Three quick questions, no filters, no scrolling.
03 Bring the group together
The host shares a QR code or link. Everyone submits their preferences on their own device, and the host sees the count grow in real time.
04 Reveal one match (solo)
One title, chosen based on the answers. No comparison list.
05 Reveal one match (group)
Everyone's preferences combine into a single shared pick.