Boxxspring CMS

Building a full-service video content management system.

My role

UX lead
Product vision collaboration
Branding & design system development
Ideation, user flows, UI design, & prototyping

Background

Boxxspring was created when Bedrocket sought to create a dedicated online hub for our YouTube channels’ followers, but came up short on the search for a platform that met our needs. Instead of compromising, we set out to build our own video-first content management system.

I led and implemented the design direction of Boxxspring from the initial product launch, through subsequent feature enhancements, development of companion tools (analytics, subscriptions), as well as native Windows and Mac desktop applications.

Discovery

Building a CMS required extensive research and understanding of our users’ needs. We interviewed and iterated alongside our channel editors and producers to ensure we built a product that efficiently met their goals. As we brought new partners into the fold, I worked closely with these stakeholders to understand their needs and iterpret how we could scale our product to meet them.

Design system development

I developed Boxxspring's interface around a design system from the very beginning. The system started small with the basics, and as we expanded Boxxspring's functionality I continued to iterate on the design system to adapt to the changes, changing existing patterns and adding new ones to allow it to scale. While the design system grew and evolved as the platform expanded, the core guiding style and interaction principles have held as we created new features and metaphors.

Core product needs

The early stages of Boxxspring as a product started with meeting the essential goals of our partners:

  • Upload original video or curate from online sources
  • Organize videos by shows and playlists
  • Control when videos go live (scheduled publishing)
Video destinations

The end goal — how audiences arrive at these channels and see these videos — was also a collaborative effort between our team and our partners. I led the design direction for these destination sites, working closely with our customers to create experiences on the web, mobile apps, and TV apps.

Product evolution: subscription services

When Italian football club AS Roma joined the Boxxspring platform, we were tasked with developing a live streaming and subscriptions platform to support paid access to live matches & on-demand video.

We needed to create an administrative app that combined the creation of sellable products, customer management, and transaction records all in one place - and it had to be understandable for the different types of people who need to use it.

I contributed to developing product requirements, as well as designing both the administrative and end-user experiences that allows customers to select and pay for the content they want.

Process

I found myself starting with the customer-facing experience and working backward to the admin tool. Once the customer's needs and expectations are understood, the full scope of the management tool can be more effectively constructed.

End users

I researched competing or analogous products to find patterns in customer expectations in e-commerce - specifically when purchasing video or other digital goods. Eliminating drop-off points was a key point to success. That meant:

  • Clear purchasing options and prices
  • A quick and painless checkout process
  • Mobile- and touch-friendly interface

Admin users

It's vital to understand and deliver the tools a seller needs to effectively manage their services. I performed competitive research in the sectors of shop management, bookkeeping, and customer service.

Sales & Marketing

  • Organizing content into subscription packages
  • Determining pricing structures for products across different markets
  • Geo-fencing content to comply with licensing deals
  • Analyzing sales trends - new customers, sales, refunds, etc

Customer service

  • Helping customers troubleshoot issues with their order
  • Issuing refunds or cancellations
  • Manually selling products to customers
Design system expansion

Moving away from the editing-focused CMS side of Boxxspring, Payments required new design patterns optimized for detailed data presentation, while staying compatible with the established interface.

End-user experience

For the end user, the experience is as streamlined as possible to allow near-immediate viewing of content. They're presented with simple purchase options and a one-step payment form.

The experience also includes email confirmations and scheduled payment reminders with simple self-service subscription management tools.

Admin user experience

The initial admin experience focused on a few key aspects:

  • Developing packages of premium content through simple tagging mechanisms
  • Simple configuration of a product's details like price, subscription duration, and viewing regions
  • Ability to view customer transactions and active subscriptions
  • Basic performance insights like monthly earnings and transactions
A minimal dashboard provides high-level insights on monthly performance and trends.
Smart filters make it simple to target content to include or exclude in a product bundle.
A flexible setup to specify how a product will be offered to customers - establish price, subscription period, when and where it’s available.
Set up multiple offers on a product for different subscription periods, pricing structures, currencies, and regions.
Detailed records with a clear delineation between the customer’s charges and seller’s profits.