BitMovio - Pierce Ashworth

THE CHALLENGE

As streaming becomes the most prevalent form of media consumption, Hollywood's power division becomes more centralized in the hands of platforms like Netflix and Disney—leaving less room for smaller studios and independent creators to profit from their content.

THE SOLUTION

A gamified video streaming platform for the Fortnite generation that fundamentally transforms how content is monetized, so creators can build their fan base and get paid for their work with more flexibility and transparency.

Context

Power to the independent creator

Through streaming's rise to eminence as the leading form of media consumption, Hollywood's power has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of large corporations.

For independent creators to sufficiently monetize Youtube content, it often requires third-party platforms like Patreon—which creates a lot of friction and stifles income.

Process, stakeholders, target users

I managed a development team and collaborated with partners at Coinbase and various media studios for 2 months to create an inventive product aimed at influencers, indie filmmakers, and gamers primarily in the American and Chinese markets.

Aesthetic Identity

The crypto integration was an immediate hook for BitMovio's "cool factor," so I set out to create a visual language that would play into that originality, while capturing the essence our target demographic's passion: gaming.

I'm not a huge gamer myself, but with no dearth of Halo-obsessed friends around me at the time, I had no problem conducting user research in the back of college dorm rooms for a few days to try to capture the vibe of the experience for BitMovio's visual inspiration:

The gaming console, the setup, the portal of a glowing screen through the darkness of an otherwise quiet bedroom - sounds and flashes as the night grows deeper.

So I resolved to capture just that with an 8-bit logo, glowing UI elements floating on the surface of a deep, dark backdrop, and an endearingly irreverent interface personality.

Home Page

BitMovio's home page features popular platform content organized categorically.

I incorporated a fun plugin for the rotating carousel that made for an experience in itself, which was a big hit with beta testers.

A live experience built for independent creators

I designed a dynamic live experience with streamers and influencers top of mind: it incorporated an adaptable chat room, crypto tipping functionality, and...

...bullet chat 💫

Which I had never encountered as a UI/UX designer or consumer, but through research into live chat functions and internet subcultures, it felt like a fitting integration that I had fun implementing into the product.

Uploading Content

BitMovio's core differentiator: creators can upload content with fully-customizable crypto payment settings by region.

I worked with Coinbase and our offshore dev team on the technical integration, and collaborated with content creators on the UX architecture.

Account Dashboard

I designed the account dashboard so that BitMovio creators can fully manage their content, profile, and crypto wallet all in one place.

The side menu UI resembles a familiar dropdown feature in video games.

Creator Profile

I designed the creator profile to accommodate the main priorities of the streamers I had enlisted to consult on my mockups: gaining followers, getting paid, and showing their best self.

I made the button colors customizable to be on-brand with the aesthetics of different channels, while still being as bold as the rest of the platform.

Success Metrics

Using my MVP design, BitMovio gained great traction before being acquired by 1091 Pictures in 2019.