Vimeo
Empowering Viewers with Video Engagement
Role: Principal Product Designer
Date: 2022-2024
Overview
In my role as Principal Product Designer at Vimeo, I collaborated with a talented cross-functional team that included researchers, engineers, and product managers. Our mission was to transform Vimeo’s video player, making it more interactive, intuitive, and user-centric. We focused on three key features: Embeddable Transcripts, Enhanced Chapter Navigation and Sharing, and Live DVR with Transcripts. These innovations not only addressed significant user pain points but also aligned with Vimeo’s broader strategic goals, ultimately leading to improved user engagement and renewed enterprise accounts.
Target Audience
Viewers who need to quickly locate specific content within videos.
Creators and viewers who use video chapters for easier navigation and sharing.Organizations conducting live events, such as town halls, corporate training, and other long-form content
Success Metrics
Transcript engagement, both seeking and searching.
Increased chapter usage and navigation.
Growth in traffic from shared video segments.
Number of viewers using DVR mode during live streams.
Number of Enterprise deals closed due to the availability of DVR with transcripts.
Guiding Design Decisions
Embeddable Transcripts
Viewers often struggle to find specific sections in videos. While transcript search functionality exists on Vimeo.com, it wasn’t available for videos embedded on external sites, forcing users to manually scrub through videos to locate information.
We introduced a transcript view in the player embed, synced with the video’s audio, allowing users to search for specific terms and navigate directly to the relevant part of the video.
Research and Insights
Discoverability
Two icon variants underwent testing. Users favored the second variant, as they believed it more accurately represented the actions a viewer could take.
Research and Insights
Viewing Experience
Two options for displaying the transcript: an overlay and a side panel. Testers preferred the panel because it didn't obstruct the video content.
Design
Interactivity
Viewers can access the transcript by clicking an icon in the player controls. The transcript slides in from the right, synced with the video, allowing users to follow along or search for keywords.
Design
Dynamic Navigation
Search functionality dynamically highlights relevant sections, making navigation easy.
Outcomes
Happy Users, Happy Viewers
Creators, especially filmmakers, praised the feature for simplifying content discovery, improving accessibility, and enabling more granular content navigation.
Chapter Navigation and Sharing
Vimeo’s chapter markers were confusing and didn’t accurately represent the length of video segments. Additionally, users struggled to share specific chapters of long videos, as the current system only allowed for sharing the full video with a start time.
We redesigned the chapter visualization to show the full duration of each chapter and added the ability to share specific video segments with a single click.
Research and Insights
Identifying Pain-points
Through user feedback, we learned that the previous chapter markers were not only confusing but also cluttered with unnecessary visual elements.
Design
Cleaner and Clearer
Chapters are now displayed as segments along the timeline, with clear titles and start times, making it easy for viewers to navigate. A simplified chapter menu shows only the most relevant information: the chapter title and start time.
Design
Seamless Sharing
Seamless sharing for both Vimeo.com and embedded videos, allowing for focused viewing experiences without distractions. Users can generate share links to specific chapters, pre-populated with the appropriate start and end times.
Design
Highlight Moments with Ease
With just a simple URL parameter, users can share a specific segment of a video, allowing for a distraction-free viewing experience. If viewers want to return to the full video, they can easily do so with a quick click of a button in the player.
Outcomes
Renewals for major enterprise accounts
Renewals were driven by the ability to segment and share video content easily.
Live DVR with Transcripts
During live events, viewers who joined late or needed to step away often missed critical information, causing distractions and reduced engagement. Without DVR capabilities, viewers couldn’t easily rewatch or catch up on missed content, and transcripts weren’t available during live events.
We introduced DVR capabilities in Vimeo’s live streaming player, allowing viewers to navigate back up to four hours in the broadcast and catch up on what they missed. This feature also supported live transcripts, providing an enhanced viewing experience for all users.
Design
Never Miss a Moment
Viewers can scroll back up to four hours during a live event, rewatch sections, or catch up on missed content. A "Skip to Live" button allows users to jump back to the current broadcast seamlessly.
Design
Real-time Transcripts
Transcripts for DVR are synced with the live stream, letting viewers follow along even if they are behind in the event.
Outcomes
Leading the Way
Vimeo became the only platform with Live DVR transcript capabilities, offering a unique selling point for enterprise customers
Enterprise Renewals
Live DVR with transcripts facilitated enterprise renewals, including a major ARR subscription.
Vimeo - Viewer Experience
Vimeo - Accessibility and Customization
Vimeo - Lead Generation
PayPal - Benefits
PayPal - Offers