Vertical Video and Zoom Features

The usage of Ring’s video streaming often occurs at unexpected moments during daily life, typically triggered by a push notification or call. The natural way of holding a phone in these situations is vertically. Not all users are fans of to rotating their devices to view the video, and some even have their device’s orientation lock on.

However, being able to see video details is crucial for security purposes. This behavior was confirmed through interaction data, which showed a strong preference for a vertical view, despite the limitations in viewing details.

Interface and Informational Architecture Improvements for Better Performance

Ring’s video player was facing performance issues, including slow load times and occasional failures, which significantly hindered the core functionality of the service. Given that live video feeds and recorded footage reviews are critical to Ring users, these delays negatively affected their ability to monitor and respond to security events in real time.

Initially, the app’s information architecture was designed so that accessing Live View required first loading video history, as Live View was considered an integral part of it. This added unnecessary delays and opportunities for errors, especially when users needed to access Live View immediately.

I identified this issue and redesigned the IA and UI to prioritize Live View, enabling users to jump directly to live footage without waiting for the entire video history to load. Additionally, I streamlined the navigation structure to enhance access speed and improved performance.

I simplified the navigation structure, prioritized key safety functions for quick access.

While effective, the classic player needed a refresh to stay in line with modern design standards. The update preserved its no-nonsense, user-friendly approach, ensuring that older users could continue to access videos seamlessly while integrating with new app features.

By redesigning the classic player, we kept its core functionality intact while aligning it with the app’s evolving design, providing an intuitive, efficient experience for all users.

Optimizing for Existing and Future Devices

As Ring’s product lineup expanded, it became crucial to ensure that video streaming seamlessly integrated with both existing devices and new devices being released.

Users expected Ring to work effortlessly across all their smart home devices, with minimal friction between hardware and software. This presented a challenge in maintaining compatibility and ensuring a consistent user experience across various platforms, including third-party devices and upcoming Ring releases.

I developed a comprehensive design system for video streaming to ensure compatibility across the full range of current and future Ring devices.

This system also facilitated seamless integration with smart home devices, such as smart displays, as well as other Ring hardware. By doing so, I future-proofed the platform, ensuring smooth scalability as new Ring devices and third-party platforms were introduced.

Scalable Video Streaming Design System

I created a system of controls and surfaces for optimal video viewing, that seamlessly adapts across Ring’s entire device lineup, and takes video footage viewing experience to another level.

Every component was carefully designed to maintain consistency, while providing customised experience for every smart home ecosystem. The system preserved functionality without sacrificing user experience, ensuring a smooth, unified interface across all platforms.