Moodi
Project Type
Mobile app concept
Role
Product Designer
Scope
Research, UX/UI, Visual identity, Prototyping
Finding the right movie for the right mood
Most streaming platforms organise discovery around genres, viewing history and recommendations. But what happens when you know how you want to feel, just not what you want to watch?
01/
Choosing a movie has become a task in itself
When there seems to be endless options to browse, finding something to watch can become more exhausting than entertaining. Often described as ‘Netflix Syndrome’, this cycle of endless scrolling leads to decision fatigue, sometimes causing users to abandon their search altogether.
40%
of surveyed users gave up choosing a movie after extensive browsing.
Source/ Moodi user survey
02/
Emotional preferences don't always fit into genre-based discovery
Sometimes we aren't looking for a particular genre. We're looking for a feeling. But when discovery is organised around categories rather than emotions, finding the right film becomes harder than it needs to be.
Me
I want to watch a movie that makes me feel… alive!
Discovery Platform
Here are the most popular comedies!
…
Me
??!
I'm so overwhelmed by these options that aren't even filtered accurately!
/ MY DESIGN RESPONSE
1. Start With Emotions
Instead of genre filters, using mood selection as the entry point is more intuitive for users. Moods were defined through surveyed users' own descriptions of how they wanted to feel. The gathered word cloud informed seven mood categories, each paired with their own vibe tags.
/ Mapping emotional vocabulary into mood categories and vibe tags
2. Reduce Decision Fatigue
Instead of presenting an endless catalogue, Moodi narrows the choice to three recommendations at a time.
3. Simplify the Journey
Users select their mood, optionally refine their preferences, and receive three recommendations they can save or refresh.
Select mood (s).
Add optional filters.
Get 3 movie recs.
Watch or start over.
03/
What I Made
Here's how I translated the four-step journey into a mobile app concept:
Select mood (s).
Each mood responds with an ambient gradient and descriptive vibe tags, making an abstract feeling easier to recognise and select.
Add optional filters.
Users can narrow their search by movie length and streaming platform, or skip straight to their recommendations.
Keeping these filters optional gives users more control without complicating the initial mood selection.
Get 3 movie recs.
Each recommendation focuses on how a film feels, with emotional summaries, vibe tags and a recommendation logic tagline.
If nothing feels right, users have the option to reshuffle.
Watch or start over.
Once users find a film they want to watch, they can jump straight to their streaming platform or start over for a fresh set of recommendations.
