In-Flight Entertainment
System Redesign
System Redesign
A more user-friendly layout and Bluetooth integration.
A more user-friendly layout and Bluetooth integration.
STUDIO
STUDIO
Movies
Tv Series
Music/Audio
Games
Live Tv
Wi-Fi
Stand-Outs
Sky Shop
Bluetooth
*
Bit of Everything
Membership Sign-up
*
Paid Feature
Included
Not available or N/A
Airlines offer varied IFE systems with features ranging from wide sections of movies & TV Shows, to smartphone streaming, but these systems lack standardization. My project focuses on designing a unified IFE prototype addressing user needs, such as personalized entertainment playlists, duty-free shopping, and seamless device integration. We'll dive into an engaging user scenario to showcase how our design elevates the passenger experience.
Airlines offer varied IFE systems with features ranging from wide sections of movies & TV Shows, to smartphone streaming, but these systems lack standardization. My project focuses on designing a unified IFE prototype addressing user needs, such as personalized entertainment playlists, duty-free shopping, and seamless device integration. We'll dive into an engaging user scenario to showcase how our design elevates the passenger experience.
Project Brief
Project Brief
Before conducting user surveys, it was essential to first understand the needs and preferences of our target users. Key areas of focus included personalized entertainment playlists, duty-free shopping options, and seamless device integration.
Insights gathered from our mind map served as a foundation for crafting targeted and meaningful survey questions, ensuring that the data collected would directly inform and guide the development of our unified IFE prototype.
Mind Map
A comparable system to in-flight entertainment that offers similar interactive features is the Smart TV. To explore potential parallels in information architecture, I analyzed applications commonly used on smart TVs.
I selected Hulu as and developed a detailed flowchart to represent its navigation structure and content organization. This analysis provided insights into designing an intuitive and user-friendly experience for our IFE system.
30%
20%
of participants wanted to connect personal devices like phones or laptops, finding current IFE systems slow and unresponsive.
of participants sought a more personalized experience, like a sign-in for pre-set preferences.
50%
of participants expressed a preference for connecting their own headphones to the IFE system for better audio quality and convenience.
After conducting user surveys with 30 participants, we analyzed responses to questions focusing on user needs, frustrations, and potential areas for improvement. Based on this feedback, we concluded that:
User Survey Questions & Results
I conducted a competitive analysis to evaluate airline features and identify potential improvements. The analysis revealed that most airlines consistently offer three main features: movies, TV series, and games.
However, only United Airlines and Delta Airlines provide a more comprehensive suite of features. United Airlines caters to all passengers with its offerings but falls short by charging for Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, Delta Airlines offers features for everyone but lacks Bluetooth capabilities, which could enhance the passenger experience.
Journey Map
What do they
Do?
What do they
Think?
What do they
Say?
What do they
Feel?
hoping the in-flight entertainment
works smoothly.
How can I make the most of this downtime during the flight?
Traveling is tiring, but it’s worth it to help patients and explore the world.
Unsatisfied
Drained
Anxious
Sleepy
Annoyed
“It’d be great if flights prioritized modern conveniences like better tech integration.”
"Sometimes, the connection on the IFE system is frustrating."
"Traveling internationally is exciting, but I need my flights to be as stress-free as possible."
Researches airlines that offer better in-flight experiences and modern conveniences.
Uses downtime on flights to relax and recharge with movies or music.
Brings personal devices to supplement in-flight entertainment
Empathy Map
Users Goals
On Boarding
Board Plane and navigate to seat
Hearing Flight boarding announcement
Reading Cabin signs to find seat
Interacting with the IFE System and learning settings
pressing the power button to shut off IFE
Hearing Landing announcement
How crowded airplanes feel, uncomfortable squeezing by people.
Having a hard time reading each sign
An interacting guide that directs to seat.
Bluetooth settings at the main menu of the IFE
No Bluetooth setting for headphones
Not having a setting to turn off at certain time if they fall asleep
A Rest/Dark Mode - timer to shut off
How long it takes to offboard, too congested.
Book a class closest to exit/entrance.
Priority boarding or class changes.
Find place for carry-on and adjusting seat on flight
Connecting Headphones to IFE system and watching movies
Turning off IFE system to sleep after winding-down
Waking up and leaving the plane after arriving at destination.
Boarded
Using IFE
Resting
Arriving
Touch Points
User Experience
Pain Points
Solutions
🧐
😑
🥱
🙂
😀
0
0
Seat Controls
Seat Controls
TV
TV
Live TV
Live TV
Audio By Spotify
Audio By Spotify
Games
Games
Food/Beverage
Food/Beverage
Icons
Icons
Flight Info.
Flight Info.
Settings
Settings
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Volume
Volume
Brightness
Brightness
Call attendant
Call attendant
New Releases
New Releases
Genre
Genre
Trending
Trending
Genre
Genre
Music
Music
Podcast
Podcast
Audiobooks
Audiobooks
Sky Shop
Sky Shop
Sky Kids
Sky Kids
About Delta
About Delta
Help
Help
Connectivity
Connectivity
Flowchart
Flowchart
Design
Design
My approach to the wireframes focused on prioritizing essential icons, ensuring that critical features like flight details, attendant call functionality, and adjustable settings (such as Bluetooth, volume, and brightness) are easily accessible.
Welcome/Home Screen
Flight Information Screen
Media Player Screen
Settings Screen
Movies & TV Screen
A comparable system to in-flight entertainment that offers similar interactive features is the Smart TV. To explore potential parallels in information architecture, I analyzed applications commonly used on smart TVs.
I selected Hulu as and developed a detailed flowchart to represent its navigation structure and content organization. This analysis provided insights into designing an intuitive and user-friendly experience for our IFE system.
I conducted a competitive analysis to evaluate airline features and identify potential improvements. The analysis revealed that most airlines consistently offer three main features: movies, TV series, and games.
However, only United Airlines and Delta Airlines provide a more comprehensive suite of features. United Airlines caters to all passengers with its offerings but falls short by charging for Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, Delta Airlines offers features for everyone but lacks Bluetooth capabilities, which could enhance the passenger experience.
Frustrations:
Frustrations:
Limited technology support, such as the lack of Bluetooth compatibility for earbuds.
Occasional connectivity issues that disrupt her in-flight experience.
Limited technology support, such as the lack of Bluetooth compatibility for earbuds.
Occasional connectivity issues that disrupt her in-flight experience.
Erin is a dedicated travel nurse who spends much of her time moving between assignments in different countries. Her profession demands adaptability and resilience, which she balances with her creative outlet of crafting during downtime.
Erin is a dedicated travel nurse who spends much of her time moving between assignments in different countries. Her profession demands adaptability and resilience, which she balances with her creative outlet of crafting during downtime.
Erin Cortez
Erin Cortez
Age: 36
Occupation: Travel Nurse
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Income: $98,000
Age: 36
Occupation: Travel Nurse
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Income: $98,000
To have a seamless and enjoyable in-flight experience that allows her to relax and unwind during her travels.
To have a seamless and enjoyable in-flight experience that allows her to relax and unwind during her travels.
Motivations:
Comfort
Adaptability
Efficiency
Motivations:
Comfort
Adaptability
Efficiency
Goals:
Goals:
Personality:
Personality:
Interest:
Interest:
Ambitious
Focused
Caring
Ambitious
Focused
Caring
Traveling
Crafting
Watching Movies
Traveling
Crafting
Watching Movies
Empathy Map
My Design Process
My Design Process
Before conducting user surveys, it was essential to first understand the needs and preferences of our target users. Key areas of focus included personalized entertainment playlists, duty-free shopping options, and seamless device integration.
Insights gathered from our mind map served as a foundation for crafting targeted and meaningful survey questions, ensuring that the data collected would directly inform and guide the development of our unified IFE prototype.
Mind Map
Project Duration
Project Duration
16 weeks
16 weeks
In-Flight Entertainment
Phone calls to other passengers
Itinerary and Time estimates
IFE Systems
Target Audience
Target Audience
Business Class
Movies/ TV
Audio
Games
Flight Info.
Bluetooth
Economy Class
Adults & Children
Feels
Bored, Hungry, sleepy, Angry, Restless, Excited
Entertainment, Food/Drink, Sky shop, Flight Info.
Needs
Hears
Features to enhance experience
Features That should be offered
Connect personal devices
Sky Shop
Play games with other passengers
Flight announcements, Passengers, Crew
In-Home Entertainment System Deconstruction
In-Home Entertainment System Deconstruction
User Survey Questions & Results
After conducting user surveys with 30 participants, we analyzed responses to questions focusing on user needs, frustrations, and potential areas for improvement. Based on this feedback, we concluded that:
30%
20%
of participants wanted to connect personal devices like phones or laptops, finding current IFE systems slow and unresponsive.
of participants sought a more personalized experience, like a sign-in for pre-set preferences.
50%
of participants expressed a preference for connecting their own headphones to the IFE system for better audio quality and convenience.
Phone calls to other passengers
Itinerary and Time estimates
IFE Systems
Target Audience
Target Audience
Business Class
Movies/ TV
Audio
Games
Flight Info.
Bluetooth
Economy Class
Adults & Children
Feels
Bored, Hungry, sleepy, Angry, Restless, Excited
Entertainment, Food/Drink, Sky shop, Flight Info.
Needs
Hears
Features to enhance experience
Features That should be offered
Connect personal devices
Sky Shop
Play games with other passengers
Flight announcements, Passengers, Crew
Movies
Tv Series
Music/Audio
Games
Live Tv
Wi-Fi
Stand-Outs
Sky Shop
Bluetooth
*
Bit of Everything
Membership Sign-up
*
Paid Feature
Included
Not available or N/A
Competitive Analysis
Competitive Analysis
User Persona Card
User Persona Card
Movies
Tv Series
Music/Audio
Games
Live Tv
Wi-Fi
Stand-Outs
Sky Shop
Bluetooth
*
Bit of Everything
Membership Sign-up
*
Paid Feature
Included
Not available or N/A
What do they
Do?
What do they
Think?
What do they
Say?
What do they
Feel?
hoping the in-flight entertainment
works smoothly.
How can I make the most of this downtime during the flight?
Traveling is tiring, but it’s worth it to help patients and explore the world.
Unsatisfied
Drained
Anxious
Sleepy
Annoyed
“It’d be great if flights prioritized modern conveniences like better tech integration.”
"Sometimes, the connection on the IFE system is frustrating."
"Traveling internationally is exciting, but I need my flights to be as stress-free as possible."
Researches airlines that offer better in-flight experiences and modern conveniences.
Uses downtime on flights to relax and recharge with movies or music.
Brings personal devices to supplement in-flight entertainment
Users Goals
On Boarding
Board Plane and navigate to seat
Hearing Flight boarding announcement
Reading Cabin signs to find seat
Interacting with the IFE System and learning settings
pressing the power button to shut off IFE
Hearing Landing announcement
How crowded airplanes feel, uncomfortable squeezing by people.
Having a hard time reading each sign
An interacting guide that directs to seat.
Bluetooth settings at the main menu of the IFE
No Bluetooth setting for headphones
Not having a setting to turn off at certain time if they fall asleep
A Rest/Dark Mode - timer to shut off
How long it takes to offboard, too congested.
Book a class closest to exit/entrance.
Priority boarding or class changes.
Find place for carry-on and adjusting seat on flight
Connecting Headphones to IFE system and watching movies
Turning off IFE system to sleep after winding-down
Waking up and leaving the plane after arriving at destination.
Boarded
Using IFE
Resting
Arriving
Touch Points
User Experience
Pain Points
Solutions
🧐
😑
🥱
🙂
😀
My approach to the wireframes focused on prioritizing essential icons, ensuring that critical features like flight details, attendant call functionality, and adjustable settings (such as Bluetooth, volume, and brightness) are easily accessible.
Welcome/Home Screen
Flight Information Screen
Media Player Screen
Settings Screen
Movies & TV Screen
Next Steps
I discovered that in-flight entertainment systems are designed to offer a wide variety of options, features, and scenarios to cater to a diverse range of passengers. While this inclusivity makes the system more accessible, it also presents challenges in creating a user-friendly design, especially given the small screen size that must accommodate so much information.
My proposed IFE design would be particularly beneficial for Delta if they prioritize adding Bluetooth connectivity as a feature. Implementing my IFE system would enhance user convenience and satisfaction.
Introducing a personal devices integration via IFE/App steps.
Adding an itinerary planner to help passengers organize their travel plans seamlessly.
Including a Sky Shop feature that allows passengers with the option to have items delivered to their hotel or stay, or ready for pickup after the flight.
Introducing a personal devices integration via IFE/App steps.
Adding an itinerary planner to help passengers organize their travel plans seamlessly.
Including a Sky Shop feature that allows passengers with the option to have items delivered to their hotel or stay, or ready for pickup after the flight.
I discovered that in-flight entertainment systems are designed to offer a wide variety of options, features, and scenarios to cater to a diverse range of passengers. While this inclusivity makes the system more accessible, it also presents challenges in creating a user-friendly design, especially given the small screen size that must accommodate so much information.
My proposed IFE design would be particularly beneficial for Delta if they prioritize adding Bluetooth connectivity as a feature. Implementing my IFE system would enhance user convenience and satisfaction.
Next Steps
What I Learned
Reflection
What I Learned
Reflection
Prototype
Prototype
Wireframes
Journey Map
Wireframes