Work
DisneyNOW
Tokens Rewards Program
Overview
The DisneyNOW app, launched in fall 2017, consolidates content from Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney Junior, targeting children of all ages and their parents. To enhance user engagement, the Tokens feature was introduced, allowing users to earn tokens by playing games. These tokens can be exchanged for emojis via the "Emoji Machine," which are then collected in the "My Emoji" section and can be used throughout the app.
Project Duration
July 2018–January 2020
Product Statement
The Tokens feature aims to promote and increase user engagement within the DisneyNOW app by providing an interactive reward system. By earning tokens through gameplay and daily app access, users can collect and personalize their experience with a variety of emojis, enhancing the app's appeal to its diverse young audience.
Goal
The primary goal was to increase user engagement and retention by creating a gamified experience within the app. By rewarding users with tokens for their activities, the feature aimed to encourage regular app usage while aligning with Disney's brand values of fun, creativity, and connection.
My Role: Visual UI/Product Designer
As the Visual UI/Product Designer, I led the design and development of the Tokens feature from concept to launch. This involved defining design principles, conducting user research, creating wireframes and visual designs, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. I focused on ensuring the feature was visually appealing and intuitive for children, incorporating sound and motion to enhance engagement. Additionally, I developed prototypes and conducted usability tests to refine the user experience, ensuring the feature met the needs of both children and parents.
Design Process
Research and Discovery
The design journey began with in-depth research to understand the needs of young users and their parents. Personas were developed to capture user motivations and ensure the feature resonated with its diverse audience.
In order to stay focused on what we needed to accomplish during initial brainstorm sessions, we established a few design principles:
-
Allow users to earn emoji while playing with favorite games
-
Create a hub to house everything Tokens
-
Keep records of earnings (points) and emoji
-
Create a delightful experience
With data collected from the original launch, and with ideas from the research group with kids of all ages, we got started by asking ourselves a few questions:
-
How should the app let users know when they earn tokens?
-
What are fun ways to collect more emoji after the user gather enough tokens?
-
How to make a seamless experience for both kids and parents?
We also checked to see what the competition was doing. None had an award feature.
Challenges
1
Designing a child-friendly interface that balances simplicity with functionality
2
Ensuring visual consistency with Disney's iconic branding while keeping the design fresh and engaging.
3
Incorporating sound and motion to enhance the user experience without overwhelming younger users.
Ideation
Wireframes and Flows
Wireframes mapped out intuitive user flows for earning tokens, browsing emojis, and redeeming rewards. These flows prioritized simplicity while maintaining a sense of fun and discovery.
The visual design phase introduced vibrant, Disney-inspired elements. The design integrated sound and motion to create a dynamic, engaging experience, ensuring accessibility for young users.
User Flow
Users (children of all ages and parents) come to DisneyNow app to watch video and play games:
Paper Wires
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Visual Design
Since the visual language, text styles, and patterns had already been established during the first phase of the app, I could then focus on preliminary explorations and came up with some questions: should the feature stand out from the others by giving it a unique background color and texture? What would the illustration style be? Do we need new iconography?
Explorations
Color Palette & Background Texture
After many… many attempts with colors, the team consensus was that, because the Tokens feature related closely to onboarding and settings screens, we would stick to the already established blue (#0048BB) from those screens. We also thought that the blue would make a good base color background for the illustrations, which most likely would have a color palette of reds and yellows. The background texture was still being considered.
Illustrations Style
For consistency's sake, the team decided it would be necessary to use the app's existing emoji style, so we hired the same vendor to work on Tokens illustrations. Once it was created, the golden token illustration became the main icon, and I used it throughout the feature, including the token burst background texture (above).
Design Process
Research and Discovery
The design journey began with in-depth research to understand the needs of young users and their parents. Personas were developed to capture user motivations and ensure the feature resonated with its diverse audience.
In order to stay focused on what we needed to accomplish during initial brainstorm sessions, we established a few design principles:
-
Allow users to earn emoji while playing with favorite games
-
Create a hub to house everything Tokens
-
Keep records of earnings (points) and emoji
-
Create a delightful experience
With data collected from the original launch, and with ideas from the research group with kids of all ages, we got started by asking ourselves a few questions:
-
How should the app let users know when they earn tokens?
-
What are fun ways to collect more emoji after the user gather enough tokens?
-
How to make a seamless experience for both kids and parents?
We also checked to see what the competition was doing. None had an award feature.
1
Designing a child-friendly interface that balances simplicity with functionality
2
Ensuring visual consistency with Disney's iconic branding while keeping the design fresh and engaging.
3
Incorporating sound and motion to enhance the user experience without overwhelming younger users.
Visual Design
Since the visual language, text styles, and patterns had already been established during the first phase of the app, I could then focus on preliminary explorations and came up with some questions: should the feature stand out from the others by giving it a unique background color and texture? What would the illustration style be? Do we need new iconography?
Explorations
Color Palette & Background Texture
After many… many attempts with colors, the team consensus was that, because the Tokens feature related closely to onboarding and settings screens, we would stick to the already established blue (#0048BB) from those screens. We also thought that the blue would make a good base color background for the illustrations, which most likely would have a color palette of reds and yellows. The background texture was still being considered.
Paper Wires
Challenges
Wireframes mapped out intuitive user flows for earning tokens, browsing emojis, and redeeming rewards. These flows prioritized simplicity while maintaining a sense of fun and discovery.
The visual design phase introduced vibrant, Disney-inspired elements. The design integrated sound and motion to create a dynamic, engaging experience, ensuring accessibility for young users.
User Flow
Users (children of all ages and parents) come to DisneyNow app to watch video and play games:
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Ideation
Wireframes and Flows
Illustrations Style
For consistency's sake, the team decided it would be necessary to use the app's existing emoji style, so we hired the same vendor to work on Tokens illustrations. Once it was created, the golden token illustration became the main icon, and I used it throughout the feature, including the token burst background texture (above).
Emoji Design
During design explorations, I added background plates to emoji displayed on "My Emoji" and "Onboarding Pick Emoji" screens grids. The plates serve as containers, and help blocking off the background texture. There were three emoji instances on the app: No backplates - Used on all screens except the ones mentioned above; With back plates unlocked - to represent earned emoji; With backplates Locked: to represent not earned emoji. I added a fallback blank plate instance for loading delay and/or error. I also created a template to facilitate production – over 700 assets had to be converted.
Mortion and Sound
Motion designers help us put the storyboards to life. We also added sound and voice over (for kids who haven’t learned how to read)
User Testing and Validation
Usability testing with children and parents played a critical role in refining the experience. Tests were conducted monthly or whenever new features were introduced, focusing on navigation, reward mechanisms, and overall usability. Feedback was analyzed and synthesized into actionable insights, which informed iterative improvements in subsequent sprints. Particular attention was paid to ensuring seamless interactions across devices and creating an engaging experience that resonated with the target audience. This iterative approach ensured the Tokens Rewards Program met both user needs and Disney’s high standards for quality.
User Testing and Validation
Usability testing with children and parents played a critical role in refining the experience. Tests were conducted monthly or whenever new features were introduced, focusing on navigation, reward mechanisms, and overall usability. Feedback was analyzed and synthesized into actionable insights, which informed iterative improvements in subsequent sprints. Particular attention was paid to ensuring seamless interactions across devices and creating an engaging experience that resonated with the target audience. This iterative approach ensured the Tokens Rewards Program met both user needs and Disney’s high standards for quality.
Refined Designs
The Final Product
Takeaways
Impact
The Tokens Rewards Program successfully launched, providing an engaging, interactive experience that increased user retention and strengthened Disney's connection with its audience.
The introduction of the program led to an 18% growth in participation and viewership across video-on-demand (VOD) and games, broken down as follows:
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Ages 1–5: 28% increase
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Ages 5–12: 45% increase
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Ages 12 and up: 18% increase
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Unknown age group: 9% increase
The playful interface, rewards system, and collectible emojis were key drivers of its success.
What I Learned
Challenges: Designing a child-friendly interface required balancing simplicity with functionality while maintaining visual consistency with Disney's iconic branding. Incorporating sound and motion needed careful consideration to enhance, rather than overwhelm, the experience for younger users.
Key Takeaways: Using metaphors like treasure chests and collection books offered innovative solutions, enabling children to navigate and engage independently or with adult help. This experience reinforced the importance of collaboration—working with a highly coordinated team was critical to delivering a polished, impactful product.