For: Brthrs Agency Client: Crop.video Year: 2019, 2022
Context
The name spoils the surprise, Crop.video is a product that crops videos. But the unique part about Crop.video is that cropping works via an AI. When recording a video, things are constantly moving. For example, a dancer is continuously moving around the room. Now you want that video on Tik-Tok? Good luck cropping every frame to ensure the dancer is in the middle. See the problem? At Brthrs, we saw the opportunity to make Crop.video positioned for generation Z or the so-called “Tik-Tok generation”.
I was the lead designer for this project, and together with two other designers, we created a branding, website and web app. I was responsible for the branding and website. In 2022 I took this project even further and made it my thesis assignment with the design question: “How do I design a mobile video editing application for social media that meets the needs of young people between the ages of 15 and 20?”.
“Did you know that in my research, the average age of people who edit a video via their phone is 14.63% lower than someone who does this via the computer”
In this case, I will focus mainly on the branding and the user experience testing of the Crop.video prototype I made.
Problem
Because of the lack of research, I made the branding with the help of theories. These theories are based on assumptions I regularly make as a designer, for example, the use of colour theories. These assumptions can cause a problem if it does not attract the audience, making design harder to implement. More data = easier design!
The problem with the Crop.video app is that it needs to be simple, but in my research, I noticed that the users would only pay for an app with all their necessary tools. This resulted in many app revisions via user interviews and user experience experts.
The thought behind the branding
In a meeting, we brainstormed about the future of Crop.video. I’m convinced that focusing on social media could be an opportunity. With cross-media content, cropping videos can be a struggle. Crop.video will solve that. At that time, I had Tik-Tok in my mind; this new platform made vertical videos more important than ever. In 2019 most of the Tik-Tok users were generation Z. I figured that would be an excellent new targeted audience. With this new targeted audience, I can make a new branding. The new branding started with mood boards, followed by typography, colours, logo and illustrations. After some revisions, I had a branding that the team approved. 2 years later, I tested this branding with the targeted audience, which resulted in excellent outcomes.
In 2022 after two months of research, I created the first prototype for Crop.video app. I made three variations of this prototype and tested it with 15 people of the targeted audience via an online interview. These interviews are test sessions. I took three test sessions and improved the app after each session. After these sessions, I created a final prototype and discussed this with two senior user experience designers. Finally, with the feedback of the senior designers, I made a final design.
You can see the result of the branding and the Crop.video app in the next chapter.
