ITV - The Spin Off

Increasing viewer engagement through a gamified quiz experience connected to ITV programming.

Designing a Gamified Companion App for ITV Viewers

The Spin Off is a mobile companion app designed to extend ITV’s entertainment experience beyond the TV screen. As Lead UX/UI Designer, I was responsible for designing the end-to-end user experience for a daily quiz game that rewards players with entries into prize draws while keeping them engaged with ITV content.

The Problem

ITV wanted to increase audience engagement and retention between broadcasts. Traditional companion apps suffer from low repeat usage - the challenge was to design a daily habit-forming experience.

Existing Challenges:

Lack of habit formation

Low repeat engagement

Minimal daily return incentives

Design Goals:

Encourage daily participation

Reward with prize draw entries

Fast and exciting gameplay loop

Reflect ITV game show energy

Research and Discovery

Exploratory research into trivia apps, casual games and viewer behaviour revealed key themes. Key insights gained were that users engage daily when experiences are quick, provide instant feedback, and show visible progress. Users want the experience to feel quick, exciting, and rewarding - reinforcing the need for instant gameplay entry and visible progress feedback.

Defining the experience

From research insights, I designed a simple gameplay loop that supports habit formation and daily engagement.

Wireframing

Once the flows were defined, I created low-fidelity wireframes to test layout and interaction structure. The focus was based around clear visual hierarchy, fast gameplay interactions, and minimal navigation.

Final UI Design

The final interface was designed to feel like a mobile extension of an ITV game show. The UI draws inspiration from: game show lighting, bold stage colours, and animated spin mechanics. Key visual characteristics include: Deep reds and golds to evoke premium entertainment, 3D elements and lighting effects to create excitement and bold typography to maintain readability during gameplay.