Stock Media Review App
A web app for reviewing content submitted for a stock media platform.
1
Overview
The review app was launched to address customer feedback regarding the quality and diversity of content on Storyblocks, a subscription-based platform providing licensed stock media.
This internal tool enables Storyblocks' review team to efficiently evaluate submitted content against brand standards, and create consistent quality control at scale. It was released in phases, starting with video and later introducing audio, templates and 360 VR review functionality, contributing significantly to the enhancement of the Storyblocks content quality, review cycle efficiency, and its ability to meet the diverse needs of its creative community.

My Role
As a solo UX/UI Designer, I led user research, designed user flows, conducted card sorting, developed user stories, crafted wireframes at different fidelity levels, and executed prototyping and usability testing.
2
Problem
Storyblocks needed a way to quickly and efficiently obtain engaging and authentic content that met the expectations of their audience, but the existing app used for video review frequently crashed, was inefficient, lacked automation features, and failed to effectively guide reviewers toward consistent standards. It also lacked functionality to review all the media types, requiring manual review by the content team.

Goal
The goal was to revamp, modernize, and expand the review tool to encompass all essential checkpoints for curating on-brand, engaging content that elevates the Storyblocks library and fulfills user needs.

Tools
Figma. Zoom. Optimal Sort.
User Research
Before starting any design or development work, we knew it was critical to first take the time to understand the existing review process and identify improvement opportunities from the users' perspective. We spent 2 days remotely interviewing and shadowing 6 reviewers to observe their workflows, behaviors and uncover pain points.
Key Insights & Findings:
  • The existing app content metadata, checkpoints, and input criteria prioritization didn't align with the reviewers' intuitive workflow.
  • Reviewers tend to spend less time reviewing the content of well performing contributors and may skip clips to approve the entire batch based on a few quick previews.
  • Reviewers had different understanding of standards for video quality and authenticity, leading to inconsistencies in content approvals and rejections.
  • Reviewers experience decision fatigue because of the amount of metadata they need to process for each clip.
  • Reviewers use predefined rejection reason templates they copy from an external document outside the app to expedite the process.
  • Reviewers expressed the need for guidance regarding the appropriatness of specific keywords and metadata.
User flow:
User flow was also mapped out to help visualize the existing process, which the team referenced and expanded upon throughout the app development process.
Aligning on brand standards
To establish content standards that resonate with our target audience, we organized a two-day internal workshop with key stakeholders. Informed by user survey feedback and previously conducted user interviews, we collaboratively defined video content brand standards. These guidelines were then integrated into our review process, ensuring that incoming content aligns with the creative community's expectations.
Building upon the insights from the discovery stage, we defined user stories and feature requirements, prioritizing them based on their expected level of effort and potential impact.
Information Architecture and Wireframing
Next, we partnered with the review team and internal stakeholders to determine the app's information architecture. Card sorting, both open and closed, was used to categorize and group review criteria in alignment with experts' mental models and existing processes.
    Then, we prioritized information based on perceived importance and reviewers workflow, which allowed us to rearrange and hide non-essential information in drop downs, allowing us to keep critical data above the fold. Additionally, we integrated Visual and Values brand standards into the app architecture and established content approval and rejection criteria.
    Original review app (left) and a low-fidelity iteration wireframe (right).
    Prototyping and Testing
    We conducted several rounds of testing and iterated on our prototypes based on user feedback. Some of the major updates were around the information architecture and automation functionality. For example, we further streamlined the layout by introducing the contributor trust score that allowed to collapse more data, and removed Skip button to ensure that every single clip received attention. Below are more detailed examples of functionality updates based on user input:
    Rejection Reasons
    We've enhanced the rejection process by automatically populating comments, making it faster to submit rejection reasons to the contributor.
      Brand Standards
      In response to reviewer feedback on the brand standards review functionality, we:
      • Introduced information icons with contextual help pop-ups to provide guidance.
      • Automated the detection of values standards instead of relying on reviewer input in order to reduce the decision fatigue.
        Keywords Autoreview
        We have also automated the detection of inappropriate keywords, thereby alleviating the workload on reviewers.
          Expanding the app's functionality
          Once we released our MVP, the updated video review app, we also started working on review tools for other media types. We added review functionality for audio, templates and video VR 360 review, as well as added a home dashboard.
          Menu/Home
          Audio Review
          Templates Review
          360 VR - full screen view
          Takeaways
          The tool proved highly successful, receiving strong endorsement from the review team. The complete overhaul of the video review app, along with the addition of audio, templates, and VR 360 review features, resulted in a remarkable 40% increase in the efficiency of stock media reviews. Furthermore, following the app's launch, user satisfaction surveys provided clear evidence of a substantial improvement in the perceived quality and diversity of Storyblocks content when compared to the period before the redesign.

          Effective communication and collaboration with reviewers and internal stakeholders played a pivotal role in the project's success. Their expertise was instrumental in shaping the app's scope and functionality, validating the feasibility of project concepts, and identifying valuable automation opportunities.