Redesigning Netflix iOS: A Heuristic Evaluation

Making every design decision on purpose. Not just because it looks good, but because it solves a real problem.

Netflix needs no introduction. It sits on millions of home screens, opened daily, scrolled through habitually. But familiarity with a product does not mean it is free of friction. This project explores what happens when one of the world’s most recognizable apps is put under a proper usability lens.

The process follows four structured phases:

• Heuristic analysis
• Visual competitor analysis
• Design system
• Redesign of key screens

Heuristic Analysis: Finding the Friction

Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics were used to evaluate the core screens of the Netflix iOS app. Each issue was documented and assigned a severity rating from 1 to 3, where 3 indicates a critical problem with direct impact on the user experience.

Canceling a download takes users through three screens and lands them in the wrong place. The detail page is never restored.

Canceling a season download is a multi-step process that takes users away from the detail page entirely. Upon returning, the app redirects to My Netflix rather than restoring the previous location. The user loses their place in the navigation with no way to recover it easily.

The filter system exists on the home screen but disappears entirely in Search. Two surfaces with the same goal, but completely different levels of control.

The filter works. The interface just doesn’t show it.

Two separate inconsistencies were identified here. First, the filter system: selecting a category alongside a content type applies the filter correctly, but the interface does not reflect the change. The chip remains visually unchanged, leaving users with no confirmation that their selection registered. Second, the hero banner uses 24px lateral margins while the rest of the app follows a 10px grid, breaking the visual consistency of the layout.

The info icon on the card and the “Episodes and Info” option inside the overlay lead to the exact same page. Two buttons, one destination, no distinction between them.

The Continue Watching card presents two buttons that navigate to the same destination. No visual or textual distinction is made between them. Users are expected to learn this through experience rather than through clear interface signals.

Downloading a full season takes one tap. Canceling it requires going episode by episode.

Starting and stopping the same action require completely different levels of effort. One is instant, the other is manual and repetitive. The asymmetry between the two creates unnecessary friction for a feature that is meant to be convenient.

Single thumbs up, double thumbs up. The difference is not explained anywhere, and neither option uses a universally recognized symbol for love.

The icon language does not match what users expect from everyday digital experience. A heart for love is a universal pattern. A double thumbs up is not. The distinction between the two options is unclear, and no feedback is given after rating, leaving users unsure whether their action had any effect.

Competitor Analysis: What the Market Is Doing

Disney+, Prime Video, and Apple TV+ were analyzed with a focus on the specific screens targeted for redesign. The goal was to identify existing patterns and understand where Netflix diverges from established conventions.

Apple TV+ & Disney+

Prime Video

Design System: A Foundation Before Redesign

No screens were redesigned before a design system was in place. This was not a rebranding effort. The intention was to systematize Netflix’s existing visual language and apply it with greater consistency, informed by the findings from the heuristic analysis.

The palette is structured around Netflix’s primary red, a full range of neutral grey spanning from near-black to near-white, and dedicated system colors for feedback states including success, error, and informational contexts.

Netflix Sans, the brand’s proprietary typeface, is not available for public use. Inter was selected as the closest free alternative in terms of character and readability. A complete type scale was defined across caption, label, and header levels in Regular, Medium, and Bold weights.

All components were built following Atomic Design methodology. Atoms include individual elements such as icons, badges, and buttons. Molecules combine these into functional units like content cards, filter chips, and navigation bars. Organisms bring molecules together into larger interface sections such as the hero banner, the search tab, and the episode list. These build up to full page templates.

Redesign: Turning Findings Into Decisions

The original hero displays a single recommendation with no indication of why it was selected. At the same time, its 24px margins conflict with the 10px grid used throughout the rest of the app.

Heuristics: #8 Aesthetic and Minimalist Design, #4 Consistency and Standards

In the redesign, the hero extends to full screen with no lateral margins, resolving the grid inconsistency and creating a more immersive visual experience. Multiple recommendations are presented and navigable through dot indicators. Each one includes a contextual badge explaining the basis for the suggestion, giving users the information they need before making a choice.

When a category and a content type are selected together, the combination is applied correctly but not communicated visually. The filter chip stays in its default state, leaving users uncertain about whether their input was registered.

Heuristic: #4 Consistency and Standards

The redesign introduces one targeted change: when filters are combined, the active state is clearly reflected in the chip’s appearance. The underlying logic remains unchanged. The only addition is visibility.

Each card has two buttons leading to the same destination, with no visual distinction between them. The overlay opened by the three-dot menu contains a second info button that performs the identical action as the standalone info icon on the card.

Heuristics: #4 Consistency and Standards, #6 Recognition Rather Than Recall

In the redesign, the standalone info icon is removed from the card. The three-dot menu remains as the single access point, with the info option preserved within the overlay. The double thumbs up for “Love this” is replaced with a heart icon, consistent with universal conventions. A minutes remaining label is added directly to the card, so users can make a viewing decision without opening the content first.

The search experience offers no way to filter results by content type or genre. Everything is returned at once, regardless of what the user is actually looking for.

Heuristic: #4 Consistency and Standards

The filter system from the home screen was brought into Search with identical behavior and active states. The experience is now consistent across both surfaces.

Downloading a full season takes a single tap. Canceling that download, however, requires navigating away from the detail page to a separate Downloads screen, stopping each episode one by one. When returning, the app redirects to My Netflix rather than the detail page the user came from.

Heuristic: #3 User Control and Freedom

The download button retains its original behavior. The overlay that appears on a second tap now includes a Cancel Download option that stops the entire season at once. The user never leaves the detail page.

The trailer button was relocated from the More tab to a visible position alongside the primary action buttons. For a user encountering a title for the first time, the trailer is the most relevant piece of content available and should require no effort to find.

Outcome

The changes made in this redesign are, in most cases, small. A visible active state. A removed duplicate button. A repositioned icon. But each one is the direct result of a documented usability finding, and each one addresses a point of friction that real users encounter.

Usability does not always require reinvention. Sometimes it only requires paying closer attention.