Sky x WithU
Founding Product Designer (Lead)
Overview
End-to-end ownership from concept to launch across Sky Q, Sky Glass, and Sky Stream.
Led product vision, UX, and UI design, working closely with product, engineering, and Sky stakeholders.
Designed a 0→1 fitness TV app for Sky, creating a lean-back, remote-based experience that enables users to seamlessly browse and participate in workouts from their living room.
The goal was to deliver an engaging, accessible fitness experience tailored to large-screen environments and remote interaction.
The problem
Designing for TV introduces fundamentally different interaction patterns compared to mobile or desktop.
Users:
Navigate using a remote control (limited input)
Operate in a lean-back, passive environment
Expect minimal friction between browsing and playback
Require low cognitive load while focused on exercising
Initial wireframes—created by their junior designer prior to my involvement—leaned heavily on web/mobile patterns. This resulted in complex navigation, poor hierarchy, and inaccessible layouts for TV, creating friction in both discovery and usability.
The challenge
Design a fitness experience that:
Enables effortless navigation via remote
Transitions seamlessly from content discovery to active workouts
Works consistently across multiple Sky platforms
Maintains clear visual hierarchy for readability and focus
Constraints
Technical and accessibility constraints:
Remote-based input (no touch interaction)
* Cross-platform consistency (Sky Q, Glass, Stream)
Large-screen readability and distance-based viewing
Performance constraints on TV hardware
Key product & design decisions
Designed for remote-first navigation
Simplified interaction patterns to minimise interactions and reduce cognitive load when navigating via remote control.
Optimised for lean-back consumption
Structured content to support passive browsing while enabling quick transition into active workout sessions.
Reduced friction between browse and play
Prioritised clear CTAs and streamlined flows to minimise steps between selecting and starting a workout.
Designed for large-screen readability
Applied high contrast, large typography, and clear hierarchy to ensure usability at distance.
Left: wireframes (junior designer) | Right: revised information architecture & funnelled user journey
The approach
Defined product vision and interaction patterns for a TV-first experience, collaborating closely with engineering and Sky stakeholders to ensure feasibility and alignment.
Redesigned the experience to prioritise clear, guided journeys within the constraints of remote-based navigation. This included simplifying side navigation, introducing clearer content hierarchy (categories and subcategories), and creating hero category pages to support key decisions such as workout type.
Conducted a full content audit to reduce cognitive load and improve clarity, ensuring users could quickly find a suitable workout without friction or confusion.
As the sole design lead, I drove product decisions and ensured consistency across all touchpoints.
Product improvements
Discovery & navigation
Refined the information architecture and navigation to improve content discovery and reduce friction in remote-based interaction:
Simplified side navigation to support clear, guided journeys using remote-based input
Introduced clearer content hierarchy (categories and subcategories) to improve content discoverability
Created hero category pages to support key decisions such as workout type
Conducted a full content audit to reduce cognitive load and improve clarity
Added workout intensity metadata (separate from skill level) to improve workout discovery
Motivation & feedback
Enhanced engagement through feedback design and behaviour-driven interactions:
Introduced light gamification, including performance tracking, achievement badges, and personal best indicators to encourage engagement
Redesigned the post-workout experience to reduce cognitive overload, surfacing contextual stats during cooldown and a simplified post-workout summary
Shifted feedback tone to be supportive, celebrating progress and offering guidance when performance dropped
Reduced negative colour cues in performance scoring to create a more positive experience
Introduced the option to disable the camera view after research showed it was off-putting to users
UI & design system
Developed a large-screen optimised UI, focusing on clarity, accessibility, and ease of navigation.
High contrast and clear hierarchy
Large typography for distance readability
Simple, intuitive navigation patterns
The studio environment featured a bright white set, so I designed a dark UI to create contrast and direct focus, improving readability and reducing visual strain.
Established reusable components and patterns to support scalability and future development.
Impact
Multi-platform launch
Delivered a 0→1 product across multiple Sky platforms (Sky Q, Sky Glass, Sky Stream)
Scalable product foundation
Established a scalable foundation for future content and feature development
First-of-its-kind, machine learning TV fitness experience
Defined interaction patterns for remote-based TV experiences. Simplified navigation and information hierarchy, enabling users to find suitable workouts quickly and with minimal friction
Successful launch and positive reception
Contributed to a successful multi-platform launch, reaching a broad audience. Generated positive early reception, including media coverage