Crafting a faster, tactile, and brand-forward Browse & Discovery experience to support the growing content library of a national yoga brand's SVOD platform.

To comply with any non-disclosure agreements, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Y7 STUDIO.

For nearly a decade, Y7 STUDIO® had built a cult following for its celebrity-favorite, brick-and-mortar yoga studio experience—until COVID-19 abruptly shut down operations. In a rapid pivot, the company launched a stopgap SVOD product with Vimeo OTT’s out-of-the-box platform.

When lockdowns ended, SVOD’s primary persona—studio clients—no longer saw value in the product and churned back to return in-person classes. The product itself lacked the competitiveness to win over a new persona of at-home yogis. The result: a steep decline in digital revenue. 

When lockdowns ended, SVOD’s primary persona—studio clients—no longer saw value in the product and churned back to return in-person classes. The product itself lacked the competitiveness to win over a new persona of at-home yogis. The result: a steep decline in digital revenue. 

Y7’s off-the-shelf Vimeo OTT platform was never built for large fitness libraries. Without multi-attribute filtering, users had to scroll endlessly to find a class—slowing discovery and driving churn. Class cards showed only a title and duration, hiding critical context until playback. With a rapidly growing library, this setup was unsustainable in the long-term for both backend management and the frontend UX.

Manually-curated single-attribute collections (e.g., class duration) were a temporary browse solution, but offered a clunky UX and couldn’t scale with plans to 10x content.

Competitor Obé’s browse page set a benchmark: fast multi-filtering, instant grid updates, and full metadata visible before playback.

I first set out to understand the full scope of potential metadata behind each piece of content, defining facets that users might be interested in. 

I divided this into sortable options (duration and date posted), user variables (watch history and favorite status), and CMS variables (e.g. body focus or class type). 

I divided this into purple sortable options (duration and date posted), orange user variables (watch history and favorite status), and navy CMS attributes (e.g. body focus or class type). 

The genre filter evolved into a “vibe” attribute within the quiz—something no other fitness platform offered.  Vibes better mirrored how instructors actually programmed: multi-genre playlists anchored by a clear intention.  I defined four core "vibes" in a content design sprint alongside top instructors, each expressed in Y7’s signature brand voice and brought to life through rotating artist headshots.

Content Grid

To make browse feel instantly intuitive, I anchored the redesign in a clean grid-card layout familiar from leading fitness platforms. Each clickable card displayed all key attributes and saved progress so users could rapidly make informed decisions.

I designed filtering to speed up time-to-class and allow discoverability to scale. Filters would be placed in a left sidebar and updated the grid in real time; popular filters were expanded by default, while less common ones were tucked into accordions to reduce visual clutter without limiting choice.

For non-subscribers, I retained interactive browse functionality to build investment in finding the right class. Attempting to play a class triggered a free trial CTA in the modal—capturing a high-intent moment and leveraging the commitment bias from their search effort.

While this basic layout was suitable for an MVP—and already a substantial improvement on Vimeo's interface—post-launch, I worked to refine the grid cards.  Class cards were simplified into a cleaner, higher-contrast design. On hover, an animated card flip revealed more attributes—reducing clicks and making exploration feel dynamic and polished.

ABOVE-THE-FOLD

Above the grid, I initially ideated a one-click "Quick Start" picker that let users simply choose a duration and launch a random class they haven't seen (to reduce decision fatigue). To highlight a new hit music integration with Universal Music Group, I also elevated genre filters to a full-width row directly below the picker that could feature rotating artist headshots.

However, pre-launch user testing revealed the random flow selector functionality felt jarring and wouldn't see much real-world usage. Instead, I redesigned this section into a quiz-style layout with interactive, draggable sliders for the two most commonly used facets—retaining much of the original’s speed while boosting personalization, playful tactility, and user agency.  The genre evolved into the "vibe" facet, which better reflected how teachers actually programmed and emphasized content design.

Post-launch usage data revealed users were frustrated from hunting across the page to find different filters. This drove further refinements: the sidebar was removed, with all remaining facets consolidated into a unified above-the-fold interface. Class metadata were drop-down, and user attributes were included as toggles in the sort row. Visually, the background was unified with the grid to appear as one seamless interface. Color accents for the stickers was removed to allow for the thumbnail imagery to pop.

CLASS DETAIL

A major decision was modal vs. new page for class detail. A dedicated page could help SEO and acquisition, but a modal kept subscribers in flow—letting them preview a class and back out without losing filters. I prioritized in-session engagement and chose the modal.

The modal featured full class details and playlist, key artist thumbnails, Y7 apparel shopping links, and CTAs to start the class, begin a trial and/or bookmark this class.

A refined modal layout eliminated awkward white-space gaps. The playlist became a continuous carousel—more visually impactful and removing the need for endless scrolling.

MOBILE ADAPTATION

Designing for our native iOS app meant rethinking layout and interaction patterns for smaller screens. The grid condensed into a single column, with all metadata overlaid on thumbnails for faster scanning.

Filters moved into a full-height bottom sheet to preserve viewport space. Signature slider elements stayed at the top, with other filters in accordions below. As filters were applied, the available class count updated in real time within the apply button—giving instant feedback without leaving the filter sheet.

UX WRITING

The genre filter evolved into a “vibe” attribute within the quiz—something no other fitness platform offered.  Vibes better mirrored how instructors actually programmed: multi-genre playlists anchored by a clear intention.  I defined four core "vibes" in a content design sprint alongside top instructors, each expressed in Y7’s signature brand voice and brought to life through rotating artist headshots.

SET DESIGN

As a video-centric product, set design played a crucial role in ensuring cohesive visual content design. Bucking the industry trend of bright minimalist sets, we leaned into Y7’s signature darker, candlelit aesthetic to differentiate ourselves. I was inspired by gritty urban elements that drew from the brand's Brooklyn roots.

The result featured talent framed in front of a blacked-out garage door and brick wall, accented by candles and stacked black speakers. We used a gobo projector to display Y7's logomark on the door, which could quickly be swapped out for brand partnerships.

Lastly, I introduced a secondary camera angle, allowing us to bookend classes with a more intimate close-up shot—mimicking the feeling of sitting beside the instructor in a private session.

ONBOARDING
DESIGN

One key post-launch initiative was the rebranding of our 14-day free trial into a yoga challenge. This attempted to solve for D7/D14 retention and increase conversion rates through curating our best content.  I closely collaborated with our digital programming lead to understand our best-performing content and teachers, and create a comprehensive program for trial users.

LANDING PAGE

To promote our refreshed platform, I had to develop a consistent visual and verbal identity that targeted our dual product marketing goals: up-selling existing studio clients, and swaying at-home yogis.

After brainstorming messaging and conducting user interviews, I landed on the primary tagline "The Internet's Sweatiest Yoga" to stake a defensible claim in our targeted niche. This front-and-center emphasis – paired with vivid, sweat-dripping imagery – made it clear to prospective users what our product was all about. 

A key differentiator to Y7's SVOD offering versus native digital platforms was offering not just yoga, but the experience of a cult brick-and-mortar brand. I emphasized this social proof heavily in product marketing materials.