American Airlines
ROLE
Design lead
Product design
Visual design
Design system
TEAM
1 client manager
3 designers
4 stakeholders + clients
DURATION
Q1 2022 - 4 months
BACKGROUND
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American Airlines’ existing in-flight entertainment (IFE) system was over a decade old – outdated, slow, and difficult to navigate. Many features were buried and clunky. Visually, it was detached from their brand.
In collaboration with my team at Artefact and partnership with Thales, the goal was to redesign the IFE for American’s international fleets in 2025, prioritizing longevity and building in flexibility to add features over time.
Goal
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Provide a positive, effortless seatback experience, communicate through a trusted brand and build a flexible, future-proof system.
PROCESS
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I explored a breadth of information architectures, features and visual styles that prioritized content, information and experience to various degrees.
Some directions put flight information first and were more subdued and practical. Others were more entertainment focused—dynamic, fluid and entertaining. I also played with concepts that made each IFE feel hyper-personalized, catering features to passengers based on mood, like binge watching shows, or staying on top of work during their flight.
An additional challenge of IFE’s is designing for multiple input methods—touch, D-pad, and remote cursor. This meant rethinking content grids to avoid nested elements and ensure smooth navigation across all input types, cabins, and screen distances.
SOLUTIONS
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Designed a flexible layout and IA to allow for content additions and updates over time, saving time and cost to update fleets.
Modernized UX with universal, familiar patterns and greatly reduced the amount of scrolling required on a seatback screen.
Simplified navigation into action specific categories.
Commonly accessed features like screen controls and flight map in one easily-accessible control panel.
Increased area and opportunities for ad placement, partnerships and airline-curated content.
Optimized flows to accommodate for touch, D-pad and remote.
Clean, timeless visuals that compliment other American Airlines brand touchpoints.
Content discovery
More touchpoints system-wide for dynamic offerings, monetization and airline partnerships alongside static, evergreen content.
Info at a glance
Key controls (volume, lighting, Bluetooth connection), flight information and crew notifications are easily accessed in one control panel from any screen.
Uncovered features
Features like Watch Party – the ability to watch a movie with another passenger simultaneously – were previously buried in extraneous UI. These features are now highlighted as a unique service offering.
