Pixels AI
2024
Overview
Pixels.AI is a video intelligence platform that gives publishers actionable insights to optimise content performance and monetisation.
I was the product designer on the project, working alongside a Creative Director, tasked with leading the end-to-end design of a brand new dashboard experience.
The goal was to move beyond passive analytics and create an intuitive, actionable system that gave editors and publishers not just data, but clear next steps to improve engagement and drive revenue.
Contributions
Product Designer — Interaction Design, Visual Design, Prototyping, User Flows, Copywriting
Timeline
3 months
Tools used
Figma, Figjam, Adobe CC, Miro, Trello
Framing the challenge
Before proposing solutions, I mapped out the client’s existing tools and user pain points.
Although Pixels.AI had rich backend data, the tools available to editors were fragmented, technical, and unintuitive, making it difficult to understand where opportunities lay, or how to act on them.
The real opportunity wasn’t just in surfacing better metrics, it was in reshaping the relationship between editors and the platform itself. We needed to build trust in automation, simplify interactions, and celebrate editorial impact when it happened.
Throughout the project, I collaborated closely with engineering teams and client stakeholders, balancing UX ambition with technical feasibility, and aligning across disciplines to ensure that the final solution could be executed without compromise.
Information architecture
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Key objectives
Clarity of value
Help editors immediately understand why specific videos were recommended for their articles, and the potential impact on engagement and revenue.
Streamlined action
Make next steps frictionless: one-click wherever possible, with clear feedback.
Celebrate impact
Reinforce successful outcomes to create emotional momentum and build trust in the platform’s AI-driven recommendations.
Generate Article screen
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Approach & execution
Designing Pixels.AI’s dashboard experience required balancing editorial instincts with system automation, ensuring editors always felt empowered, not replaced.
One-click video swap
I designed a seamless workflow where editors could review suggested videos and insert them into articles in a single click.
Key metadata (title, relevance score, run time) was surfaced immediately to reduce decision fatigue and maintain editorial control.
Trending topics view
A new module highlighted under-served or high-performing articles, prompting editors to act while their audience interest was still live.
The goal was to move from passive analysis to proactive editorial management.
Celebrating editorial wins
To build trust in the platform’s automation, I introduced "magic moments"; lightweight confirmation animations and positive reinforcement whenever a video swap improved article engagement or time-on-page metrics.
Search Videos screen
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Visual system & interaction patterns
The visual design focused on breathing space, modularity, and glanceable insights.
Data cards presented key performance metrics simply and clearly, using clear typographic hierarchy. Colour signals (i.e. green for rising engagement, amber for decline) allowed editors to assess article health at a glance. Every interaction was designed for speed and confidence, with one-click actions minimising friction without sacrificing editorial control.
Consistency across the interface was critical: whether viewing engagement trends or inserting a video, editors needed to feel they were working within one continuous, supportive environment.
Outcomes
Increased editor engagement
In early tests, editor adoption rates rose by 30% compared to the previous dashboard, driven by one-click video swaps and clearer prompts for action.
Stronger trust in automation
Surveys showed a measurable increase in editors’ trust in the platform’s recommendations, with 78% reporting they felt "more confident" using the AI-driven suggestions after the redesign.
Faster time-to-action
The time from insight discovery to editorial action dropped by 42%, allowing publishers to respond faster to content opportunities and drive better monetisation results.
IMPACT
Pixels.AI moved from being perceived as a passive data provider to an active editorial ally, helping publishers not just track content performance but actively improve it in real time.
KEY INSIGHT
Pixels.AI showed that supporting workflows isn’t about surfacing more data, it’s about removing friction and building trust through clear, confident action.
Project Takeaways
Action over analysis
Helping editors move quickly proved more valuable than offering deeper, but passive, insights.
Simplify to empower
Reducing cognitive load didn’t just make the product easier to use, it made editors feel more capable and in control.
Build trust through small wins
Positive reinforcement and transparency around automation helped users embrace recommendations faster.
© Sam Strivens 2024