Evolving Germany's biggest media platform.

In recent years, streaming has evolved rapidly. User expectations, shaped by the slick interfaces of private platforms, had shifted dramatically. In 2020, ARD Mediathek felt fragmented – no longer matching how people discover and use content today. What started as a UX job became a brand evolution – and a client relationship that has lasted for years.

client

ARD is Germany's public broadcasting alliance, offering free, high-quality content across news, culture, and entertainment. The ARD Mediathek serves as its primary digital streaming platform and an inclusive alternative to paywalled giants like Netflix.

services

Branding
UX and UI design
UX writing
Strategic brand management
Spatial Communication

industry

Media

"UX evolution, brand strategy, and event design from a single source: together with ARD, we proved how a consistent brand experience can work across every touchpoint."

Peter Wiltfang, co-founder of NOCK NOCK, lead designer for ARD.

The Challenge

As the success of Netflix and others raised expectations, ARD Mediathek needed to catch up. What began as a UX challenge quickly revealed a deeper task: bringing order to a media platform shaped by dozens of regional broadcasters and thousands of pieces of content.

Our Solution

In a decentralized system like the ARD, success is a team sport. Our approach is built on close alignment with various feature teams and stakeholders.

We see ourselves as a "speedboat" unit, providing agile design support while remaining deeply rooted in the overarching goals of the organization. Whether it’s refining the UI of the Mediathek or designing physical spaces, our work is always a co-creative effort with the experts at ARD.

Platform Evolution (UX/UI)

Working alongside ARD’s internal product teams to evolve the ARD Mediathek and Audiothek. We contribute to modular design systems that ensure a seamless experience across all devices.

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Strategic Brand Management

Assisting in the development of guidelines that help maintain a coherent identity across the different regional broadcasters.

Event and Space Design

Translating the digital brand into the physical world. For formats like the ARD Mediathek Camp, we work with event leads to create environments that reflect the network's cultural shift.

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The Impact

Since the beginning of our collaboration, video views for the Mediathek have surged, reaching over 2 billion annual views and a daily reach of 3.5 million people. ARD Mediathek has firmly established itself as Germany’s leading domestic streaming platform. But most importantly, it provides credible, important information to German society.

Our mission continues. ARD Online extended our collaboration for another four years, building on our integrated “speedboat” model. Together, we’ll keep advancing accessible UX, AI-driven recommendations, and the design system, listening, prototyping, and improving as the Mediathek evolves.

Thank you for your endless cooperation and tireless support:
Ben Krammer (UX)
Julia Erbut (Project Management)
Michael Raba (UX/UI)
Katharina Köth (UX)