Brand-Agnostic VOD: A Flexible Platform for Huawei

Huawei aimed to extend a flexible VOD platform to multiple partners across MENA and Africa, each with distinct brand identities and user preferences. The underlying technology needed to remain stable and performant, but the design had to adapt rapidly, offering unique “skins” and localized features while respecting each client’s user experience requirements.

• Varied Branding & Localization: Multiple languages, currencies, and cultural norms demanded agile theming and region-specific customizations.

• Scalable Performance: High-traffic events—like sports or new content releases—could overwhelm the platform if not well-prepared.

• Consistency Amid Customization: Keeping a unified, reliable backend while front-end visuals varied among partners.

Design-focused efforts collaborated with Huawei’s technical divisions to form a microservices architecture. On the user-experience and interface design sides, attention centered on:

1. Modular UI Framework

Each brand could swap colors, logos, and layout elements, yet the streaming process and core user flows stayed intact. This guaranteed minimal code-level disruptions.

2. Localization & Accessibility

Flexible design systems handled right-to-left scripts and color contrasts for different locales while preserving user-friendly navigation.

3. Iterative Testing

Early partner rollouts offered real-life performance data and user insights, guiding incremental improvements to the design system’s theming capabilities.

• Rapid Customization: Partner onboarding dropped from months to weeks, thanks to a library of reusable UI components.

• Stable Streaming: Even during peak events, users reported minimal buffering or service disruptions.

• User Familiarity: Despite unique looks per brand, the core design logic felt consistent, making navigation easy across different partner platforms.