Pentagram/Netflix

Netflix Queue

Dynamic design elevates award-worthy content

Entertainment & Culture & Best Use of Video or Moving Image / Nominee

Pentagram/Netflix

Entertainment & Culture & Best Use of Video or Moving Image

Nominee

We translated the Queue print concept to digital while remaining distinct from the Netflix service. Jase Hueser, Senior Designer

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Q: Can you briefly describe your project and the concept behind it?

A: Netflix Queue is a print journal that tells the stories behind Netflix’s original films and series. It features interviews with actors, directors and other talent, as well as incredible original photography. For the website, we wanted to highlight the wide range of bold-faced names covered in the editorial and showcase the imagery in a dynamic way. To achieve this, we played with layering techniques and developed an eye-catching color palette.

Q: Once you settled on your idea, what influenced your decision on the chosen technical approach? How did it differ or go beyond approaches you’ve taken in the past?

A: A large team would be required to both develop and approve the site at various stages, so collaborative tools that permit presenting the design in a fleshed-out way were important. Figma was key to this workflow with its prototyping power and ease of collaboration.

Q: What were some of your biggest learning and takeaways from this project?

A: Keeping the site minimalistic and clean was key in showcasing the visual elements—such as bespoke animated covers, arresting photography, and video content—in an elegant way. In the end, it was about striking the right balance between minimalism and dynamism. Color accents and talent-name pop-outs on the homepage add flair to the clean canvas—as did other interactive elements (for example, a special “spoiler alert” feature).

Q: How did the final product meet or exceed your expectations? What results did you see?

A: The final product feels fresh and elegant, while not attempting to be too showy.

Q: How did you reach a good balance of your own creative ideas and technical capabilities with a fair representation of the client’s brand?

A: This project was a collaboration between Netflix, Pentagram, and Powster, who built the site. We’d designed the Queue print journal, so we had a visual language in place, but it took time to figure out how to translate that digitally. Ultimately, we hit on some features that we all loved. Powster did an excellent job at reproducing our ideas, and worked with us to come up with solutions when our ideas weren’t realistic on the development side.