Starting a new experiment, where I write short snippets about some new design Interactions that I notice in the world around us.

FIFA World Cup 2022 is all in its swing, and in India, officially, you can only watch on Reliance’s JioCinema.

And this is where I identified a new interaction, which I never noticed or noticed but didn’t think of much, but today I did.

Interaction identified

On PC/Mac, when you watch any new video/live stream on the website (fullscreen or otherwise) and press the Down arrow on the keyboard, It mutes the video.

And then, if you press the Up arrow, it unmutes the video and increases the volume by one level.

Try here: https://www.jiocinema.com/watch/videos/clothes-clip-puppet-heads/6/6/1b72a5b0157711e8ba4283afdd11d221/0/0

What’s new about it?

Well, for starters, generally, on other websites, pressing the Down arrow usually lowers the volume by some percentage or brings it one level down.

And if you have to mute the website, you either use the keyboard shortcut M or manually click on the volume button on the website, then it mutes, or use some variation of it.

So this is the first time I have seen an interaction like this, which is pretty subtle but a differentiator — UX-wise, for a video-watching paradigm, which is pretty stagnant — for a long time.

What might be the reason behind it?

There might be multiple reasons for inventing this new interaction pattern, depending upon different perspectives, but this is the one I can think of currently:

Possible Reason #1: Decreasing Interaction Time

People usually adjust the volume from the lowest point and set it up according to their preferences.

Currently, you press the Down arrow multiple times to reach the lowest point (Mute) and then increase it by each level (Up arrow).

This way, the first interaction pulls you down to the lowest point, and then you do the second interaction to adjust the volume, effectively reducing the interaction time.

Possible Reason #2: Tell me!

I don’t know, but I would love to hear from everyone about this and their speculations, or perhaps the Designers at Reliance/Jio Team and their reasons.

That’s about it!

I don’t know if this is a good pattern, but I know there’s an Aha! Moment for those who noticed it, and no learning curve.

I like the pattern, It combines and simplifies the interaction.

And I would love to know what you think.

And, if you have an idea or a different pattern than what we are used to, just let me know!

Ankit Passi / www.ankitpassi.com