Montage
Year
2024
Client
Independent Project
Category
Film distribution Dashboard Design
Product Duration
3–4 Weeks
Filmmakers and producers have no unified view of how their films are actually performing. Data lives across OTT platform dashboards, social media analytics, review sites, and ad managers, making holistic tracking nearly impossible and strategic decision-making mostly guesswork. Six user problems defined the research direction: film performance data is fragmented across platforms with no way to track holistically; there’s no real-time access to viewer sentiment or regional engagement; current tools show metrics but don’t interpret them or suggest next steps; there’s no easy way to benchmark a film against similar titles; no centralised place exists to compare distribution platforms by effectiveness; and filmmakers spend heavily on marketing without knowing which efforts are actually driving results.
The design prioritised scannability over data density. Filmmakers are not data analysts, so they need to understand performance quickly and act on it confidently. The key design decision was unification over specialisation. Rather than building separate tools for revenue, reviews, and distribution, everything lives in one dashboard, removing the cognitive load of switching between platforms mid-decision. Performance is compared across distribution types, with theatres, streaming, and VOD shown side by side, so users can make smarter release strategy decisions per region. Marketing reports track CTR, spend, and influencer and critic impact together, so the ROI of every campaign is immediately visible. A competitor analysis module lets users benchmark their film against similar titles before committing to distribution choices. A built-in AI companion analyses the data and surfaces actionable suggestions rather than leaving users to interpret raw numbers alone. The visual language uses a dark background, high-contrast orange accents, and Futura typography to feel cinematic and editorial, matching the world filmmakers inhabit rather than the sterile aesthetic of standard analytics tools.
Montage was developed as a concept project over 3–4 weeks, covering competitive research against existing tools (Letterboxd, Vimeo, FilmFreeway), user problem mapping, information architecture, and high-fidelity dashboard UI design. Accessibility was considered throughout, including sufficient colour contrast, clear bar and line chart visualisations over complex graph types, and interactive elements sized for easy use across devices.
Montage remains a concept. The core hypothesis worth validating is whether filmmakers want a single unified dashboard, or whether they prefer the specialised tools they already use. The answer determines whether Montage competes with existing platforms or sits as a layer on top of them. The project demonstrates dashboard design, data visualisation, and the challenge of making complex information feel simple and actionable for non-technical users.
