DRTV is Denmark’s public streaming platform, designed to serve viewers across TV, mobile, web and streaming devices. The central design challenge was creating a coherent experience across fundamentally different platforms and interaction models.
Every feature had to work consistently across very different contexts — remote controls and focus navigation on TV, touch on mobile and desktop interaction on the web.
Rather than treating each platform as a separate product, the focus was on defining shared interaction principles while adapting the experience to the strengths and constraints of each device.
DRTV, truly for everyone
As Denmark’s public broadcaster, accessibility was a core product requirement rather than an afterthought. This extended from the media itself — subtitles, sign language and audio descriptions — to the interface and interaction layer.
I worked with considerations including colour contrast, typography, readability from a distance, keyboard and remote navigation, focus management and predictable interaction patterns.
The goal was not simply to make individual features accessible, but to maintain an inclusive and understandable experience across platforms.
As DRTV evolved, maintaining consistency across platforms became as important as designing new features. I led the migration of the design library from Sketch to Figma, evolving it into a scalable system of reusable components, variables and design tokens.
The system created a shared foundation for new themes, components and cross-platform features while reducing duplication and long-term maintenance.
Working closely with the client was an important part of the process. During a visit to Copenhagen, I collaborated directly with the DR design team — aligning on design decisions, gathering feedback and working through product challenges together.
"A design system is not only about consistency — it’s about making future design decisions cheaper."
Designing for television changed how I think about interfaces. Every interaction needs to remain understandable from several meters away while still working across remotes, touchscreens and desktop devices.
The project reinforced the value of consistency, accessibility and incremental improvement — especially when designing a product used across such different contexts.
