PlayStation Network (or PSN) is a digital media entertainment service available to users of Sony consoles - PS3, PS4, PS5, PSP and PS Vita. Since 2013 it's also accessible via web browser and PlayStation App. PSN gives it's users access to many sub-services such as: online marketplace (PlayStation Store), premium gaming subscription (PlayStation Plus), movie streaming (PlayStation Video), music streaming (PlayStation Music by Spotify) and cloud gaming (PlayStation Now). The platform has ca. 109 million active users.
Each user has their own ID and account accessible through compatible consoles, PlayStation App or any web browser. After logging in it's possible to purchase games, manage subscriptions, access own game library and manage all of the account settings.
Aside from the fact that PlayStation users can change all the settings on their consoles, there is sometimes a need to access PSN through a browser. Every time I've had to use the desktop version of PlayStation services, my experience has been far from the best. The first thing that catches your eye is a bit dated visual part. Considering that the PS5 is a completely new and futuristic approach to hardware design, the PSN's outdated visuals are very surprising. After a while of browsing we can notice that a lot of categories force us to leave the site we are currently on - 5 out of 12 tabs redirect users to subpages or external sites such as PlayStation Store. It creates confusion and distracts from what we wanted to get done on the page.
My main goal was to gather everything in one place and create a visually pleasing design. I left the whole page layout mostly intact. Settings categories and subsections seem well thought out so I did not alter them in any way.
I focused on improving the visibility and readability of elements on the page. To achieve that I added indicators (using blue colour) and three layers of background.
Another thing that needed improvement was the "edit" button next to each editable field or element. This solution seems to be unintuitive and simply outdated. Instead, I would suggest using interactive fields with a pencil icon (signaling the ability to edit). This way, users would be able to change their data only by clicking in the appropriate field and the page itself would save the changes.
The main thing that needs changing is unnecessary redirects. The settings page should offer a complete and unified experience. By ditching redirects, we keep the user in one place and give them the opportunity to get everything done without unnecessary distractions. What's more, there will be no need to enter a password at almost every switch - the current site is very untrusting and logs us out literally after a moment of inactivity.
The last change is to move the information about the logged in user. Currently, the avatar, PlayStation ID, and email are visible above all categories, where they only take up space. A much more natural and convenient place for user information is the top right corner along with the drop-down menu.
A working prototype is available below.