CASE STUDY · DESIGN — CRAFT & SCALE
HBO Max
HACKATHON 1ST PLACE Pitched and designed a social layer that turned content recommendations into virtual word-of-mouth — winning project at Warner Bros × BrainStation Hackathon.
TL;DR — A SCREENER CAN STOP HERE
HBO Max's brief asked for a better content recommendation system. I reframed it: instead of a smarter algorithm, a social layer where recommendations come from people, not predictions. Sole designer on a 6-person team, 24 hours, sketches → wireframes → hi-fi Figma prototype. The team won the Warner Bros × BrainStation Hackathon.
1stWARNER BROS × BRAINSTATION HACKATHON
24HOURS — BRIEF TO WIN
ROLESole Designer
TIMELINE24-hour hackathon · [year]
TEAM3 data science + 2 SWE
TOOLSFigma + [tools]
01 — CONTEXT
Algorithmic recommendations have a ceiling
The hackathon brief: improve Max's content recommendations. Algorithms have a ceiling — they can't replicate the most powerful recommendation source that exists: another person whose taste you trust telling you to watch something.
✦ NORTH STAR “What's actually limiting recommendation quality — is the answer technical or human?”
Where it started — the first pencil pass at putting friends inside Max.
02 — THE WORK
A social layer, not a smarter algorithm
Instead of a better algorithm, a social layer inside Max — see what the people you care about are actually watching. Virtual word-of-mouth: recommendations from people, not predictions.
Twenty-four hours, five teammates who didn't think visually — sketches first, to align the team on the shape of the idea before any pixel work.
CORE IDEAPersonal media profilesWhat you're watching now and your watchlist, visible to others.
CORE IDEAFriend visibilitySee what people you follow are currently watching, in real time.
CORE IDEACelebrity CirclesOpt into “circles” curated by celebrities — watch what your favorite stars watch.
✕ REJECTEDA smarter algorithmThe safer play the team almost took — algorithmic recommendations have a prediction ceiling.
The MAX app was mixed with inspiration from successful features of other apps to design a mid-fi wireframe later conveyed to team.
Hi-fidelity wireframes made post team-check in — the MAX skeleton kept every screen seamless for mobile integration.
Friend favorites and “keep up with friends” — recommendations from people.
A friend's profile — all-time favorites, shared groups.
03 — REFLECTION
Reframing the brief is a design move, not a violation of it
After a chaotic 24 hours, we pulled through with the win — judges cited the social layer as the most innovative submission and the prototype as the clearest articulation of a feature in the competition. Most teams answered the literal question with literal answers; the win came from asking the deeper one underneath it.
The social layer and Celebrity Circles, in depth.
A NOTE ON HONESTY “This is a hackathon concept that won — an interactive Figma prototype, not shipped product. No user metrics exist, and none are claimed.”
Caleb Kim 
