TV Compose & Design for TV

To modernize the Android TV developer experience, I spearheaded the creation of the TV Compose UI toolkit and its accompanying design guidelines to overcome the limitations of the aging Leanback library. This project significantly improved app quality and consistency, resulting in strong adoption by major partners and strategically advancing the Android TV platform.

Executive summary

To modernize the Android TV developer experience, I led the creation of TV Compose—a modern UI toolkit built on Jetpack Compose—and the official TV Design Guidelines. This work replaced the aging Leanback library, dramatically improving developer productivity, UI flexibility, and design consistency.

From initial vision and research to securing funding, leading development, and launching at Google I/O, I drove the end-to-end effort. The toolkit has since been adopted by over 480 TV apps (including NBA, SoundCloud, and MGM+), garnering strong developer feedback and delivering a strategic impact for the Android TV ecosystem.

The problem

Android TV development previously relied on Leanback 1.0—an outdated UI framework that suffered from several key issues:

Lack of flexibility & branding: The framework's opinionated nature made customizing layouts difficult, leading to generic-looking apps and hindering brand expression.
Missing primitives & inconsistency: Developers were often forced to build core UI elements from scratch, leading to accessibility (a11y) issues and duplicated effort.
Outdated design language: The visual style did not align with the modern UI aesthetics of Google TV.
Developer dissatisfaction & inefficiency: Developer surveys, which I conducted in partnership with UX Research, confirmed low CSAT scores (57% for the Leanback API and 62% for its documentation).

Opportunity

I saw this as a pivotal moment to modernize the entire developer experience—not just by replacing code, but by delivering a holistic design and development system tailored specifically for the TV screen.

Target users

Deliverables

TV Compose — a modern UI toolkit for Android TV

Built on Jetpack Compose and written in Kotlin, TV Compose empowers developers with:

A rich set of TV-optimized components: Cards, Lists, Carousels, Tabs, Navigation, Dialogs, and more.
Best-in-class focus management, keyboard interaction, and accessibility (a11y).
Deep customizability to enable branded, visually compelling TV apps.
Seamless interoperability with Views, enabling gradual adoption for existing projects.

Official Design for TV Guidelines

To ensure consistency across design and development, I led the creation of the TV Design Guidelines, published on developer.android.com. These include:

Design principles optimized for the 10-foot TV experience.
Usage patterns for key components (e.g., focus states, layout, and motion).

Design for TV published on developer.android.com/design/tv

TV Design Kit & Sample apps

Alongside the guidelines, we provided sticker sheets and sample apps for reference.

TV Design Kit published on Figma Community

Process: From vision to reality

Vision & Strategy

I authored the original "Leanback 2.0" one-pager, outlining the problem, the opportunity, and a future direction that was Compose-based, flexible, and scalable. This document laid the foundation for project buy-in and execution.

Leadership buy-in & Funding

I championed the project internally. When initial resourcing (0.5 FTE Eng) proved insufficient for the ambitious scope (116.5 person-weeks for P0 features), I authored the "Leanback 2.0 Plan B" one-pager, analyzing the shortfall and proposing solutions. I successfully pitched to leadership, rationalizing the need for increased resources and securing funding to engage an external development agency.

Research & Developer focus

I partnered with the central Android UX research team to execute developer surveys, ensuring we captured actionable insights regarding pain points and needs. We used these findings to prioritize features and documentation.

"...need to add some customized Components instead of Basic in Leanback Library”

Proper Guides and examples on how to use leanback elements - Examples of how to customize parts of the UI...

Technical leadership & architecture

Led the combined engineering team (3 Google engineers + agency), providing technical direction and oversight in collaboration with the PM.
Contributed heavily to the foundational architecture of the TV Compose library, focusing on addressing core issues like focus management and UI customizability.
Designed the initial set of components. My expertise in Kotlin was directly applicable as the project evolved toward Jetpack Compose.

Cross-functional collaboration

I actively managed relationships and technical alignment with key partners, including Material Design (for UI/UX consistency), DevRel (for developer needs, reference apps, and documentation), and the Jetpack Compose team (for focus management and TV-specific features).

Product development & Execution

I oversaw the development lifecycle, from component design and implementation to testing. I managed the Early Access Program (EAP), establishing relationships with partners (MGM+, Plex, Showmax, SoundCloud, etc.), gathering feedback, and ensuring it led to concrete API improvements (e.g., TabRow onClick/onFocus, keyboard positioning, and long-press interactions). I also kept stakeholders informed via regular newsletters.

Documentation & Design guidelines

I led the initiative to create and publish the official TV Design Guidelines on developer.android.com/design/tv, ensuring a clear link between design principles and Compose components.

Additionally, I oversaw the release of Figma sticker sheets and design kits (figma.com/@tv).

Launch & Evangelism

I presented TV Compose at Google I/O 2023. I also contributed to launch materials (blog posts, newsletters, and codelabs) and participated in Google I/O Connect events to showcase the library, engage developers directly, and gather feedback (such as prioritizing the Catalog app) to drive EAP adoption.

Presenting in Miami — At Google I/O Connect 2023 in Miami with my Product Manager

Outcomes & Impact

Adoption: Over 480 apps now use TV Compose, including major players like NBA, ESPN, Zee5, Plex, SoundCloud, and MGM+.

Adoption of TV Compose Compose for TV Adoption

Developer love: EAP partners and I/O attendees praised the improvements in flexibility, accessibility, and the overall developer experience.
Ecosystem alignment: Solidified Android TV’s place in the modern, Compose-first Android stack.
Durable assets: Created foundational resources (guidelines, kits, templates, and samples) that benefit the entire Android TV developer community.
Strategic shift: Successfully transitioned from a legacy framework to a modern toolkit, with clear CSAT metrics to track ongoing improvement.

Press coverage

The Compose for TV launch was published on the Android Developers Blog and covered by major industry publications.