TV Compose & Design for TV

To modernize the Android TV developer experience, I spearheaded the creation of the TV Compose UI toolkit and associated design guidelines, replacing 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 now been adopted by 480+ TV apps (NBA, Soundcloud, MGM+), with strong developer feedback and strategic impact for Android TV.

The problem

Android TV development relied on Leanback 1.0 — an outdated UI framework that:

Lack of flexibility & branding: Its opinionated framework made customizing layouts difficult, leading to generic-looking apps and hindering brand expression.
Missing primitives & inconsistency: Developers were 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Outdated design language: The visual style did not align with the modern UI aesthetics of Google TV.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 partnered with UX Research to conduct, confirmed low CSAT (57% for Leanback API, 62% for documentation).

Opportunity

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

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, etc.
Best-in-class focus management, keyboard interaction, and a11y
Deep customizability to enable branded, beautiful TV apps
Seamless interoperability with Views, enabling gradual adoption

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, motion)

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

TV Design Kit & Sample apps

Along with the guidelines we provided Stickersheets 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, opportunity, and future direction (Compose-based, flexible, scalable). This document laid the foundation for buy-in and execution.

Leadership buy-in & Funding:

Championed the project internally. When initial resourcing (0.5 FTE Eng) proved insufficient for the ambitious scope (116.5 person-weeks for P0s), I authored the "Leanback 2.0 Plan B" one-pager, analyzing the shortfall and proposing solutions. I successfully pitched leadership, clearly rationalizing the need for increased resources and securing funding to engage an external development agency.

Research & Developer focus:

Partnered with the central Android UX research team to execute the developer survey, ensuring we captured actionable insights on pain points and needs. 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 with support from 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 towards Jetpack Compose.

Cross-functional collaboration:

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

Product development & Execution:

Oversaw the development lifecycle, from component design and implementation to testing. Managed the EAP, establishing relationships with partners (MGM+, Plex, Showmax, Soundcloud, etc.), actively gathering feedback, and ensuring it led to concrete API improvements (e.g., TabRow onClick/onFocus, keyboard positioning, long-press). Kept stakeholders informed via regular newsletters.

Documentation & Design guidelines

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.

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

Launch & Evangelism

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

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

Outcomes & Impact

Adoption: ~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 dev experience
Ecosystem alignment: Solidified Android TV’s place in the modern Compose-first Android stack
Durable assets: Created foundational resources (guidelines, kits, templates, samples) that benefit the entire Android TV developer community
Strategic shift: From a legacy framework to a modern toolkit, with clear CSAT metrics to track ongoing improvement

Press coverage

Compose for TV launch was published in Android Developers Blog & covered by major publications