Background
The current recording page editor in our product has an inconsistency issue with the left sidebar design. While the overall recording page editor looks great and maintains consistency across the platform, the sidebar stands out as problematic for several reasons:
Current Issues:
Icons in the sidebar have inconsistent weights, making them appear visually unbalanced
The sidebar design is not consistent with icons used across other Neeto products
The current structure (icon with text below) is not used anywhere else in the Neeto ecosystem
Overall lack of design consistency compared to other product components
Proposed Solutions
Solution 1: Fixed Sidebar
Description: Implement a traditional fixed sidebar with icons positioned to the left and text labels to the right of each icon. This approach extends the current sidebar to accommodate text labels alongside the redesigned icons.
Advantages:
Highest consistency with standard UI patterns across the industry
Easiest to implement from an engineering perspective
Clear navigation with always-visible text labels
Professional appearance that aligns with Neeto branding standards
Predictable user experience with familiar navigation patterns
Disadvantages:
Requires dimension adjustments to accommodate the wider sidebar
Video player size reduction needed for transcript, chapters, CTA, and leads pages
Layout constraints may affect content organization on some pages
Solution 2: Auto-Close Sidebar
Description: Implement a dynamic sidebar that expands to show text labels only on the basic info page and collapses to icon-only view when navigating to other sections (transcript, chapters, CTAs, etc.).
Advantages:
Maintains larger video player on most pages except basic info
Space efficiency by showing full labels only when on the basic info page
Adaptive interface that adjusts based on current page context
Disadvantages:
Poor user experience for navigation clarity
Requires memorization of icon meanings when in collapsed state
Inconsistent behavior across different pages
User confusion about available actions when icons are unlabeled
Solution 3: Collapsible Sidebar
Description: Implement a sidebar similar to the one used in NeetoCal's admin panel, featuring a collapse/expand toggle button. Users can manually control whether they want to see the full sidebar with text labels or just the icon version.
Advantages:
User control over interface density
Flexible space management - users can expand video player when needed
Consistent with existing Neeto patterns (already implemented in NeetoCal)
Accommodates different user preferences for interface complexity
Disadvantages:
Requires title/header addition to make the collapsed state meaningful
Additional UI complexity with toggle controls
Potential confusion about current sidebar state
Not the optimal design solution according to design assessment
Hybrid approach that may not fully solve consistency issues
Solution 4: Wistia Style (Overlay Sidebar)
Description: Implement a system where the main page takes up most space, but clicking on navigation items collapses the main content and opens the relevant settings panel. The sidebar can overlay on top of content when expanded, similar to Vistia's implementation.
Advantages:
Maximum space utilization for video player by default
Dynamic content area that adapts to user actions
Modern interface pattern seen in contemporary applications
Tooltip support for icon identification when collapsed
Flexible layout that prioritizes content when sidebar is not needed
Disadvantages:
Complex interaction patterns that may confuse users
Overlay behavior can obscure important content
More complex state management for different view modes
Potential usability issues with overlapping interface elements
Higher implementation complexity compared to traditional sidebar approaches
Competitive Analysis Reference
Current State:
Our video player is currently the largest among competitors, providing good user experience for video editing
Industry Comparison:
Wistia: Uses significantly smaller video player with extensive sidebar and bottom panels
Loom: Default video player in studio is notably smaller than current implementation
Industry Standard: Most video editing platforms sacrifice some video player size for comprehensive tooling accessibility
This analysis suggests that reducing video player size to accommodate better navigation and tooling is an acceptable trade-off that aligns with industry standards.