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OVERVIEW
The New York Times is a reputable news source of America that affects several generations. However, people are now reading news more on the mobile phone instead of newspaper.
PROBLEM
The New York Times application is only focuses on providing news and frequently posts for majority people by using the same treatment and it misses out a particular demographic such as some people who may know exactly what they are looking for.
SOLUTION
Create a categorized structure that fits different mental models of users through an interactive media consumption experience.
GOAL
To help viewers find the news they want to read without extra efforts.
To increase accessibility to enhance the indication within the content.
To create a categorized Saved For Later collection list for saving articles.
DESIGN PROCESS
USER RESEARCH
Different projects require different approaches when it comes to research. For this particular redesigned project, I think one of the most important things is to find the valuable feedback from apple store.
Complaints
" I send out a daily news-blast for work on a specific topic and it would be great if I could search from the app during my train commute."
" Have to go the menu to select different sections."
" Hard to find the information I wanted."
USER INTERVIEW
In order to better understand my users and test out their behavior, I conducted a survey. After evaluating and interviewing 45 people (18-54 years old) over phone, skype, in person, I discovered the following:
Age
The most interesting topics
85% users spend most of their time on checking on news during their daily commute.
Force to browse unwanted news
Hard to find relevant content
Lack of organized news environment
80%
60%
30%
Most users are having similar opinions on browsing news on phone. Their biggest complaint is time wasting on irrelevant news..
PRIORITIZE INFORMATION & PLAN
Now from my research and surveys from different viewpoints, I needed to generate all the information I collected. Since most of the users spend on reading news during their daily commute. They would like to make their commuting lifestyle easier and more simple. Relevant content, shorter content, easy digested content might save their time and bring the biggest value to their expectations.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
I had come up with a set of design principles to better bring focus on my design decisions. The challenging part is that every design problem has something unique about it and it should have a unique solution.
Recognization
Minimize the user's memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible.
Aesthetic
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed.
Seamless Integration
Seamlessly integrated into their daily program without any complicated steps.
VALIDATE USER GROUP DEFINITIONS
From personas, I used what I learned from the research to solidify my user group models. Users of different occupations would have different needs and requirements towards the app. Then I explored what their motivations are, what triggers lead to final decisions.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
I had come up with a set of design principles to better bring focus on my design decisions. The challenging part is that every design problem has something unique about it and it should have a unique solution.
Recognization
Minimize the user's memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible.
Aesthetic
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed.
Seamless Integration
Seamlessly integrated into their daily program without any complicated steps.
FARICA 22
Farica is a fashion blogger who always looks for the latest fashion and makeup trends during her commute. While commuting to her job on the train, she makes it a point to scroll through her Instagram (on her phone), where she follows a bunch of fellow fashion bloggers, and scans through her favourite lifestyle websites for topics of interest. She’s an avid user of her social media platforms to advertise her thoughts and the latest trends.
“As a blogger, I like to discover upcoming beauty trends, so that I can stay ahead of the fashion and makeup game.”
Save an article to an existing collection/new collection.
JAN 32
Jane is a photographer who likes to stay up to date and be inspired by the latest and greatest. As an obsessive photographer, she always keeps her eyes on photo. She is extremely organized and thoroughly enjoys expanding her knowledge on relevant subjects.
“I think I should learn as much as possible. In such a fast-paced industry, it's important that my company has a competitive edge. I pride myself in ending up and coming solutions my company could implement in the future.”
Receive a notification of newsletter, read the news and share with a friend.
LOUIS 27
Louis is a amateur of soccer player. He likes to keep up with some latest soccer news and anything that relates to soccer game. As a passionate soccer fan, he enjoys the scrolling process of browsing soccer news.
“My biggest and only interest is soccer. I need quick ways to get updated on the latest news of soccer. ”
Go to see soccer news and share with a friend / add to collection.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
WIREFRAMES
APP DEMO
"What you need to Know Today" section
The top 3 articles for the user based on their preference in topics, intelligently curated.
Highlight text
The tooltip provides user the options to bookmark, enlarge.
Enlarge text
In order to satisfy different age groups I added a function of enlarge text zoom of current article page for improving the visual effects.
Add to collection
Instantly save article to existing collection. An quick indicator will pop up once you save the article.
Add to collection
Add to existing collection or create a new collection..
Catalogue
Users have more control when it comes to how to browse the topics.
LEARNINGS