BBC Brief

The BBC Political News App engages younger audiences by delivering personalized political content, including short-form news updates, multimedia features, and social media integration, all within a user-friendly interface designed to encourage informed engagement.

Year

2022-23

Client

BBC Scotland

Project Type

UX, UI, Product Design

Role

UX/UI Designer

Overview

A personalized political news app for younger audiences

The BBC Political News App was created for younger audiences who prefer short, engaging political content over traditional news formats, in a media landscape dominated by platforms like social media and streaming services.

Problem

Younger audiences struggle to find time for traditional news formats in a fast-paced, information-overloaded digital landscape. With low trust in traditional news sources and a preference for short-form, personalized content, there is a gap in delivering political news that engages this demographic while meeting their consumption habits.

Solution

BBC Brief solves this by offering personalized, short-form political news through a curated news feed, video updates, and social media integration. With features like push notifications, offline reading, and interactive tools, BBC Brief is designed to engage younger audiences, keeping them informed without overwhelming them. The app's user-friendly interface and seamless navigation align with the BBC’s trusted brand, ensuring accessibility and relevance for this demographic.

View Final Solution
My Role/Responsibilities

UX Research - UI Design - User Testing - Prototyping

Process

Discover

Stakeholder collaboration

Survey

A survey was conducted with 20 participants to understand how 18-24-year-olds interact with political news content, the platforms they use, their pain points, and to determine which features would best address their needs for an engaging and personalized political news experience.

User Interviews

A set of in-depth interviews were carried out with 10 participants to gain deeper insights into their frustrations, needs, and preferences with existing political news platforms, helping to shape improvements for BBC Brief and enhance user engagement.

Key Takeaways
01

Participants primarily accessed political news through social media on mobile, favoring it for quick updates.

02

Users appreciated personalized content and push notifications, which kept them informed without feeling overwhelmed

03

Existing political news platforms were perceived as biased or lacking features that resonate with younger audience

04

Visual content such as videos, infographics, and short-form news summaries were highly favored for better engagement

05

Participants found complex navigation and excessive information on existing platforms to be a barrier to staying informed

06

Personalization features like the ability to follow specific topics or customize news feeds were critical for user retention and satisfaction

Competitive Market Analysis

Competitive Market Analysis was conducted to evaluate how existing political news platforms position themselves in the market. This analysis helped define the strategy for BBC Brief, focusing on delivering personalized, engaging political content to address gaps in user needs, such as trust, accessibility, and feature-rich experiences.

Define

Design
System

After conducting user interviews, all participant responses were synthesized to identify key themes, opportunities, and features that BBC Brief could focus on and improve, ensuring the product better meets the needs of its target audience

Ideate

Designing a Better User Experience

I focused on creating an improved, user-centered design by iterating through sketches and prototypes. Through continuous testing and refinement, I ensured that the final product catered to the target audience’s needs and delivered a seamless and engaging experience.

Sketches

Initial rough sketches were created to capture my early ideas and brainstorm potential UI elements, helping to explore different design approaches and refine the user interface.

Low-Fidelity Prototypes

Leveraging the feedback and insights gathered from research, analysis, and initial sketches, I developed a low-fidelity prototype to kick off the user testing process and validate design decisions.

Solution

A highly curated experience

BBC Brief’s user-centered interface combines sleek aesthetics with an engaging experience, designed to captivate younger audiences while delivering personalized political news seamlessly.

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