THE NEWS FEED
changing the narrative of news sources
by: Amal Alyousfi
PROBLEM:
These days, the news can be overwhelming. Articles and articles, the constant swiping through new sources to find credible news, the draining-feel once you've completed the task...
How might we make make reading the news an easier and more informative experience for the younger generation?
needs: ACCESSIBILITY, ENJOYABILITY, and INFORMATIVE
INSIGHTS FROM USER RESEARCH
We decided to survey individuals who ranged different ages in order to understand any possible trends with ages and what population we must aim towards.
We were interested in the user's personal relation to the news, the possible bias, impact, complaints, and their importance of credibly sourced news.
1. Users were clearly aware of the biased and fake news, yet it was difficult to avoid in this age where social media is so powerful.
2. Younger generations struggle in obtaining the skill of reading the news, due to the fact that younger generations don't take much interest and are constantly overstimulated by information (which could lead to lowered attention span, increased susceptibility to fake news, not caring about the world around them).
Link to my interview transcript:
https://bit.ly/3oizfq9
USER PERSONAS:
JOURNEY MAP:
IDEATION
DIVERGENT: I knew the News Feed had to be an online source in order to appease the younger generation aimed population. I debated between a website and phone app. I knew that both would still include customizable news options, credibly sourced articles, and the option to choose news updates from different media sources (e.g. Twitter news, Instagram infographs, Tiktok news). Lastly, all these options would be unbiased and again, not fake news.
CONVERGENT: I decided to continue with a phone app due to convenience for users as well easier accessibility to phone apps (like Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok).
LOW-FI:
MID-FI:
USABILITY TESTING INSIGHTS
1. Initially, there was no search option at the top left of the home screen. My user suggested I add that in order to expand the freedom of the app. Instead of only focusing on news articles from the past month, the search emoticon allows for one to manually search key words/topics (similar to a Google search), and receive various credible articles which match the key words.
2. Additionally, the user preferred a different emoticon for the "Saved Articles" button (located at the top right of the Home screen). Ultimately, I decided to label all the buttons and emoticons for easier understanding of the application.
PROTOTYPE
Link for final prototype: https://bit.ly/3qvommP
VISUAL DESIGN:
