In my previous article, we delved into the UX design process, the importance of user-centric designs. Today, I'm reviewing a case study involving a redesign of the New York Times App by Addi Hou, Ke Hu, and Johny Vino.
The case study which was written in a simple creative way showed the personality; originality and authenticity of the designers who leveraged the UX design process to introduce a new feature to the app to aid the readers.
This article discusses three major features I found striking as a beginner in UI/UX design.
Description of the Design Project Problems, Aims and Objectives:
The design case study precisely identifies the design challenge, leaving no room for confusion. It meticulously examines the reasons behind The New York Times' declining readership, citing issues such as competition, expenses, unattractive news content, and readers' personal life events like relocating from New York.
Additionally, the study delineates its project goals and objectives. These aims include creating incentives amidst new and popular apps, instilling a consistent reading habit among users of The New York Times app, and ensuring their enduring loyalty over the long term.
Empathy and the Effective Use of Tools:
An intriguing aspect of their approach was the empathy they developed for their target users during interviews. Their effort to comprehend users went beyond mere discussions; they fully immersed themselves in the user's experience through techniques like storyboarding and empathy mapping. These methods enabled a meticulous analysis of the gathered data, producing invaluable insights crucial for their project's success
Prototyping, Testing, and Iteration:
The key takeaway revolves around their method of crafting a prototype that encompasses 15 distinct ideas, rigorously testing them to identify the most effective solution. Yet, their commitment didn't stop there. They embraced an ongoing cycle of brainstorming, revisiting prototyping, and testing until they arrived at the polished final answer.
This ultimate solution, appropriately named "Timely," revolutionizes user engagement. It prompts users for their preferred news topics, ideal reading intervals, and their desired break durations offering a personalized reading experience.
Users have the choice to manually input their preferences (manual mode) or opt for the utmost convenience by syncing Timely with their Google Calendar to intelligently adjust news delivery according to their schedules (automatic mode).
It serves as a remarkable illustration of how a well-executed design process can infuse vitality into an app and redefine user interactions.
Conclusively, the case study found a way to describe the design project and the expected outcome simply and seamlessly, it covered all aspects of the design information, including design decisions and the impact of the design on the end user.