INNOVATION SPECIAL
'We Imagined the App as a
Person at a Bar'
Farah Assir
Interaction
designer, the New York Times Co.
THE CHALLENGE::
Farah Assir, who began her graphic-design career in print media, wanted a mobile Times to be more than a pared-down website; she wanted to create a product for younger readers like her, who might perceive the paper as inaccessible.
NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WORLD, YOU'LL GET YOUR MORNING BRIEFING.
THE TURNING POINT:
Assir
and fellow designer Grant
Gold
"thought
of a lot of silly things," she says, "like gamifying the
Times—how
many stories did you read today?" That led to a key insight: the
need for a distinctive voice. "One day we imagined the app as a
person at a bar.
He's
asking you: 'Did you hear about . . .?' There actually was a real
person in the New York Times Building that we were thinking of. He
has charisma and wit—and he's really hot."
THE EXECUTION:
"It's
a conversation. In the morning, it says, 'Good morning.' We want to
be helpful, so here's the weather, and if you're in New York, subway
info. No matter where you are in the world, you'll get your morning
briefing, put together by the NYT Now editorial team. At lunch,
here's your lunchtime read. As you scroll down, you get into the most
important stories. At the bottom, there's the 'Don't Miss'
section—things that are quirky or fun." The app delivers 50 to
80 articles a day and includes "Our Picks," which, in
a break for the Times,
highlights other publications' work.
THE RESULT:
In
its first week, NYT Now ($2 a week or $7.99 a month) topped the
download charts for news apps.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3035110/innovation-by-design-2014/design-is-changing-how-we-innovate#chapter-Farah_Assir
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