Daydream News App

My Role

This was a solo project where I was assigned to create a premium (paid) version of a Media product. The business goals and target user were the only things provided. The Daydream concept/application was created by me.

The Business Goals

1. Create the opportunity for new users to subscribe to the premium product upon registration in the signup flow.

2. Create the opportunity for returning free users to become paid subscribers in the sign-in flow as well as within the product (once logged in).

Target User

• 18 - 24 years old

• Very tech-savvy — they are on their phones for several hours a day

• Very budget-conscious

• This type of media [music/movies/books] is a very important part of their lives

Understanding The Audience

It was first important to understand that there is “news bumpers” and “news seekers”. Bumpers mostly get their news from coming across it and not intentionally looking for it. Seekers are actively searching for the latest issues. The target user is the seeker.

I sent out a short six question survey to collect some more quantitative research regarding News Media and Subscriptions.

These two questions were the most insightful. I learned that most people enjoy an ad-free experience and audio versions of articles. When it comes to the “most subscribed to” product, Netflix and Hulu are at the top. I will definitely replicate some of the ways these companies designed their subscription flow.

Looking At Competitors

Spotify does a great job always making sure to give users plenty of warning that their usage limit is almost up. This makes them feel less shocked when it comes time to upgrade. Everything also feels like an opportunity, rather than a restriction. This is all in their word choice. Hearing that “you’ve discovered a feature” sounds better than “you’ve reached your limit”.

Dropbox is persistent with reminding users to upgrade. They do this with a dismissible window in the corner that allows them to still have an enjoyable experience. They know how and where to place these subtle reminders because they have an in depth knowledge of their users journeys.

Youtube’s subscription upgrade page really informs users, in a simple way, of how their lives will be easier with this upgrade. People connect the photos and short simple text to their personal situation.

Beginning To Craft The Users Experience

Starting with a flowchart will help me understand the steps our user will take through the daydream app. As I continue to research and start designing, I may need to take away, move around, or add some things.

Sketching

Low fidelity wireframes were then created to get a better idea visually of the layout and flow of the premium product.

After conducting Guerilla tests with these low fidelity sketches, two big problems were discovered in the design.

1. Participants didn’t know where to access their profile. In the sketches, the profile is only accessible from the “Today” page. When participants were on the “For You” page, they had to use either use their memory or go searching for the profile in order to find it. When iterating, the profile will be made more accessible by keeping it in the top right of both the “For You” and “Today” screens.

2. Difficulties sharing an article with a friend. Both participants took a long amount of time to complete this task. One participant didn’t know the share option was located in three dot menu. Another participant wasn’t sure if she should select copy link or share story. To improve this, a share icon will be placed outside of a menu in the top right corner. This is a big feature in the premium product and will need to be easily accessible.

Establishing The Brand

High Fidelity Screens

High fidelity screens were created with the improvements found in the Guerilla tests in mind.

These screens were prototyped and taken for a final round of testing. Here’s what was found:

1. Participants didn’t know what the “Today” page was. The “Today” page is the first screen they see once they’ve finished setting up their account. Since there is no text label telling users what content they are looking at (besides the bottom navigation), most thought that they were on the “For You” page already. This can be improved by adding a text field labeling the content.

2. The subscription screen needs to be presented in a different way. Users were scrolling past the information and not reading. The images were too boxy and the there was too much text. If it was simplified and visually displayed better, users may be more interested.

3. The prototype needs to give more warning before hitting the paywall. Participants were told that they hit their limit of 5 articles, but if an article limit or notification was integrated and showed this, the prototype would be more realistic.

The Outcome

The final design allows users to easily subscribe to a premium news product. This project provided insight on companies that offer a premium product and how they establish/build their paid features. I learned how to create a stress free subscription sign up process, that involves selecting a payment method.