Bringing a new BBC.com to the world
I was the Lead UX Designer on the enormous ground-up redesign of the BBC for its global audience.
During my 18 month tenure on the project, I was responsible for the brand new mobile app, the introduction of the new audio offering across platforms, and a new connected TV app quite unlike any other; bringing news content, documentaries and podcasts to users around the world in one elegant experience.
The new BBC.com is live now on both web and app (for non-UK users) and is used daily by millions of people around the globe.
As the Lead UX Designer for the majority of the project, I was honoured that our work was awarded a Silver BIMA Award for User Experience.
Audio
Bringing BBC podcasts and radio to a global audience
I planned and led all design work on a rapid project to integrate brand new content types into the BBC.com experience. I handled business and technical requirements, whilst working as the sole UX Designer across both web and app, supported by two UI designers.
The biggest challenge was integrating the new content type seamlessly into the new BBC website and app, maintaining the article-reading experience whilst also allowing users to listen to podcasts as comfortably as they can in a dedicated podcasting app.
I created a consistent and beautiful audio experience to be enjoyed across mobile, tablet, web and connected TV.
We were keen to maintain the editorial-style visual approach used across the article experience, however we used a dark theme for audio content itself to match the immersion of the video experience.
The simple visual style allows the BBC's vibrant show art to shine. Subtle use of blurred images and audio waveforms maintain visual interest in the larger promotional components.
I led an extensive exploration of visual style for the audio play experience. We explored colour picking, image blurs, light and dark modes, monochrome or full colour. The resulting direction allows the content to speak for itself and feels completely cohesive with the international BBC design language.
Many components across the app and web needed to house multiple content types: podcast shows and episodes, news video, or news articles. Simple and clear layout was vital and keeping the use of bespoke components to a minimum allowed for a consistent experience.
The outcome
The full audio experience is now live, seamlessly integrated into the global BBC app and website.
In the two months following launch, the new audio experience replacing the old BBC Sounds experience saw traffic increased by 46%, and plays increased by 29%, the site and app commonly seeing over 20,000 plays per day.
Explore the new audio web experience at one of the links below:
Mobile app
Designing and enhancing a feature-rich app for the BBC
I was responsible for the design of the mobile app across the entirety of the 18 month engagement with the BBC, alongside the additional Audio and CTV workstreams. I became the subject matter expert on the behaviour of the app, and was responsible for all new features and enhancements, including considerable work on the onboarding experience, managing saved items, and the article read and video watch experience.
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Onboarding
As a brand new proposition for the BBC, explaining the range of content and features was vital. It was also an excellent opportunity to make a great first impression.
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Managing saved items
Users can save articles, videos and podcast episodes, and follow and download podcasts. Making the experience seamless for mixed content types was a real challenge.
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Read and watch experience
The core of the app is the ability to read articles and watch short-form video. Making this experience deeply enjoyable, and providing users with onward journeys was key.