Ellen Setterfield
OUGD603 Extended Practice
Brief 10
D&AD BBC Me
The Brief and Research The BBC set a creative brief through D&AD for a designer to come up with an innovative user experience to engage with the ‘always on’ youth of today. The brief stated that young people (15-24) turn away from traditional broadcasters and channels in favour of online media. As the BBC covers such a large content base it is very hard to try and aim that
content at one target audience without loosing another. The brief suggested a lot of ideas but none presented any resolution that would really connect with young people. It was important to look at a young persons daily routine and try to fit a new product into that routine by appealing to their interests. Perhaps the most important aspect of this
research was to ask young people if they engage with the BBC’s content and try to come up with a user experience based around the content they actually view. As this brief was all about user experience the user must always be at the centre of every design decision otherwise the designer is simply designing without any valid research to back up their
decisions. Research showed that most 15-24 year olds were engaging with only a small selection of BBC content (news, iPlayer, sport, bitesize, radio, travel and weather) but almost all of the young people asked engaged with social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It was therefore very important to look at what these platforms offered
Ellen Setterfield
OUGD603 Extended Practice
Brief 10
D&AD BBC Me
with Steve Gibbons, the head of UX at the BBC, he mentioned snackable content which he believes is a good way to engage with young people as they constantly on the move and want to view content in small chunks. It was important to produce an outcome that held all of the content but also allowed the user to view it in small bitesize chunks. BBC Me was an idea
created around the concept of giving users an overview of the content and linking to other BBC apps so as not to loose other target demographics. Though this idea will create more work for design and development teams it seems to be the most successful idea and works well with the amount of content needed to be shown. BBC Me is a web app that works
across all smart-phones and tablets but does not have a desktop site, this is purely due to the amount of users within the age range who use their smart phone instead of a laptop or desktop computer. The name represents what the app is about, giving users a place where all of the content can be accessed in an environment that is tailored around them.
Development After extensive user research and looking at the content that the BBC offer it was clear that the it was spread too far across a range of apps and channels and the best way to engage with young people was to create a platform which encompassed all of the content and placed it all in one place for users to visit whenever they pleased. During an interview
Ellen Setterfield
OUGD603 Extended Practice
Brief 10
D&AD BBC Me
User Research As the app is aimed at young people it was essential that throughout the brief any outcomes were presented to young people for their feedback. This was done twice throughout the brief to a group of 15-17 year olds and also continuously to a group of 21-24 year olds. By carrying out this user feedback design ideas were able to be refined and decisions
were made easier as every visual feature must have valid research to back it up. Findings from this user feedback determined that the navigation should be in a static bar along the bottom of the screen so that users could find their way around the
app without any issues. Significant research into navigation was carried out for this brief and UX professionals such as Steve Krug and Susan Weinschenk had valid research done on a much larger scale to back up the decisions. Particular attention was paid to the logo and what colour it should be represented in. As the BBC have such a large amount
of content almost every primary and secondary colour is already attached to a section of the BBC. Light blue was chosen as it connotes intellect, trust, logic and calm. It was very important to ensure that the app did not move too far from the BBC guidelines but was still able to stand alone from other content.
Ellen Setterfield
OUGD603 Extended Practice
BBC Me The typeface chosen for the logo was Campton Bold, it was chosen as it had a professional and fun representation. BBC Me covers a strange age range as people are at different stages in their lives between 15 and 24 it was therefore important to strike a balance between professional and youthful in order for the younger users to feel that they
could use the app without it feeling too serious and for older users to feel that the app was modern and offered them the professional touches they desire.
Brief 10
D&AD BBC Me
Ellen Setterfield
OUGD603 Extended Practice
Brief 10
Spin Navigation Inspired by the BBC Radio iPlayer app BBC Me features a secondary spinning navigation for users to explore the content in a fun and interesting way. I was important for this spinning navigation to work alongside the core navigation bar along the bottom of the app so that users would not become confused about where their saved content was
stored. As each user uses their finger to spin the wheel a different BBC micro-site would appear for users to re-direct themselves to. One line of text explains what each platform has to offer in order to give users a clear idea before they download another app or go to another page. This feature could be very successful as it is already a concept in
circulation within the BBC and presents a change in typical navigation that will connect with young people.
D&AD BBC Me
Ellen Setterfield
OUGD603 Extended Practice
Brief 10
about on social media or receiving a lot of views within the BBC Me app. The content is split into three categories; World, UK and Local, this gives users a chance to decide which areas of the world they would like to look at and also gives them some insight into how the BBC reaches other countries and cultures. This feature is updated regularly through other
micro-sites and social media. This feature allows users to connect their own social media accounts in order to see what their friends and family are talking about whilst also keeping them engaged solely with the BBC.
Trending Though clearly stated in the brief the BBC have no desire to become a new social media platform it was clear from user research that young people would not engage with the content unless they were given the chance to generate some of the content themselves. The trending page collects all of the current content from the BBC that is either being talked
D&AD BBC Me
Ellen Setterfield
OUGD603 Extended Practice
Brief 10
D&AD BBC Me
Profile and LIVE A key finding from user research was that young people like to be able to add their own personal touch to an app. From this a profile page was designed for users to add a photograph of themselves and connect with other young people. Though interaction was not available between users each user is given some options to manage their content.
Users are able to bookmark stories, podcasts etc. in order to access them at all times and also keep track of content they have previously viewed. Users can also request notifications so they never miss BBC content such as football games and awards ceremonies. Users profiles are rated out of ten for the amount of time they spend on the site and the content
they are engaging with, this is in an attempt to persuade users to make use of BBC Me instead of other sites. I t has been proven that users respond well when they believe they are being rewarded for using a product. My Network is a place where users can see what other users are sharing and looking at, by allowing users to look at each others profiles
it creates a sense of community within the app and also a sense of competition to have a higher rating from the BBC Me teams. LIVE is a feature that simply showcases what is going on within the BBC at all times of the day, this feature attempts to get users to engage with content they might overlook.