OUGD503 / STUDIO BRIEF 02 / EXISTING NEWS PLATFORMS - THE GUARDIAN

As we have a starting point for our concept, we decided to split the research tasks. I will be looking at existing news websites, which have a similar target audience to the Telegraph, and perhaps a newspaper with a completely different approach, so we know what to avoid when creating our resolution. Jack on the other hand, will be looking into alternative news platforms such as mashable.


The Guardian
I looked at the Guardian first, in terms of it's desktop website and it's app, to see how different they are in terms of UX

Desktop:

The Guardian's target audience is those on the higher end of the class system, by using a formal discourse throughout their platform. This is conveyed through the avoidance of ellided structures and  fairly competant lexis. However, the Guardian also does not use alienating language which opens up the target audience. On the main homepage there are a variety of different news articles, yet they all relate to important world events concerning politics especially. This shows that the Guardian's audience are those who are concerning themselves with current affairs in terms of what is occuring in politics. This section seldom has images, except a few, creating a space for fast paced quick headlines.

Upon entering The Guardian's homepage, the user is greeted with general headlines on the latest news stories. The Guardian makes it easy for news readers to find top stories quickly as the main stories are available on the first click. In our busy societal structure, people want to be able to access information quickly and as efficiently as possible, and by placing information on the homepage this allows for less time trying to find the information you want on a latest story. However this amount of information could be overwhelming for some, but news is constantly being made and being updated.

On the homepage there is also a visable toolbar at the top prompting the user to sign in or join as a member of the Guardian. This obviously makes it easier for users to build a presence online and can make it simpler to comment on various stories.

Alongside what I have previously mentioned, by scrolling further the user is greeted with 'highlights', which seems a lot more diverse than the first range of stories. There are also the options to read a cartoon or play a crossword puzzle, available at the sides. These options allow users to take a break from the usual news stories and have some lighthearted entertainment, proving that newspapers don't always have to strictly concern themselves with news throughout, and there are more options to explore within news sites. This should not be forgotten during developing our ideas, it would be a wise idea to think of ways to include games or puzzles within our app, to demonstrate that the Telegraph can have other things to offer.

The positives in terms of user experience for the Guardian's website is the organisation. There is a lot of information on the page as a whole, however it is well organised and does not look unsightly. The composition of the website is professional, along with the colours used and the sophisticated serif typeface used throughout. 

However, the homepage seems to scroll endlessly. This can get a bit repetitive, so this should also be something to take note about. Younger people have shorter attention spans, so our app should engage them for as long as possible.

App:

 

The Guardian's app is a more condensed version of it's desktop site. It looks consistent and appears to follow the same colour palette and type. A strong branding is important for huge companies like this, so that it is easily identifiable and known. We must keep the Telegraph's logo for this brief, and remain true to it's brand.

Here you can see how the app is just like the desktop in terms of the layout, it begins with headlines, and scrolling down next is highlights. The experience is more effortless on a mobile device, and looks less overwhelming in terms of information.

Instead of having a tool bar, the option to look at different categories of news is available by the burger bar in the top left. This is a way of hiding links that do not need to be on the page, and creating a specific space for them, avoiding the layout looking cluttered.

Although the Guardian looks professional, it lacks a spark, whilst using the app I did not feel it was stimulating for the user, and the overall aesthetic is quite corporate and boring in my opinion. To appeal to a younger audience, our app needs to not have the conventional 'boring' theme, and it must stand out from the rest.