Interstellar Times:
Artemis II
Objective:
Select a social, cultural, or political event and design a news webpage dedicated to that event featuring at least five articles. Ensure that the webpage has a branded feel with its own logo and custom color palette.
Tools:
Sublime Text Photoshop Illustrator
Skills:
HTML & CSS Photo Editing Branding
Role:
Web Design UI/UX Research UI/UX Web Developer
Audience:
The targeted users for this webpage are adults and teens, in addition to those who are interested in news articles about space exploration and science.
The average age of a mainstream digital newspaper subscriber is in their mid to late 40s. Individuals within this age range spend significantly less time on social media compared to teens and those in their early twenties. This group of targeted users often get their news reports from digital newspapers.
A majority of teens and young adults on social media will likely find news articles linked to the posts regarding news on the Artemis II space mission. Interacting with those posts will direct them to this news webpage where they can learn more.
Challenge:
Since this webpage was designed with both young and older individuals in mind, accounting for both age groups is essential. Older folks are heavily reliant on the news sources being reliable and trustworthy, while ensuring that the page is easy to navigate. Younger users are more concerned about what they can get out of the experience, and so the design needs to reflect the social media platform experience that they are familiar with.
Sketches, Moodboard, & Logo Designs
Color & Typography
Concept & Strategy:
Selecting the articles and targeted users were essential to the design of the webpage. Choosing the images that went along with the articles ensures a smooth reading experience, and sketching various layouts helps visualize the result. The final design bridged the gap between a traditional newspaper webpage in addition to a social media platform making the webpage engaging for any potential browsers.
Credibility and knowing where the sources come from is incredibly important for older adults, and so ensuring the label of the sources was a priority. Having a branded logo and color palette establishes reliability and trust, which is also critical. High contrast typography and hierarchy helps the reader move through the page allowing for a smooth reading experience. The curated newspaper feel with the division of columns and inclusion of related content helps to give the webpage a traditional feel. Allowing users to subscribe to the newsletter also reinforces trust.
Many teens and young adults have limited attention spans so brief summaries and big images of all the content allows for a quick skim before committing to the full text. Interactive elements such as the like and share buttons mirror that of what one might find on social media which provides them with a familiar environment that encourages further exploration. Since this pool of users are likely to access the webpage via social media, ensuring that the page is responsive was also important. Providing social media links in the footer also helps direct them back to familiar environments.
