Designed by
Overview:
The news eReader that we designed works to present news content in a variety of ways that allows the user to develop geographic relations between the stories that are reported as well as how and where they are reported from.
The news eReader that we designed works to present news content in a variety of ways that allows the user to develop geographic relations between the stories that are reported as well as how and where they are reported from.
Primary Features
Visual Scale Identification System
Above: Section Headers
Above: A Headline Reported at the Global Level
Above: A Headline Reported at the Local Level
The reader introduces a series of dots, based on the map, to give the user an idea of the scale or proximity of the content being presented. The more dots associated with a story, the more broadly it has been reported.
Font Usage
Two different type families are used throughout the display of the reader. The first is Caslon which is used to display the content if it is provided by a traditional news agency as a reflecting of how typographic decisions are made in a traditional news paper. The second type family is Universe. This is used for digital content including the interface of the device and the display of content once it has been added into the REader MIX. As stories are introduced into the display (through the use of filters and methods described below), stories that are collected from sources that are either primarily or solely digital are displayed using the san-serif type family as a secondary visual reflection of the information's source. Also proposed is that the layout would change so that the user could easily recognize information presented form a proper news source (columns), a blog (traditionally a single column) or various social media (small sound bite style visual display).
No Sections
Accessing content on this e-reader is based on the use of sources (where the data comes from) and filters (how the content is refined to match user interest) to refine the information that the user is presented as well as draw relationships between separate pieces or "stories". This allows the reader to access content that the user is interested in without the confines of the traditional single category newspaper organization model. As natural search, speech to text, and image recognition becomes more and more accurate, the data associated with a piece of content, whether it be text, image, video, or any combination of these items to make up a "story" will allow for sorting based in several dimensions of filtering. This same type of data recognition will create an environment where information can be located geographically. Currently, geo-tagging content has gotten quite popular however, with technologies like Seadragon in the works, the ability to look at the visual content of images and eventually video to know the location based on its contains will be possible. Similarly, when a news story makes geographic references in its language, this information can be used to locate the events being reported.
Above: Section Headers
Above: A Headline Reported at the Global Level
Above: A Headline Reported at the Local Level
The reader introduces a series of dots, based on the map, to give the user an idea of the scale or proximity of the content being presented. The more dots associated with a story, the more broadly it has been reported.
Font Usage
Two different type families are used throughout the display of the reader. The first is Caslon which is used to display the content if it is provided by a traditional news agency as a reflecting of how typographic decisions are made in a traditional news paper. The second type family is Universe. This is used for digital content including the interface of the device and the display of content once it has been added into the REader MIX. As stories are introduced into the display (through the use of filters and methods described below), stories that are collected from sources that are either primarily or solely digital are displayed using the san-serif type family as a secondary visual reflection of the information's source. Also proposed is that the layout would change so that the user could easily recognize information presented form a proper news source (columns), a blog (traditionally a single column) or various social media (small sound bite style visual display).
No Sections
Accessing content on this e-reader is based on the use of sources (where the data comes from) and filters (how the content is refined to match user interest) to refine the information that the user is presented as well as draw relationships between separate pieces or "stories". This allows the reader to access content that the user is interested in without the confines of the traditional single category newspaper organization model. As natural search, speech to text, and image recognition becomes more and more accurate, the data associated with a piece of content, whether it be text, image, video, or any combination of these items to make up a "story" will allow for sorting based in several dimensions of filtering. This same type of data recognition will create an environment where information can be located geographically. Currently, geo-tagging content has gotten quite popular however, with technologies like Seadragon in the works, the ability to look at the visual content of images and eventually video to know the location based on its contains will be possible. Similarly, when a news story makes geographic references in its language, this information can be used to locate the events being reported.
World Map
On the home-screen, the map identifies the locations of the stories being presented. By default, these are the most reported on stories. The map then allows the user to select different locations to view heavily reported stories and can also redefine the stories they are presented with as local.
Local
By default, local means where the read is standing. However, in our current culture of relocation and constant transport, local doesn't mean that you have to be standing somewhere to be interested in content pertaining specifically to that location, no matter what level it is being reported on. Maybe it's where the user is originally from, where their family lives, a different city or country they do business in, a place they've been recently or a place they might be going to in the future. Through the "My Places" menu at the top of the reader, the user can quickly redefine where their "local" content is collected from.
Location Filter
The "filter-matrix" developed for the eReader allows users to access stories based on a 2 dimensional sorting of where the story itself took place as well as the location of origin of person or agency reporting on the story. This would allow the user to gain a more broad perspective of location, national and global events. For example, one could view news of North America as reported from South Africa. Or read stories about the Middle East as reported from the Middle East. Adjusting the location of the source can demonstrate large disparities and prejudices in the reporting of an event. The location filter gives the reader the tools to broaden their understanding of the stories presented.
Source Type
This slider within the interface allows the user to determine the reputability and type of coverage that they are interested in reading. The "authority" scale gradates from International News Agencies through Opinion and Affiliated Organizations down to Blogs and social media. Using this tool gives the reader access to a more diverse set of information while still putting the priority for stories to be considered (as best as can be assumed by any large media outlet) actual, reported, edited, fact checked, responsible news at the forefront. Each story is then displayed along with the icon for its source so that the reader is constantly kept aware of the origination of the content being displayed. This system does not employ editors of its own. Instead, the system aggregates the content from a variety of sources and organizes for display as major home page stories as well as filterable content.
On the home-screen, the map identifies the locations of the stories being presented. By default, these are the most reported on stories. The map then allows the user to select different locations to view heavily reported stories and can also redefine the stories they are presented with as local.
Local
By default, local means where the read is standing. However, in our current culture of relocation and constant transport, local doesn't mean that you have to be standing somewhere to be interested in content pertaining specifically to that location, no matter what level it is being reported on. Maybe it's where the user is originally from, where their family lives, a different city or country they do business in, a place they've been recently or a place they might be going to in the future. Through the "My Places" menu at the top of the reader, the user can quickly redefine where their "local" content is collected from.
Location Filter
The "filter-matrix" developed for the eReader allows users to access stories based on a 2 dimensional sorting of where the story itself took place as well as the location of origin of person or agency reporting on the story. This would allow the user to gain a more broad perspective of location, national and global events. For example, one could view news of North America as reported from South Africa. Or read stories about the Middle East as reported from the Middle East. Adjusting the location of the source can demonstrate large disparities and prejudices in the reporting of an event. The location filter gives the reader the tools to broaden their understanding of the stories presented.
Source Type
This slider within the interface allows the user to determine the reputability and type of coverage that they are interested in reading. The "authority" scale gradates from International News Agencies through Opinion and Affiliated Organizations down to Blogs and social media. Using this tool gives the reader access to a more diverse set of information while still putting the priority for stories to be considered (as best as can be assumed by any large media outlet) actual, reported, edited, fact checked, responsible news at the forefront. Each story is then displayed along with the icon for its source so that the reader is constantly kept aware of the origination of the content being displayed. This system does not employ editors of its own. Instead, the system aggregates the content from a variety of sources and organizes for display as major home page stories as well as filterable content.
REader MIX
The REader MIX is an interactive module that exists in the majority of the layouts and contains a collection of words, phrases and sentances that have been added by all users of the GeoReader. When a user finds a particular word or phrase that they are interested in, they can press, hold and drag to highlight the phrase. A contextual link then appears asking them to add it to the REader MIX. Once added, the text becomes part of the dynamic, ever changing narrative presented to all users of the GeoReader. Each entry is color coded to match the section the reader who added it was viewing it in (since many stories will exist under multiple filters) and is a link back to the original story from which it was extracted. This offers users a new way of accessing and finding content they they may be interested in. Headlines don't tell the whole story. Summaries don't get to the heart of the story quickly enough. But if someone finds one particular phrase to be compelling, then someone else might too and follow that phrase to read a story they may not have found otherwise.
Inactive State
When folded and inactive, the GeoReader changes mode in order to display location "bursts" as news is being reported and aggregated into the system. This is to reinforce that news is always happening and with digital technology, it constantly being reported on. The old model is that (yesterday's) news is presented in the morning. Then again in bulk on the weekend. Looking at the size of a paper in our research, it would appear that a great deal of news happens on Saturday based on the size of the Sunday paper. Obviously, this isn't true but with reporting becoming widely available online, the idea that the news is constantly being pulled forward based on the readers interest was an important aspect to communicate and represent in the inactive state.
The REader MIX is an interactive module that exists in the majority of the layouts and contains a collection of words, phrases and sentances that have been added by all users of the GeoReader. When a user finds a particular word or phrase that they are interested in, they can press, hold and drag to highlight the phrase. A contextual link then appears asking them to add it to the REader MIX. Once added, the text becomes part of the dynamic, ever changing narrative presented to all users of the GeoReader. Each entry is color coded to match the section the reader who added it was viewing it in (since many stories will exist under multiple filters) and is a link back to the original story from which it was extracted. This offers users a new way of accessing and finding content they they may be interested in. Headlines don't tell the whole story. Summaries don't get to the heart of the story quickly enough. But if someone finds one particular phrase to be compelling, then someone else might too and follow that phrase to read a story they may not have found otherwise.
Inactive State
When folded and inactive, the GeoReader changes mode in order to display location "bursts" as news is being reported and aggregated into the system. This is to reinforce that news is always happening and with digital technology, it constantly being reported on. The old model is that (yesterday's) news is presented in the morning. Then again in bulk on the weekend. Looking at the size of a paper in our research, it would appear that a great deal of news happens on Saturday based on the size of the Sunday paper. Obviously, this isn't true but with reporting becoming widely available online, the idea that the news is constantly being pulled forward based on the readers interest was an important aspect to communicate and represent in the inactive state.