10 Weeks

Designing a product from the bottom up is a grand task, but adding a time crunch of 10 weeks makes it colossal. We began by examining WBEZ’s goal for us: to engage a younger and more diverse audience. We began by conducting our own research, interviewing and talking with current WBEZ listeners, learning about their listening and news habits. Based on this, other national studies and WBEZ’s data, we created personas – fictional characters that represented different levels of the WBEZ audience.

From there, we examined needs: Which of these personas does WBEZ need to meet their goal? What do those personas need to keep them engaged with WBEZ? Answering these questions led us to developing our products. It was production, production, production after that.

Take a look at the brainstorming, legwork and seminars that the Innovation Project team participated in to prepare for the project.

In the beginning, the team created a mission statement to keep it focused on its goals for WBEZ.

The team visits WBEZ's Navy Pier studios on a gorgeous, spring day.

Worldview producer, Steve Bynum, takes the team on a tour of the studios.

Bynum shows the team where all the live musical performances take place.

Learning how WBEZ operates is important to the team's understanding of radio as a medium.

The team meets with WBEZ executives and producers to further discuss what it can provide.

Back at headquarters, Medill professors Rich Gordon and Patti Wolter help the team explore the strengths and differences between magazine and interactive products.

Though all media products are distinct, there are several areas where they overlap, namely in the experience they provide for users.

The team examines WBEZ's strengths in the market.

Looking at threats to the station help the team determine opportunity.

Mark Coatney of Tumblr Skypes in to discuss social media strategy.

Tom Giratikanon of the Boston Globe uses chatzy, an online chat tool, to discuss responsive design with the team.

Giratikanon discusses a few of the techniques he employed on the Boston Globe's websites.

The team met many, many times to discuss ideas and fine tune strategy before beginning work - and the results were amazing.

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True Colors

With so many team members, we spent some time learning about our personalities, strengths, weaknesses and what we expected from each other. Check out this short video about our true colors, which we discovered during a team-builidng exercise with Medill’s Gwen Archibald:

Thank you to Assistant Prof. Scott Anderson for documenting this journey. Credit for the above photos and video goes to him.