Head of Product Design (via Novoda)
Redesigned and rebuilt the Android app for one of the world's most recognised news brands — partnering with IDEO on consumer research, championing accessibility, and tripling reader engagement.
Overview
The Times serves 600K+ subscribers and 20M+ readers with award-winning journalism. As Product Design Lead, I redesigned the Android app — taking over from IDEO following extensive consumer research (70+ interviews, 275 surveyed), running bi-weekly usability testing from week two, and working with the UX team, editorial designers, and journalists to translate 240 years of heritage into a modern digital experience.
I championed WCAG AA accessibility throughout — colour contrast, screen reader support, and text resizing — because a 240-year-old brand read by millions has a responsibility to be accessible to all. The Play Store rating went from 2.8 to 4.4 stars and articles read per session tripled.
Research
IDEO led the foundational research phase, interviewing 70+ stakeholders and surveying 275 customers to understand how people consume news across platforms. Together, we identified patterns in consumer needs, behaviours, and preferences that shaped the product direction.
From these insights, we defined primary user stories and the initial information architecture — ensuring every design decision was grounded in real user needs.
Research wasn't a one-off phase. From week two, we ran continuous consumer interviews and usability tests every two weeks, creating a tight feedback loop between design and development.
This continuous research cadence allowed us to continuously prioritise development based on usability insights and consumer feedback — shipping what mattered most, validated by real user behaviour.
Brand Identity
It was critical to reflect the brand consistently across print and digital. The Times has a distinctive editorial voice and visual identity — bringing that into a mobile experience required careful, deliberate design decisions.
We commissioned a new font optimised for digital platforms, ensuring legibility and brand recognition across screen sizes. The editorial design team defined a comprehensive digital design system covering all article types.
The existing section colours didn't meet W3C accessibility standards. I led the effort to alter the colour scheme while preserving brand integrity — ensuring every colour passed contrast requirements without losing the visual identity readers associated with each section.
We also established copy and formatting guidelines for consistency across digital formats, ensuring the editorial quality The Times is known for translated seamlessly to screens.
Design
We adapted Material Design patterns to The Times' visual style guides, creating a design language that felt both platform-native and editorially distinctive. Every screen was designed for both mobile and tablet.
Accessibility was a core design principle, not an afterthought:
I was invited to speak at Droidcon Berlin on "Designing for Accessibility" based on the work from this project.
Impact