Challenge Summary
The Austin Times is a hyper-local, user-driven news aggregation site. News articles from various feeds as well as from user-submitted content populate the site. Through user-driven content and comments, the client is looking to create an active online community.
For this contest, you will be designing the look and feel of the new site. Like many other news and community sites, the focus of your design will be on the content and the overall user experience.
This is Round 2 Congratulations Round 1 Winners on your $100 Prizes: 16791 - mahestro 16784 - maritza 16753 - Ju-oN 16793 - djackmania 16808 - RatsonParade Round 2 will be for $1500 in prizes!
Tournament Format This Studio competition will be run as a two-round tournament with a total prize purse of $2000. Round 1 At the end of Round One, Neptune will choose FIVE (5) first round winners; EACH will win $100 and a Design Review of their submission with feedback posted to the forum. These winners and ANY MEMBER WHO HAD A PASSING SUBMISSION IN ROUND ONE will be eligible to compete in Round 2 for the additional $1500 in prizes. Round 2 Round 2 will start with the announcement of the five $100 Round 1 winners and their design review from Neptune. We are now in Round 2! (2/20/09) Here are the details for this round. General Feedback: Login - this should use the minimum possible space on each page. Consider using a flyout or some other mechanism to reduce the amount of space login/register takes per page. Rating - Please use thumbs up/thumbs down instead of +/-, stars, et cetera. Top Comments - We actually do not want "Top Comments", we want "Top Commenters". Please display the highest rated commenters, not the highest rated comments. In any case, these should not be on home page. Home page content - This should focus on article content. Breaking news, featured articles, followed by editor's picks, highly rated articles, etc. General Flow - on each page, the "content" (articles) should be the main focus. This is especially important on the home page. The user should first see the relevant content, and then flow into other functional elements.
Project Overview The Austin Times site is focused on the Austin Texas community. Through user-driven content and comments, the client is looking to create an active online community. Design Requirements The main functions of the user on this site is to browse, view, comment and vote on articles. Because this is a content heavy and content-driven site, your design must be focused on the organization of content (categories, tags, etc.) and easily understood user experience. The client is looking for a very clean, open and easy to use site. Other requirements include: - Insert a placeholder for the logo. - Advertising space must be integrated cleanly and not disrupt the user experience, while also being prominent to the user and delivering value to advertisers. The designer should choose standard ad sizes (for example http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/1421/1443/1452). Use a blank placeholder to show your ad spaces. Required Pages For this contest, you will be designing the following five (5) pages. Details about each page are provided in the provided document "AustinTimes_Pages.doc". 1. Home Page - The home page contains top stories and the top-level categories of news that is presented. 2. Category Page - The category page "drills down" into an individual category from the home page. It presents the same basic information but with more visual and contextual focus on the particular category. 3. View Article - Every article has its own page. The article includes a headline and other common print elements. 4. Submit/Edit Article - This interface allows content developers to add articles to the site, and for editors to edit the articles. 5. View Profile - This page allows users to view each other's profiles, Additional Documentation We are also providing the text conceptualization documentation (AustinTimes_Conceptualization.zip) for background on the features of these pages. You are encouraged but NOT REQUIRED to read this information. It is simply available to you so you can get a more holistic and complete understanding of the site. Target Audience The site is meant for all news consumers in the Austin Texas community. The client's intention is to make a vivacious and active community of local users that will help drive the site via content submissions and comments. Users will be adults who are internet savvy. Here are some reference links to understand more about Austin and its residents: http://www.austintexas.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas http://www.austin360.com/ Branding Guidelines The name of the site is "Austin Times". No branding currently exists, so the designers are free to brand the site as they please. For this contest, please insert a placeholder for the logo. Reference Designs - A very similar site in content organization is http://seekingalpha.com/ (core categories, article view, comments, top XYZ) - CNN is also similar: http://www.cnn.com/ (core categories on top, article view) - Slashdot is similar http://slashdot.org/ (Categories on side, article view with comments and related articles). ** Note that the heavy comment volume and blog style front page are NOT necessarily appropriate for Austin Times. The CNN/SeekingAlpha models for the front page are more appropriate. * Seattle Times is also similar, especially in article view: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/ Almost any major news site follows the same basic design the client is looking for. All of these were chosen for their broad stroke user interfaces, not their graphical design elements (color schemes, layouts, etc). DO NOT simply duplicate these sites, but use them as reference, an understanding of the client's needs and inspiration. Judging Criteria Your submission will be judged on the following criteria: Usability - How well the design enhances the user experience and how easily the user understands the tasks at hand. Consistency - How well all of the pages work together to provide a complete user experience. Content - How well the design focuses on the content as well as the ease of understanding and accessing that content.
This is Round 2 Congratulations Round 1 Winners on your $100 Prizes: 16791 - mahestro 16784 - maritza 16753 - Ju-oN 16793 - djackmania 16808 - RatsonParade Round 2 will be for $1500 in prizes!
Tournament Format This Studio competition will be run as a two-round tournament with a total prize purse of $2000. Round 1 At the end of Round One, Neptune will choose FIVE (5) first round winners; EACH will win $100 and a Design Review of their submission with feedback posted to the forum. These winners and ANY MEMBER WHO HAD A PASSING SUBMISSION IN ROUND ONE will be eligible to compete in Round 2 for the additional $1500 in prizes. Round 2 Round 2 will start with the announcement of the five $100 Round 1 winners and their design review from Neptune. We are now in Round 2! (2/20/09) Here are the details for this round. General Feedback: Login - this should use the minimum possible space on each page. Consider using a flyout or some other mechanism to reduce the amount of space login/register takes per page. Rating - Please use thumbs up/thumbs down instead of +/-, stars, et cetera. Top Comments - We actually do not want "Top Comments", we want "Top Commenters". Please display the highest rated commenters, not the highest rated comments. In any case, these should not be on home page. Home page content - This should focus on article content. Breaking news, featured articles, followed by editor's picks, highly rated articles, etc. General Flow - on each page, the "content" (articles) should be the main focus. This is especially important on the home page. The user should first see the relevant content, and then flow into other functional elements.
Project Overview The Austin Times site is focused on the Austin Texas community. Through user-driven content and comments, the client is looking to create an active online community. Design Requirements The main functions of the user on this site is to browse, view, comment and vote on articles. Because this is a content heavy and content-driven site, your design must be focused on the organization of content (categories, tags, etc.) and easily understood user experience. The client is looking for a very clean, open and easy to use site. Other requirements include: - Insert a placeholder for the logo. - Advertising space must be integrated cleanly and not disrupt the user experience, while also being prominent to the user and delivering value to advertisers. The designer should choose standard ad sizes (for example http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/1421/1443/1452). Use a blank placeholder to show your ad spaces. Required Pages For this contest, you will be designing the following five (5) pages. Details about each page are provided in the provided document "AustinTimes_Pages.doc". 1. Home Page - The home page contains top stories and the top-level categories of news that is presented. 2. Category Page - The category page "drills down" into an individual category from the home page. It presents the same basic information but with more visual and contextual focus on the particular category. 3. View Article - Every article has its own page. The article includes a headline and other common print elements. 4. Submit/Edit Article - This interface allows content developers to add articles to the site, and for editors to edit the articles. 5. View Profile - This page allows users to view each other's profiles, Additional Documentation We are also providing the text conceptualization documentation (AustinTimes_Conceptualization.zip) for background on the features of these pages. You are encouraged but NOT REQUIRED to read this information. It is simply available to you so you can get a more holistic and complete understanding of the site. Target Audience The site is meant for all news consumers in the Austin Texas community. The client's intention is to make a vivacious and active community of local users that will help drive the site via content submissions and comments. Users will be adults who are internet savvy. Here are some reference links to understand more about Austin and its residents: http://www.austintexas.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas http://www.austin360.com/ Branding Guidelines The name of the site is "Austin Times". No branding currently exists, so the designers are free to brand the site as they please. For this contest, please insert a placeholder for the logo. Reference Designs - A very similar site in content organization is http://seekingalpha.com/ (core categories, article view, comments, top XYZ) - CNN is also similar: http://www.cnn.com/ (core categories on top, article view) - Slashdot is similar http://slashdot.org/ (Categories on side, article view with comments and related articles). ** Note that the heavy comment volume and blog style front page are NOT necessarily appropriate for Austin Times. The CNN/SeekingAlpha models for the front page are more appropriate. * Seattle Times is also similar, especially in article view: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/ Almost any major news site follows the same basic design the client is looking for. All of these were chosen for their broad stroke user interfaces, not their graphical design elements (color schemes, layouts, etc). DO NOT simply duplicate these sites, but use them as reference, an understanding of the client's needs and inspiration. Judging Criteria Your submission will be judged on the following criteria: Usability - How well the design enhances the user experience and how easily the user understands the tasks at hand. Consistency - How well all of the pages work together to provide a complete user experience. Content - How well the design focuses on the content as well as the ease of understanding and accessing that content.
Please read the challenge specification carefully and watch the forums for any questions or feedback concerning this challenge. It is important that you monitor any updates provided by the client or Studio Admins in the forums. Please post any questions you might have for the client in the forums.