UX, UI, WEB APP
AreaCreativa
Mediadata
Reimagining freelance journalism
A web app to find articles from freelance journalists in seconds, not days.
To expand the offer of products for media professionals, PR managers, and journalists., Mediadata decided to create Areacreativa, a direct marketplace for news editors to order and purchase articles from verified freelance journalists.
I collaborated with them on the design of the web app, working closely with the development team, but bringing an outsider’s perspective and making sure that the end product would be a stepping stone for the company towards a new branding and more future projects. The web app is currently being developed.
Product roadmap
We ran product roadmap workshops with the Aracreativa team to determine the top problems users are currently facing, refine their product vision and create some user personas. We used this research to create key flows based on a user’s journey from registration to log out.
Being a two-sided marketplace this had to be done twice, for communicators (PR and editors looking for articles) and freelance journalists.
For communicators:
- Getting Started: I’ve registered to the service and I want to let journalists know who I am
- Undertake Research: I know what kind of article I am looking for, so I want to rapidly compare all similar options so I can make an informed decision about my purchase
- Purchase article: I want to order an article from a journalist
- Getting updates: I want to communicate with the journalist to be updated on the development of the article and its delivery
- Leave a review: I want to leave feedback to the journalist for his work and communication
For freelance journalists:
- On-boarding: I have been authenticated as a professional journalist and I want to fill my info with my skills, experience, interests, and favorite topics
- Drafting: I want to publish a draft article to receive attention from communicators
- Manage an article request: I want to accept or decline an article request or contact the editor
- Manage account: I want to updated my info to let communicators know about my progress
With a clear understanding of users needs and wants, we were able to focus on what’s important to create an effortless and seamless experience.
Straight to the point
How do you create a perfect homepage for a web app?
After many meetings and several digressions we ended up with a direction that convinced everyone: to display straight on the home, the “value” delivered by the platform, that is, the draft article their drafts. In addition, the homepage also allows the user to search an article by keyword, trending topics, tags, or featured drafts.
Show, don't tell
The most important step was to understand the true value of Areacreativa: the draft articles.
In order to go customer-first, we have to make a lot of information simple and accessible, such as:
Is this article suitable for my goal? Does it suits my budget and deadline?
Is it long/short enough or will I have to ask the journalist to make changes to it?
Is this article going to be written by an expert in the field?
So we managed to create an visual library that could show all this information in a clear and straightforward way.
Communication is key.
We designed a library of labels and buttons to clearly update communicators and journalists on the status of the project.
Fostering communication
The live chat is a key feature in the Areacreativa app.
It’s a simple way for communicators and journalists to stay in contact before, during and after the purchase of an article. It also acts as a way to upload and download the final article.
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