Designing a video and editorial platform for financial news

CLIENT

SNN, Inc.

CLIENT TEAM

CEO, COO, & President

INDUSTRY

Finance, Media, Editorial

TARGET USERS

Investors, Executives

LOCATION

Marina del Rey, CA

YEAR

2017–2018

SERVICES

User Persona Definition, Information Architecture, Wireframes, User Journeys, Prototypes, Brand Definition, Visual Design Style, Multi-Platform Web Design

SNN Incorporated is a financial news and publishing company in Marina Del Rey with 20 years of experience producing web content, publishing magazines, and putting on annual conferences. VPRwire.com is the company’s upcoming media platform whose flagship product combines traditional, written press releases with video content.

THE CHALLENGE

We were tasked with designing a website that attracts market investors with stock insights and quality content, while also attracting companies to advertise and create videos on the platform.

DESIGNING FOR MULTIPLE USER TYPES

We worked together with the client to figure out the website’s information architecture and user experience, which revolve around its primary content type: the Video Press Release. Our goal was to design a memorable web experience that fluidly combines the video and editorial content being created for the platform. In addition to the front-facing content, we also designed the back-end experiences for free, consumer-level users and premium, enterprise-level users. Through wireframing and prototyping, we were able to validate our design concepts and test them on various devices.

Prototyping throughout the process

Building working prototypes of our designs at various stages allowed for frequent testing and client sign-off.

WIREFRAMES

VISUAL DESIGN

Initial design concepts for VPRwire.com

VISUAL DESIGN

The visual design process started with a benchmarking exercise in which we analyzed existing finance publications such as Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and MarketWatch. We also looked at media-driven websites in other relevant industries such as streaming services, action sports, and traditional print news. This foundational exercise helped align our design expectations and find a unique position for the brand to fill.

We collaborated with the client team to create a visual style that conveys innovation and thought leadership. Starting with three separate design concepts, we iterated and combined visual styles into one unique brand identity. With the visual style established, we went on to design the entire website for all devices.

A robust and flexible design system

The user interface created for this website is responsive, allowing users to view it on any device or browser. The page layouts are broken down and documented in a component library for easy developer hand-off.