UNFOLD

Inspiration

Staying informed on what matters to you can be a hassle.

We wanted to find a way to make getting the news more pleasant and prevent people from getting overwhelmed by the sheer flood of information.

A way that invites readers to dive deep or also just get caught up on headlines.

We believe that adding more and more artificial intelligence to products can take away from autonomy and create echo chambers.

That's why we developed a way to take some pressure off the users by limiting the initial amount of info while at the same time empowering them to take a deep dive into the information they are intrigued by the most.

What it does

Our news app UNFOLD is a completely new way to experience the topics that are important to you.

Every news story is split into short, media-rich chunks which can be accessed step by step. Each user gets to decide which pieces of information matter to them most and access them without scrolling endlessly. Things the user isn't interested in don't clog up the feed.

Using UNFOLD allows users to dive deeper as each new story unfolds.

This explorable, self-curated news feed creates an exceptional reading flow that greatly enhances the user experience.

The data SRF already delivered allowed for smooth linking between multiple sources of media and subtopics and allowed us to create a data-driven UX answer to the question "How will news be consumed in the future?".

How we built it

The functional prototype (mobile) is built with Vue.js, Vuetify and hosted on Google Firebase.

GitHub: https://github.com/chdabre/hackzurich21-srf-unfold-news

Features:

Recursive Node-Tree REST API design with full mock implementation
On-demand loading of media/content based on reader's choices
Dynamic transitions make use of new, fast web rendering to create a smooth experience
Rich inline media experience

Accomplishments that we are proud of

We are delighted with how our product turned out. We took a long time trying to decide how we would like to get our daily news and we are sure it was worth it. We enjoy our UI/UX Design and think our functional prototype turned out beautifully. We are sure that this innovative and intuitive way of consuming news is perfect for the future.

What we learned

Since we are still studying we learned a lot. Working together - especially on too little sleep - can be challenging but makes it more interesting.

This was also the first time we encountered a challenge specifically asking for a UX solution and were delighted by it since we know what kind of impact the look and feel of a product can have.

What's next for "UNFOLD"

Our proof of concept is finished and running live here.

We would love for our idea to empower the users further by not only letting them create their perfect feed but additionally

Employ "Spritz-style" speed reading techniques while getting up to date
Allowing for similar interaction inside notifications
Exploring even more types of content and seeing how it applies to this new and improved news article
Using predictive algorithms to create the most dynamic content from the data that's already available

We are ready to UNFOLD more of our platform's potential.