Atlanta News Now
The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) has historically been one of the Southeast’s most trusted news sources. To solidify that reputation among a younger, more digitally-inclined audience, the paper set out to deepen reader engagement by rethinking its website. IfThen collaborated with the AJC and its parent company, Cox Enterprises, to transform the site into an experience that inspires and informs.
Capabilities
Digital Strategy
User Experience
Visual Design
Usability Testing
Custom CMS Development
Our approach
1. Own the moment
Clearly convey the distinct offering of the AJC which is to capture what is happening in and around the city of Atlanta at any moment. Focus on local coverage and when covering national stories ensure it is through the lens of the Atlanta audience.
2. Engage the audience encouraging consumption of multiple stories
Fully research and understand both mobile and desktop story viewing habits among different user personas. Focus time and engagement at the story page level, ensuring related, recommended, and other relevant and contextual content is always nearby.
3. Create innovative storytelling techniques for speciality coverage
Create bespoke template design for highly specific coverage including a local, true-crime podcast series and local elections with county-by-county reporting.
4. Establish a design system that is extendable to other markets
Create a vibrant look and feel that matches the vibrancy of the city of Atlanta while templatizing modules and components that can be reskinned and extended to other cities. Create components that can be reused throughout different page types sites and adhere to best practices for all markets.
Our work with the AJC helped the organization to do more powerful storytelling using a digital lens, while creating an extendable set of tools allowing each of the other Cox Media markets to “own the moment” in the city they serve.
Deliverables
Strategic Brief
User Personas
Interactive Prototypes
Annotated Wireframes
Visual Design and Style Guide
Custom Storytelling Templates for Special Coverage
Template Development
About AJC
Location
Atlanta, GA
Sector
Media
Parent Company
Cox Enterprises
Founded
1883