Obituaries

***

Overview

Death notices have long been an important part of the traditional newspaper landscape, but while they have been a mainstay of print revenue, that hasn’t translated into digital revenue. As the news industry becomes more digitally focused, it becomes more important to find away to transition that revenue.

To complicate matters, there are already players in the digital space, providing services. So if news organizations are going to compete, they’re going to need to step up their game and provide a world-class digital experience that goes beyond just putting an obituary online.

Objective

We’ve worked at developing an obituary solution that combines a respectful obituary with galleries and memory boards, where users can share stories and photos, or answer questions about the deceased.

My role

As the lead designer and UX researcher, I completed a competitive analysis, developed mock-ups and interactive prototypes, conducted multiple user tests to hone the experience, and then provided the development team with documentation.

Outcome

100% of the test groups understood the navigation, and what to expect from each. 75% of the test groups said they would be more likely to pay for a digital obituary if it came with this level of functionality. However, they still expected the pricepoint to be $19.99 or less.