The Weather Channel Redesign - 2022-2024
The Process : A Deeper Dive Into How We Got There.
Phase 1 • Create The Vision
Dream Big. With a small core team, we aligned on our approach and timeline, product principles, personas, and key user journeys. Rapid prototyping and testing helped us prioritize features and refine the experience. We explored bold visual concepts that elevated the brand and blended data with storytelling.
We first aligned on project timelines and overall approach.
We defined our target personas, from where we were to where we wanted to be. We mapped the journey and JTBD for each target to arrive at our hero flow and core actions.
We also defined our guiding principles to help the team with decision-making.
A lot of workshopping with stakeholders to define our feature sets and where to invest time.
We restructured our IA, navigation, and wayfinding to ensure ease of use and to connect the dots for our users.
In tandem, we explored the evolution of the visual direction.
We tested multiple concepts and landed on an editorial-focused direction that blended weather data with immersive storytelling.
We unpacked the editorial direction through rounds of design, diverging to explore bold ideas and then converging to define the core elements of the vision.
And here it is, Storylines! A beautifully ownable, timeless, and elegant direction for our experience. Striking the perfect balance between utility and rich storytelling.
Phase 2 • Design The System
Make it happen. We expanded the team and ran focused design sprints to shape key flows and high-value screens, refining through continuous discovery and testing. We built a core design system of essential patterns and components to scale efficiently across the app.
With the foundation in place, we brought in the full team and formed squads to run design sprints on key workstreams.
We detailed end-to-end user flows for all core functions. Supported by daily design workshops and open crits to keep the work cohesive.
We used motion studies and rapid prototypes to gut-check ideas and test feasibility early and often.
Each sprint included moderated testing with target users to ensure we were building the right things, the right way.
Sometimes we got it right :)
With each round of testing, the visual language sharpened until we landed on a UI that felt just right.
We introduced exclusive features for our premium users, like this immersive Weather AR experience.
A sample of documentation and UX teardowns created to align the team, clarify intent, and support efficient development.
Phase 3 • Launch & Iterate
Go Time. The rollout was deliberate and gradual. We recognized the importance of addressing issues once the experience was in our users' hands. Optimization efforts were driven by insights from revenue impact, performance data, and user feedback and satisfaction metrics.
