BBC Programmes
Responsive web
A responsive redesign and rebuild of BBC Programmes was required in order to combat the problem of the server-intensiveness of rendering separate mobile, tablet, and desktop views of branded websites. This also helped to provide a cost-effective, single URL solution for increasing user traffic to BBC Programmes pages.
Responsibilities
Conduct a detailed review of non-responsive offerings, including analysis of the brand page, objective gathering and specifications, and user research.
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Produce fully responsive versions of the brand, sub-index, and content pages that are visually and functionally aligned across screen sizes.
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Retain the ability to promote individual brands through the use of custom colours, custom themes, brand logos, and imagery.
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Oversee the post redesign appraisal of the final design solution, including testing (observation and facilitation), prototyping, and test script preparation with usability specialists.
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Overhaul the full collection of responsive components, ensuring they are visually and stylistically aligned across different viewports while also taking advantage of the interactions and functionality offered by specific devices.
Media Availability Panel
The continually changing viewing and listening habits of users led to the development of the Media Availability Panel (MAP), a design pattern created to encourage the growth of programme consumption on iPlayer, to convey the availability status of any programme episode to users, and to inform users about all possible modes of access.
Responsibilities
Create a design pattern that provides a short summary and visual representation of the brand while keeping the audience informed about episode and series availability. The most essential requirement was to ensure that users could distinguish between new episodes, live broadcasts, current series episodes, and old series repeats.
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Ensure the clear signposting of the available methods of watching and listening to an episode (e.g., iPlayer streaming and downloading, digital/physical media purchase, or live TV/Radio broadcasts).
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Explore the inclusion of an override facility to allow upcoming series, special episodes, or specifically chosen editorial content to be promoted in the MAP, all the while retaining the core aspects of the MAP and the basic structure of the brand page.
BBC Programmes branding pack
Despite the ease with which the programme templates, components, and content management tools allow generic programme websites to be built, key BBC brands may want to retain their visual identity. For this reason, the BBC Programmes branding pack ensures that any design assets are created and delivered to the correct specifications.
Responsibilities
Provide clear guidance on the branding of programme pages, paying particular attention to the use of images, colour, and accessibility, as well as ensuring that the possibilities and limitations around the way branding appears on different devices and browser viewports are clearly understood.
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Ensure that the intricacies of the Programme Branding Tool, including the use of network/channel branding and components, are clearly understood before asset delivery, thereby ensuring the smooth construction of programme web pages.
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Introduce external designers and agencies to the BBC's Global Experience Language, thereby raising awareness about how its responsive, visual, and typographic guidelines influence BBC Programmes' templates and components.