Company

CNN

Designed

2010–2013

Role

Principal visual designer

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From 2010 to 2013, I led the visual and interaction design of the new premium digital video destination at CNN.com. An immersive experience focusing on the delivery of large high-definition video, it also allowed for the simultaneous discovery of editorially curated video content and marked Turner's first move toward letting cable and satellite subscribers stream a live TV broadcast across devices.

Desktop

The key challenge in designing the desktop experience on CNN.com was finding a way to give users the ability to watch and browse videos simultaneously. After designing a number of concepts and implementations, we eventually settled on a solution that involved two modes: a cinematic view and a browse view.

In cinema mode, the focus was the large, high quality video player and the currently active playlist. In browse mode, the user could select videos from a number of editorially curated playlists while the active video played in a smaller, docked player. Tabs at the top allowed users to view different categories of content.

Core player

In tandem with the redesign of CNN.com's video page, we redesigned the player to be fluid based on the user's browser window size. We created a simpler, bolder set of controls and integrated closed-captioning and video quality settings. We then expanded this player to work in live experiences featured on the CNN.com homepage and in embeddable players.

iPad app

As part of TimeWarner's broader ‘TV Everywhere’ initiative, we integrated CNN and HLN's authenticated live TV streams into the existing CNN iPhone and iPad apps.

Google TV

CNN also took the opportunity to explore the then-new Google TV. We created a simple 10-foot interface that presented users with a small set of popular and editorially curated videos along with headlines of the day.