LENSES
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TODAY
WEEK
MONTH
YOU
JOHN
ANN
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Lena
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Kay
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Keona
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Stephanie
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Jessica
Leadership Board
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LENSES
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Enhancing Gen Z News Engagement through Gamification in Shades
Type
Mobile App
Role
Product Design Intern
Timeline
Aug 2024 - Dec 2024
Background
Shades is a news app target for gen z users that offers news in concise summaries from diverse perspectives, allowing users to like, comment, and poll on news content.
My Role
Improved current Shades games, implemented streaks and rewards, and increased personalization within app leading to 11% increase in engagement.
I was tasked with identifying areas for improvement within the app, focusing on enhancing the game features and elevating the overall user experience.
Despite early interest, users weren’t coming back. Engagement dropped as the app failed to hold attention.
The problem
A more fun and personalized experience that incentivizes users to keep coming back.
Solution
Lenses - Personalized News Feed
Reconcept of Popular Word Games
Redesign of Profile Page
Personalized news feed where users can filter content, increasing news interests and decreasing overwhelming and unwanted news.
Creating a more familiar and user friendly game, increasing interest and engagment.
Making a more central and organized page that helps users feel supported.
5
Before
LENSES
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After
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After
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Before
Research
What keeps users from staying on the Shades app longer?
Some of the games are confusing so I don’t feel like spending more time to figure it out
I get overwhelmed with the amount of news content and am not really interested in most of it
The games are a good idea but I don’t have incentive to keep playing and some of the news on the app I don’t really care for
Insights
Finding engaging news feels like a chore.
Users want quick, relevant news, but current formats are either too time-consuming or disconnected.
Games and Instructions Lack Intuitiveness
Users find both the games and their instructions confusing. Some also felt the games seemed random and unrelated to the news.
Low Motivation to Keep Playing
While users see potential in the games, they don’t feel incentivized to keep playing without clearer rewards or progression.
News Feels Overwhelming and Unrelatable
Users feel disconnected from the news, either because it's overwhelming or not personally relevant, making it less interesting.
Competitive Analysis
Game Content
Game Integration with News
Personalization
Habit forming
Socialization
Wordle, Spelling Bee, Crossward
Crossword, Sudoku, Word Search
Category Browsing
None
Shareable games/articles
Custom alerts, saved sections
Streaks
Play with friends
Crossword, Word Roundup, 2048
“For You” tab
None
None
None
Streaks, stat, daily engagment
Score sharing
Features
New York Times
Washington Post
USA Today
I found that a common denominator among these news apps is personalization and habit-forming features, with successful games often centered around word-solving. In contrast, Shades focuses on trending categories paired with games that range from very simple to very complex.
Ideation
How might we increase retention and news engagement for Gen Z by integrating intuitive gamified elements and personalized experiences?
Mapping engagement drop-offs to design opportunities
High Interest
Discover
Browse
Play
Personalization
Gamification
Habit-forming Loops
Retain
Interest Drops
Low Motivation
Pain Point: Feed feels generic
Pain Point: Disconnected gameplay
No reason to return
Iteration 1
Giving Users More Control Over News Feed
Iteration 2
Adding “Lenses”. Users can look at news through a personalized Lens, making the news feed more relevant, reducing drop-offs from generic browsing
Users can add topics they want in their personalized news feed.
Allowing users to filter out news that they do not want to see.
Quick suggestions so users are able to choose in a more efficient manner.
Tags that help users quickly see if the news topics is relevant to their interests.
Encouraging Retention Through Game Mechanics
Integrating news into gamified experiences makes staying informed more engaging and rewarding, turning news consumption into something interactive instead of passive.
Daily challenges that motivate users to keep coming back.
Integrating news topics into games to encourage users to further engage with relevant news within the app.
Introducing friendly competition, motivating users to play as well as potentially bring friends onto the app.
Alternative pop up tutorial so users can quickly look at instructions when confused, which was a previous pain point for many users.
Rewarding Animations
Shifting information hierarchy and motion to create a more guided, encouraging experience.
✨Enhancing user experience through motion that feels responsive and rewarding
Reflections
Designing with both user and business goals in mind
I realized that effective decision-making, especially for early stage companies, is not just about what is best for the user but also about what sustains the business. This meant thinking beyond usability and considering how design could support long-term engagement and product success.
Do not underestimate small details
Subtle motion or small moments of feedback can completely change how a user feels. Even a tiny animation after an action can reassure them that something worked or can adding a sense of delight to the experience.
Users reported feeling more in control of what they read and less overwhelmed by the volume of news. The added gamification brought moments of delight, while the redesigned profile tab felt more purposeful.
Impact
+11%
User adoption rate
+26%
Returning users
Tabs blend together and information is hidden at first glance, making it hard to scan.
Clear hierarchy.
Identity, stats, and content flow more naturally.
Before
After
