News systems are go
Project: Newsletter design system
Role: UX research, product design, workflow
MIT Technology Review: Vanessa Scopino (director of product), Michael Reilly (executive editor), Charlotte Jee (news reporter), Karen Hao (senior AI reporter), Mike Orcutt (senior blockchain reporter), Erin Winick Anthony, Neel Patel (space reporters), David Rotman (editor at large), Eric Mongeon (chief creative officer), Molly Frey (director of software engineering)
After the successful trial balloon that is its popular daily newsletter, The Download, MIT Technology Review decided to see what else was possible. Our users had been clear: an essential benefit of The Download is curating and providing just enough context to understand the day’s technology news in a concise format. We saw an opportunity to build on this general audience product to engage a loyal audience of enthusiasts with in-depth analysis delivered in the unique voices of our topic-expert journalists.
Over the course of two years we launched a small group of niche-topic newsletter products: The Algorithm (artificial intelligence), Chain Letter (blockchains and cryptocurrency), The Airlock (space, duh), fwd: Economy (“Your guide to growth and prosperity in the age of technology”), and Weekend Reads (a weekly roundup of relevant stories from our archive).
Taking into consideration all the needed components and identifying the platform constraints, I designed a flexible system in which certain elements and properties were variable, and others were present across all newsletters.
I worked closely with editors prior to launch as they prototyped their content models by offering recommendations on content cadence, integrating sponsor units, and workflow planning. By the time they had finished focusing their editorial approaches, I had designed a system of components to deliver a consistent reading experience — all our newsletters feel like they’re part of the same family — while elevating each editor’s unique voice, style, and content.
The result was a kit of parts from which each newsletter is assembled to fit individual editors’ needs and serve every newsletter’s specific business goals. Director of software engineering Molly Frey built a durable, universal Mailchimp template, so updates propagate to every editor’s desk.
Since the initial launch, newsletters have become core to our business and have proven to be our most successful channel for introducing our work to prospective subscribers and sustaining reader engagement. By the start of 2021, our newsletters were distributed to 400,000 readers and collectively enjoyed an average open rate of over 30%. More newsletters are on the horizon in the coming year.
