Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
BBC News iPad app: live page in landscape format. Here the carousel navigation is much larger,
allowing more choices to be included on the page for the user.
Designing for mobile phones
Designing for a mobile phone screen can also be challenging, as the space available
is even more limited. How do you encourage an audience to watch TV programmes
on their mobile device?
In 2012 the BBC released its BBC iPlayer mobile app, having realized that more and
more people were choosing to watch television or listen to the radio on their mobile
devices. The team tasked with designing this app, headed by senior designer Chris
Elphick, identified several goals when developing the platform. These were: to let the
audience plan their daily viewing; to encourage the audience to explore more pro-
grammes; and to consider the restrictions such as portrait and landscape orientations,
screen size and gestural interaction. Since the iPlayer already existed online, it was
important to retain the identity and usability of the original platform.
One of the challenges was to understand the differences between the mobile platforms
for Android and iPhone. Although both use gestures as navigation tools they can
be different. The team chose to keep the gestures simple and universal. The team
explored several possibilities regarding landscape and portrait orientation, trying to
present as much information as possible in a single view. Research suggested that
certain users preferred the simplicity of a menu with fewer options. In the landscape
