NZZ Design Project

Why
As part of my training as an Interaction Designer, we were tasked with finding a way to rejuvenate the target audience of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) without losing the credibility of its existing readership.

How
Through surveys, I explored several approaches to appeal to a younger audience – including myself. Along the way, I identified key aspects: money, community, podcasts, and artificial intelligence. The younger audience wants to consume news as cheaply, quickly, and concisely as possible, without lengthy reading. They also value the ability to contextualize events through the opinions of others. After initial sketches and further discussions with lecturers and members of the younger target group, I decided to design an independent, credit-based platform that condenses NZZ articles into interest-specific briefings.

Result
The outcome of the design project was my news platform, which summarizes current world events based on NZZ articles, tailored either by topic or by user. Articles – for which a regular NZZ reader pays a considerable monthly fee – can be condensed into key takeaways, either through AI or by the authors themselves. These key takeaways are presented in freely accessible briefing articles, enabling readers to understand the content well enough to form their own opinion. Using credits, readers can unlock the corresponding deep-dive article, giving them access to the full-length version to read or listen to. This credit system works similarly to ChatGPT or Duolingo – granting full access to all features until the credits run out. In addition, all articles – whether short briefings or long deep dives – can be listened to in the Pick n Play section, where readers can create a personalized podcast out of selected articles.

For this project, I received the top grade (6) and was given the opportunity to present my results directly to NZZ.