Syncing with the world-moving storyscapes ofIstorima

Starting from wireframes’ design, our goal was to create an accessible experience that allows users to smoothly navigate through the available content and easily discover new stories closer to their interests. 

Setting the foundation for the UI styling based on the new brand identity’s principles, the wireframes also were also our starting point for introducing Istorima’s MVP features, including favorite stories, curated lists, filtering and alternative search methods. 

Upon wireframes and user flows definition, our process followed the creation of a comprehensive design system based on the new brand identity’s assets in order to serve the platform’s functionality and scalability with consistency to the brand’s values.

Providing a wide range of UI colors to cover both light and dark modes for accessibility, as well as proposing bold yet dynamic text styles for proper content hierarchy, Istorima platform’s design system is based on an atomic design approach, starting from the smallest elements, such as buttons, chips and drop-downs, and covering needs for more complex ones, such as cards and menus. 

Right after Homepage, the Podcast Page is one of the platform’s most significant and crucial pages of Istorima’s platform, thus our approach was to craft a concrete architecture that could host 4 main features. 

Firstly, all podcast info and credits are on first view and easily accessible, along with transcript and media content, spotlighting the human factor of Istorima’s stories and ensuring accessibility for all users. At any time, the user has multiple sharing options at hand allowing Istorima’s real stories to reach even more people around the world, while the available Autoplay list allows for content suggestions based on the user’s interests, and thus allowing for customization and smooth interaction with the stories that interest us the most. In the meantime, the always-on player at the bottom of the user’s page or screen allows free and full exploration of the platform’s content without interrupting their selected audio journey.

One of Istorima Archive’s main pain points was that the website’s search engine could not serve users’ either discovering new stories or finding a specific one. On Istorima’s new platform, upon clicking the search icon, users are directed to a dedicated search interface where, besides their past searches, they can choose among multiple filtering options, combining themes, feelings and timelines, for more effective results.

Collecting and auditing Istorima’s content, we were intrigued to identify that multiple stories took place, referred or were narrated at the same place. This spatial type of connection between experiences led us to the creation of a SpaceTime map where users could have an overview of the stories related to specific places around various locations while also having the opportunity to travel through those places’ history and cultural heritage snapshots by adjusting the time range or focus on a specific theme by selecting a certain category from the available dropdown. 

As our initial positioning and wireframes design process dictated, our goal for designing and developing Istorima’s platform was to ensure accessibility and functionality in as many cases as possible so that everyone can enjoy a story or explore more anywhere, anytime, leading to the creation of both light and dark mode for streaming no matter the conditions, and a fully responsive experience, functional and highly performing at all resolutions.

Designing and building Istorima’s platform was more than creating another digital experience for us. It was more about syncing a fully dynamic, transformative and diverse soundscape of real voices sharing their own truths and actively contributing to how we connect with our past, how we build truthful connections in the present, and how we can actually shape our future by listening to each other, together.