While everyting is becoming more complex, The New York Times has mastered the art of clarity. From integrating playful games like Wordle into their serious news platform to adapting their homepage for 122 consecutive days during the pandemic, Kristen Dudish and Libby Gery show how UX at the Times is not just about design. It’s about purpose.

Introduction: The Art of Clarity in a Complex World
The New York Times is not just a newspaper; it’s an institution, a trusted voice guiding millions through the complexities of the modern world. But delivering clarity in today’s fast-paced digital age requires more than great journalism. It demands seamless user experiences that inform, engage, and empower. Enter Kristen Dudish and Libby Gery, VPs of Product Design at The Times, who are leading the charge in transforming user experiences to uphold the publication’s mission: to seek truth and help people understand the world.

In their insightful talk, Kristen and Libby shared the pivotal role of design in driving clarity across The Times' expansive portfolio of products, including news, games, cooking, audio, Wirecutter, and The Athletic. They also highlighted three core approaches that shape their design strategy: advancing product features, responding to editorial needs, and envisioning the future of UX. Let’s dive into the key takeaways from their session.

1. Advancing Product Features: Seamlessly Integrating Wordle into the News App

When Wordle became a global sensation, attracting tens of millions of players weekly, The Times saw an opportunity to introduce these users to its broader ecosystem. The challenge? Integrating the vibrant, playful design of games into the more subdued and serious aesthetic of the news app.

The team faced two critical questions:

• How much of the standalone Games experience should be brought into the News app?
• How could the two distinct visual identities—colorful and playful versus monochromatic and serious—be harmonized?

Through close collaboration between the product design and brand identity teams, they developed a solution that balanced these contrasting elements. By creating a dedicated "Play" tab in the navigation, they allowed users to engage with daily games while preserving the full Games experience for the standalone app. This thoughtful integration maintained the integrity of both products while offering users a cohesive experience.

2. Responding to Editorial Needs: Redesigning the Homepage During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic tested the limits of The Times' homepage. Traditionally designed with a two-column layout, the homepage prioritized top stories on the left and broader coverage on the right. While effective for most scenarios, it proved inadequate for the scope and urgency of the pandemic.

Faced with the challenge of accommodating a rapidly expanding array of coronavirus-related content, the design team partnered closely with the newsroom to rethink the layout. They introduced the "Spotlight" feature, a flexible horizontal layout that could expand to showcase more stories, photos, live video, and interactive elements.

The results were staggering:

• In 2019, the Spotlight layout was used just 18 times.
• In 2020, it was deployed for 122 consecutive days to manage pandemic coverage.

This quick, adaptive response not only met the newsroom’s needs but also set the stage for a more scalable, dynamic homepage design that continues to evolve today.

3. Envisioning the Future: Designing for Emerging Trends

As storytelling formats evolve, The Times is proactively reimagining how its journalism can be delivered in the years to come. Kristen and Libby highlighted three major shifts driving their current design-led envisioning process:

• The changing shape of storytelling: From text-heavy articles to visually immersive formats like vertical card stories and reporter threads, the team is exploring ways to make content more accessible and engaging.
• Multimodal journalism: Recognizing that readers consume content differently—whether by reading, listening, or watching—The Times is experimenting with designs that seamlessly integrate all three modes within a single story.
• Diverse product goals: Beyond reading and viewing ads, the digital product must now encourage users to share stories, sign up for newsletters, explore related content, and subscribe. Balancing these goals without overwhelming the user is a key design challenge.

Through visual prototyping, the design team is creating a vision for a UX that aligns with business objectives, newsroom ambitions, and reader needs. These prototypes serve as a North Star, guiding teams toward a unified strategy for the future.

The Role of UX in Driving Clarity

At The New York Times, clarity isn’t just a design principle—it’s a way of contributing to the company’s mission. Kristen and Libby shared several strategies that their teams use to achieve this clarity:

• Focusing on the essentials: In both product and editorial projects, designers prioritize simplicity and relevance. Whether it’s condensing user research into actionable insights or distilling complex news stories into digestible formats, the goal is always to make the experience intuitive and impactful.
• Adapting to changing needs: The Times’ design approach is flexible and responsive, allowing the team to pivot quickly in response to breaking news or emerging trends.

Collaborating across disciplines: UX at The Times is deeply collaborative, involving stakeholders from product, design, editorial, and engineering. This cross-functional alignment ensures that every decision reflects a balance of user, business, and newsroom priorities.

Key Takeaways for UX Professionals

Kristen and Libby’s talk offers valuable lessons for anyone in the UX field:

• Design for scalability: As The Times demonstrated with the Spotlight layout, scalable systems can adapt to changing demands without compromising clarity or usability.
• Bridge contrasting aesthetics: Successfully merging the playful branding of games with the serious tone of news required thoughtful collaboration and experimentation—a reminder that UX is as much about relationships as it is about design.

Anticipate future needs: By identifying shifts in storytelling and user behavior early, The Times is positioning itself to lead, rather than follow, in the evolution of journalism.

Conclusion: Clarity as a Competitive Advantage

The New York Times’ approach to UX is a masterclass in clarity, adaptability, and purpose-driven design. Whether integrating new products like Wordle, responding to unprecedented challenges like the pandemic, or envisioning the future of journalism, Kristen Dudish and Libby Gery’s team exemplifies how UX can empower evolution.

By placing clarity at the heart of their strategy, The Times is not only staying relevant in a fast-changing digital landscape—it’s also staying true to its mission of helping people understand the world.

Watch the full session here: https://uxdx.com/session/transforming-the-new-york-times-empowering-evolution-through-ux1/

Or download the 2024 Post-Show Report for more insights: https://uxdx.com/post-show-report/