Insync
News app tailored to prioritize transparency, and a holistic perspective. InSync. empowers users to voice their concerns, fostering accountability.
Timeline
8 weeks
Team
Rishma Bora
Priyanka Verma
Role
Design Research
Interaction Design
Conversation Design
Prototyping
Type
Consumer Application
SaaS
Prioritizing transparency, and a holistic perspective.
News consumption has long served as a key element for societal engagement, shaping perspectives, and fostering informed participation.
However, the lines between different media landscapes are getting increasingly blurry. The abundance of available information poses challenges regarding credibility, transparency, and misinformation due to its overwhelming nature. In an age defined by easy access to news content, the significance of consumption goes beyond mere information intake.
What is the problem we are trying to solve?
In our busy lives, we often trust information without verifying. But misinformation spreads, fueled by unfiltered user content. In this digital chaos, many lack awareness, leaving them vulnerable to manipulation and false narratives that are flooding our social media.
When was the last time we relied on a news source without hesitation?


When was the last time we questioned what lies beyond the headlines?
Social media often gives the illusion of knowledge, yet leaves us with only fragments of the whole picture. Eye-catching headlines and limited characters fail to provide context, and sharing articles, even unread, can inflate our perception of understanding.
Why do these numbers matter?
Sensationalism is preferred over neutrality; causing manipulation to the truth of an event.
Gap that we identified
An engaging and ethical news platform for Digital Natives (24-34) to encourage them to delve deeper and form their own opinions around news pieces.
InSync.
InSync.
How does Insync help?
Insync. aims to provide a holistic platform for news consumption by offering a tailored experience to the needs of news readers.
A succinct overview of recent events, consciously excluding photos on the home screen to enhance reader focus.
A weekly trivia on current affairs to inculcate the habit of news reading, and create better user engagement.
Personalized news feed tailored to an individual's interests, allowing them to focus on what matters most.
Who are our Key Archetypes?
Individuals
in the age
group 24-34
Dedicated News Seekers
Individuals who actively read news in their daily routine.
Casual News Consumers
Individuals who come across news from various mediums, but will selectively show interest based on the content.
Getting to know our users
We conducted 6 interviews, gaining invaluable insights.
These participants were recruited through surveys that we circulated, helping us identify people belonging to our archetypes.
Insights that shaped our approach
With each of the 5 themes that we discovered from our interviews, we conducted Affinity Mapping to highlight insights that could guide us towards our potential solution.
From our insights, we derived the solution criteria which acted as guidelines to shape our product.
Feature Mapping
What do we mean by Impact? If a solution increases user's active news consumption, or the in-depth knowledge they have about a news piece.
​
We mapped our solutions out on the Feasibility-Impact matrix. Feasibility is affected by factors such as technological viability, available resources and financial investments.
InSync.
Insync. aims to provide a holistic platform for news consumption by offering a tailored experience to the needs of news readers.
The app provides a succinct summary of events, extending choice to the users to delve deeper into news stories for a thorough understanding, beyond surface level understanding.
Insync tries to inculcate the habit of reading news through elements such as weekly trivia. While, monthly consumption tracking promotes accountability and progress monitoring.
What does InSync value?
We provide transparent, unbiased reporting on the day's most significant stories.
Clarity instead of Chaos
Apart from the distressing news pieces circulated, we want to bring you news that highlight the good things happening around the world.
Look at Bright Side.
We're committed to listening to our users and incorporating their feedback into our platform.
Your voice matters.
Quick news update
Insync streamlines the news consumption process by presenting concise headlines in the main feed, which expand to provide brief summaries of the latest events. This feature caters to readers seeking quick updates on current events without dedicating significant time to browsing through articles.
Additionally, users can efficiently navigate through news stories by filtering them based on categories, ensuring a personalized experience.
Deep dive with context
Insync allows users to explore news events in depth, allowing them to connect various sources to gain a comprehensive understanding of current events.
Additionally, Insync offers audio support, providing an alternative option for users to listen to articles rather than reading them.
Welcome to the Bright Side
Ever felt overwhelmed by the constant stream of burdening news? Amidst the often bleak news landscape, we aim to uplift our readers by highlighting the positive events happening around the world.
This feature provides a refreshing break from the negativity, promoting a more balanced and optimistic news experience.
Tuesday Trivia
Enhancing user engagement and retention, our Tuesday Trivia feature offers a weekly quiz on current events.
Designed to encourage readers to retain and recall information, this interactive activity provides a fun and engaging way to test knowledge while indirectly reinforcing key news concepts.
Personalised content
Tailoring news to individual interests, Insync’s personalized feed enhances the reader experience by curating content based on user preferences.
During onboarding, users are prompted to select topics of interest, ensuring their feed reflects articles relevant to their preferences.
Monthly recap
This feature offers users a personalized overview of their news consumption behavior.
By gamifying aspects of news consumption, this recap highlights key metrics to fosters a sense of achievement and incentivizes continued engagement with the platform.
What would success mean for Insync.
Time spent on each article
Since InSync is purely focused on delivering news, an increase in time spent on each article would indicate that users are actually absorbing content.
Attempting weekly quizzes
By attempting weekly quizzes, the users engagement with the app is increasing. Additionally, it also reflects that users are interested in testing out their knowledge of current events.
Number of downloads
& subscribers
A steady increase of subscribers indicates the satisfaction of current users. Whilst the increase in downloads signifies that people find Insync as a reliable source of news.
Learnings and Reflections
01
Continuous iterations + open to change
Embracing an open mindset to change and iterations were a pivotal learning experience during the project.
02
Open to experimental concepts
We recognize the importance of being open to experimental concepts. It allowed us to push boundaries and explore unconventional ideas.
03
Experimenting with frameworks
Frameworks introduced us to look at things in a different perspective, guiding us towards a more comprehensive approach to design.