By Madison Stevens
What happens when you try to reinvent hyperlocal storytelling? You might come up with something like Google Bulletin, a new app that its builders tout as an “effortless” way to capture and instantly share stories to your local community.
Screenshot from Google’s new Bulletin app
Interaction design lead Alex Valdivia and product manager James Morehead spoke at SNDNYC about their approach in developing and designing Bulletin, which is currently being piloted in Oakland and Nashville.
When creating Bulletin, Valdivia and Morehead chose to go back to the start and tried to create from the users’ perspective. They designed Bulletin to be a pilot. Through experimentation and gathering data, they are working to make the product better by focusing on the user.
There were a lot of approaches they could have taken, but Valdivia and Morehead focused on content first. The design process was around storytelling and empowering people to create useful stories. This did not mean simply creating mocks. Instead, they began with a hypothesis and are continuing to use their pilot research to create the best design for the user.
The guiding principle that was used in creating and designing Bulletin was to be effortless to both content creators and end users. The goal was not to create another social media app, but a place to go to share and see what is happening in one’s community. “Bulletin is a tool, not a destination,” they said.
Photo: Alex Valdivia, left, and James Morehead talk about the design and creation of Bulletin. (Photo by José Valle)