The Weather Channel — Design Discovery

Over five years at The Weather Channel, I had the opportunity to think deeply about one subject: the weather, how it affects the world, what people want to know, and how they connect to it emotionally. These are my explorations — some realized in products, some not.

Context

Weather is the rare subject everyone checks, every day, everywhere. That gave an unusually wide canvas: conditions, alerts, radar, seasons, and the small daily decisions people make because of the sky.

Approach

Sketch constantly, prototype quickly, and keep a running library of ideas — from new ways to visualize a ten-day forecast to running, pollen, tides and severe-weather concepts.

What I worked on

What I contributed

Concept design, interaction explorations, data visualization, photography art direction and mood boards across phone, tablet and wearables.

Designed for

The Weather Channel

Role

Design Lead, Mobile

Platforms

iOS

Android

Watch

Timeline

2011 – 2016

Team

Myself and the mobile design team

Myself, Project Manager, 3 Developers, Client Stakeholders

A million weather thoughts

Five Years of Weather Ideas

Sketches, mockups and prototypes exploring current conditions, ten-day forecasts, radar and maps, severe weather alerts, pollen, tides, running and snow — some shipped in the flagship apps, others stayed as ideas worth keeping.

Photography Art Direction, 2013

Location-Based Photography

Directing and curating photography that matched real conditions and real places — the layer that made the forecast feel like it belonged to the person reading it.

Art Direction / Mood Boards, 2011

Setting the Tone, 2011

The earliest boards established the vocabulary that carried through the next five years: cinematic skies, confident type and graphics that stay out of the way of the data.

Art Direction / Mood Boards, 2011

Setting the Tone, 2011

The earliest boards established the vocabulary that carried through the next five years: cinematic skies, confident type and graphics that stay out of the way of the data.

Art Direction / Mood Boards, 2011

Setting the Tone, 2011

The earliest boards established the vocabulary that carried through the next five years: cinematic skies, confident type and graphics that stay out of the way of the data.