A product designer weighs in on the challenges of building digital reading experiences that also make money

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At least, that’s what we like to imagine. 
But is it true, and is it even possible?

At Tradecraft we practice whiteboard design challenges every week, and one of the questions we always remember to ask the client is this: “How do you monetise? Is there anything you want me to push to drive revenue here, so I can make sure it’s considered in my design?”

The truth is, no one wants to hire a designer who doesn’t make money for the company.

Users are great, but there ain’t no users if there ain’t no product. And there ain’t no product if there ain’t no money.

How It Began

My first idea for this article stemmed from a sweeping, grandiose vision to do good for the publishing tech world. As a young designer holding an English Literature and Journalism double major, I made it my mission to combine my love for technology and reading into one. Reading is one of my greatest loves, and I had gone to Journalism school in New York during the era of mass hysteria over print being dead.

Everywhere, my professors and fellow students were lamenting the death of the written word as we knew it. But I, being the futurist that I was, was unperturbed. I believed that technology, though seemingly threatening to the publishing world at the time, would end up salvaging it and taking it to the peak of it’s true potential.

Fast forward four years, and we’re nearly there. But not quite.

I started my quest to write an article about creating the best digital reading experience by seeking out designers at publishing-tech companies and getting their thoughts on the subject.

Read the full article here

Source: Sharethrough

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