Gwara.Media: independent online publication

Gwara Media is an independent online publication about social changes in Kharkiv and Ukraine.

Before the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, Gwara Media was developing a creative ecosystem around Kharkiv and its region. Now, it has become a media about social changes. Gwara Media provides the free people of Ukraine and the world with the right to verified information.

The editorial team specializes in convergent journalism. They create a wide variety of digital and interactive products, such as AR masks, short documentaries, interactive quizzes, and photo-, and video stories.

Their notable works include an English edition of a website, a studio which produces documentary videos and other creative content, and a bot called “Perevirka” which detects fake news, fighting against propaganda.

https://gwaramedia.com/

Problem

Gwara Media’s editorial team has worked with many contractors on the development of the website, including the functionality and design that shows the true nature of journalism.

The last versions of the website’s UI were captivating for the reader’s eye, but the UX made it harder to perform journalism, in particular, editing and publishing content via the program pages. Inconvenient functions slowed down the internal work processes for journalists.

To create and publish the content, the content manager had to design the look of the page, without any programming experience whatsoever.

Task

The first priority task for the Solar team was to improve wide-range functionality. All processes must be performed in one system, which will be easy to use for the Gwara Media team.

The improved functionality must be adapted to the new design in order to avoid human errors.

Process

After the productive call with the client, we’ve written down all the requirements and needs of Gwara Media. Then we calculated the number of hours to fulfill all of their goals. The project required 200 hours of deep and consistent work. We made a budget plan with a deadline and gave it to the client.

After the client’s approval, we began our work.

Our first task was to design the concept of design which will be adapted with the new improved functionality. We presented our first version and the client liked it! They asked us to continue working with this exact concept and approved our next steps.

The design along with the guide was given to the designer of Gwara Media with all the instructions on how to use it.

Our developer improved the functionality processes on WordPress. With new improvements, the Gwara Media editorial team can edit and publish content much faster with better quality, without the need for experienced developers.

After implementing the new design and binding it with the advanced functionality, the job was done.

Result

With the help of three specialists in the team, we carried out an audit of the existing design and developed a plan for the new design concept. One iteration of art direction was enough to develop a new concept the client fell in love with. The new design has been implemented with adapted functionality on WordPress.

In 200 hours, the team accelerated Gwara Media’s internal processes and updated the design that conveys the atmosphere of independent media.

The client and his team were satisfied with our work and became our friends. We even took an interview with them!