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Topic App

Topic is a personalized news app that helps users discover stories from different sources and perspectives, based on their interests. Personalised news can make discovery easier but it can also make the world feel smaller.

Topic is a personalized news app that helps users discover stories from different sources and perspectives, based on their interests. Personalised news can make discovery easier but it can also make the world feel smaller.

Platform

Mobile

Timeline

3 weeks

5 weeks

Tools

Figma, FigJam

The Challenge

Most news apps are built around a limited ecosystem of content. Many place their journalism behind subscriptions or paywalls, while others focus their personalized feeds on mainstream publications or specific regions such as the US, UK, or Europe.

The problem wasn't simply finding relevant news. It was finding relevant news without narrowing the user's view of the world.

Even when users can select their interests, personalization often determines what they see without giving them much control over where that information comes from. How could Topic make news personal without making discovery narrow or predictable?

Most news apps are built around a limited ecosystem of content. Many place their journalism behind subscriptions or paywalls, while others focus their personalized feeds on mainstream publications or specific regions such as the US, UK, or Europe.

The problem wasn't simply finding relevant news. It was finding relevant news without narrowing the user's view of the world.

Even when users can select their interests, personalization often determines what they see without giving them much control over where that information comes from. How could Topic make news personal without making discovery narrow or predictable?

I started by exploring the current news app landscape to understand how existing products approach content discovery and personalization.

The research revealed a common pattern: many news apps rely on subscriptions or paywalls, while those offering personalized feeds often focus on mainstream publications or limit coverage to specific regions such as US, UK, Western Europe, Canada, and Australia, compared with parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Even when users can choose their interests, they have limited control over the variety of sources and perspectives they discover.

This highlighted an opportunity for a more open news experience — one that helps users explore stories from different topics, sources, and parts of the world in one place.

Goal

Design a mobile news experience that makes it easier to discover relevant stories beyond mainstream and regional coverage, while making international content accessible through automatic translation and simplified reading.

What needed to change

Users struggled to:

  • Discover news beyond mainstream and regional sources.

  • Explore stories from different parts of the world.

  • Access relevant articles without subscribing to multiple publications.

  • Read content published in foreign languages.

Users struggled to:

  • Discover news beyond mainstream and regional sources.

  • Explore stories from different parts of the world.

  • Access relevant content without subscribing to multiple publications.

  • Read articles published in foreign languages.

  • Quickly understand complex news stories.

Solution

I designed Topic, a personalized news platform that brings content from multiple sources into one experience. The experience was built around a simple idea: give users control over what they follow without limiting where they discover it.

The app introduces:

  • Interest-based onboarding to personalize the feed from the first session.

  • Persistent topic filters for quick content discovery.

  • Multiple-source discovery to explore stories beyond a single publication or region.

  • Automatic translation into the user's preferred language.

  • Easy-read formatting that makes articles easier to scan and read.

Balancing personalisation and exploration

The main design challenge was finding the balance between giving users a personalised experience and keeping discovery open.

Too much personalisation could make the feed predictable. Too much variety could make the experience feel overwhelming.

I used the information architecture, topic filters and source discovery to give users a clear starting point while still allowing them to move through their initial interests.

Information Architecture

To balance predictable navigation with free exploration, the app is structured around five core areas, each with a clear purpose.

Discover: Personalised content based on the user's interests.

Explore: A space for finding new stories, topics and perspectives beyond the personalised feed.

Live: Access to live media and current content.

Library: Saved content that users want to return to.

Profile: A place to manage the user's activity, interests and preferences.

From personalisation to discovery

The core flow starts by understanding the user's interests, then moves from personalised content into broader exploration.

Users can select topics, discover stories from different sources and translate the articles in their preferred language and reading format.

Low Fidelity screens

I started with low-fidelity screens to explore the information architecture, content hierarchy and main user flows before committing to the visual design.

The wireframes helped me test how users could move between personalised content and broader discovery while keeping navigation predictable.

I started with low-fidelity screens to explore the information architecture, content hierarchy and main user flows before committing to the visual design.

The wireframes helped me test how users could move between personalised content and broader discovery while keeping navigation predictable.

Final Hi-Fi screens

The final screens translate the structure into a mobile experience designed around discovery, accessibility and clarity.

Topic filters, content cards and source information help users understand what they are seeing and where it comes from, while translation reduces barriers when opening an article.

The final screens translate the structure into a mobile experience designed around discovery, accessibility and clarity.

Topic filters, content cards and source information help users understand what they are seeing and where it comes from, while translation reduces barriers when opening an article.

Foundations

A lightweight design foundation helped create consistency across screens while establishing a visual language for Topic.

The product was developed in Figma using an existing component library and design system. I adapted and extended these foundations to shape Topic's screen flows, interface and product experience.

Components

A flexible component system brings consistency to Topic's interface, from navigation and content cards to buttons and filters.

Reusable components also made it easier to maintain consistent interactions and hierarchy as the experience expanded across different screens.

Design thinking in practice

01 - Discover with intention
Topic is designed to make discovery feel open without becoming overwhelming. Topics give users a simple way to move from broad interests into specific stories, while Explore provides a way to move beyond the personalised feed.

02 - Connect content and sources
Search goes beyond individual articles. Users can discover posts, people, publications and topics, creating multiple ways into the same subject and making it easier to explore different perspectives.

03 - Make the experience personal
Profile brings together the user's saved content, interests and activity, giving them control over how they organise and personalise their experience.

What changed

From a personalised feed to a more open discovery experience:

01 - More control over discovery
Users can shape what they see through interests and persistent topic filters rather than relying entirely on a personalised feed.

02 - More sources, fewer boundaries
Stories can be discovered across publications, regions and perspectives instead of being tied to a single content ecosystem.

03 - Fewer barriers to understanding
Automatic translation and easy reading formatting make international and complex stories easier to access and navigate.

Reflection

Designing the prototype helped me see the balance between personalisation and discovery. Giving users more control over their feed also means making it easy to discover content they might not normally see.

This project explored how personalisation, different sources and accessibility can work together to create a more open news experience.

Future improvements could include:

  • Offline reading

  • More personalised content based on reading behaviour

Design approach
The product was developed in Figma using an existing component library and design system. I focused on adapting and extending these foundations to shape the product experience, screen flows, and interface around the needs of Topic.

Explore the interactive prototype below

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