A New York Times Feature

What am I doing?

We are designing a Quick Look feature for the New York Times interface, a lightweight overlay that lets readers see a snippet of an article before committing to a full page.

​

What are the goals?

Reduce friction between headline and full article.

Give readers enough context to decide quickly.

Blend seamlessly with the NYT’s existing design system.

Support both casual skimmers and deeper readers.

​

What is the problem?

Currently, NYT articles jump directly from a minimal homepage card (headline + image) to a full article with ads, popups, and heavy content. This abrupt leap creates frustration for users who want to skim before committing, often leading to backtracking or bounce.

​

What is the process?

I started with observations of reader behavior and competitive benchmarking. After identifying pain points, I iterated on layouts that balanced clarity and hierarchy. Through user testing, I refined the design. Each iteration aimed to feel native to the NYT ecosystem while directly solving the user’s need for a middle step.