Work
About
Contact
Resume
Edwin Fernandez
Redesigning
Dinamani
for the digital age
Led the end-to-end redesign of Tamil's pioneering digital news portal — transforming it from stagnant viewership to the #1 most-visited Tamil news platform in Tamil Nadu.
#1
Viewership in Tamilnadu
Most-visited Tamil news portal, 2024
ROLE
Lead Designer
DURATION
6 Months
TEAM
2 Ux + 1 UI
PLATFORM
Mobile & Web
CLIENT
TNIE Group
01 — CHALLENGE
A legacy brand stuck in a
digital stalemate
Despite a recent website overhaul, Dinamani's viewership remained flat. The platform's outdated UI, poor multimedia integration, and lack of contemporary conventions were eroding its digital presence among Tamil readers worldwide.
01
Stagnant Viewership
Flat visitor numbers despite deep reader loyalty across Tamil-speaking demographics — the brand's digital arm was underperforming its print reputation.
02
Outdated Interface
Design failed contemporary standards — poor readability, cluttered layouts, zero mobile-first thinking, and no dark mode or accessibility features.
03
Multi-Stakeholder Complexity
Balancing competing priorities from editorial (content-first), marketing (ad revenue), and The New Indian Express board (brand consistency).
02 — RESEARCH
Five pillars of discovery
We investigated how reading habits evolved in the print-to-digital transition — and how readers distinguish between news consumption and general browsing.
01
Google Analytics
Demographics, reading behaviours, time-of-day patterns, and age-group engagement.
02
User Interviews
Semi-structured interviews across targeted age groups from analytics data.
03
Heuristic Evaluation
Systematic usability audit validated against user frustrations.
04
Competitive Analysis
Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada newspapers — features, UX, differentiation.
05
Client Collaboration
Bi-weekly reviews and Q&A sessions to refine scope iteratively.
READER AGE DISTRIBUTION
34.2%
18-24
24.8%
25-34
17.3%
35-44
11.1%
45-54
7.5%
55-54
5.1%
65+
Key analytics insights
45%
Users only reached the 4th fold — too many ads, not enough news above the fold.
54%
Drop from article mid-read. Consistent across all categories and topics.
68%
Just want latest news. Heatmaps showed heavy clicks on top navigation only.
63%
Male readership dominates. 36% female — a growth opportunity for the platform.
03 — PERSONAS
Three readers, three
distinct needs
Built from interview insights and analytics data — these personas guided every design decision throughout the project.
A
Avinash Paraiyar
52 · Business Owner · Chennai
GOALS
Reads news on-the-go and shares important articles with friends and family members.
FRUSTRATIONS
Excessive ads while reading on mobile. Missing regional editions on website.
READS
Dinamalar
News 18 Tamil
The Hindu
P
Preethi
30 · Data Scientist · Madurai
GOALS
In-depth news daily. Listens to audio articles while working from home in the evenings.
FRUSTRATIONS
Listen-feature unreliability. Ads disrupt long-form reading sessions.
READS
Dinamalar
News 18 Tamil
NY Times
P
Aaditya Raghavan
33 · PE Teacher · Vellore
GOALS
Latest sports news. Scans headlines quickly and reads selectively about cricket and IPL.
FRUSTRATIONS
No dedicated sports sub-categories. Navigation lacks granularity for sports topics.
READS
Dinamalar
News 18 Tamil
TOI Channel
04 — COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Feature gaps across Tamil
dailies
Analysed direct and indirect competitors to identify differentiation opportunities — the question driving this exercise was "how can we push the boundaries?
Features
Category Navigation
Mobile-Friendly Design
Search
Listen to Article
Dark Mode
Live Streaming
Personalization
District-wise News
Mobile App
Podcasr/Adudio
Competitors
DAILY THANTHI
DINAMALAR
THE HINDU TAMIL
NEWS 18 TAMIL
05 — HEURISTIC EVALUATION
Problems → Opportunities
Each usability issue was paired with a design opportunity — validated against user interview findings and competitive gaps.
SCENARIO
First Impression
User feels overwhelmed — no clear category structure
OPPORTUNITY
Scrollable Topic Tabs
Category tabs in the first fold for instant orientation and topic discovery.
SCENARIO
Hidden Search
Users can't locate search — wastes time, creates frustration, drives abandonment.
OPPORTUNITY
Overlay Search + Trends
Prominent search with trending topics, auto-suggestions, and category filters.
SCENARIO
Ad Cluster Overload
Blank sections and clustered ads cause readers to feel lost and disengage mid-read.
OPPORTUNITY
Inline Ad Distribution
Ads woven naturally within content flow. Related news suggestions at article end.
SCENARIO
Layout Monotony
Repetitive card patterns across category pages — users get bored and leave quickly.
OPPORTUNITY
Dynamic Card Patterns
Varied layouts, carousels, timelines and content formats to sustain engagement.
06 — DESIGN STRATEGY
Four core design values
These principles guided every decision — from information architecture to visual language and component design.
Function
Intuitive navigation and seamless functionality — every feature performs optimally with frictionless UX.
Aesthetics
Harmonious visual balance that crafts an immersive interface — strengthening brand identity at every touchpoint.
Scalability
Flexible templates that adapt and grow — enabling new sections and features without redesign overhead.
Mobile First
Optimized for smaller screens and touch navigation — where the majority of Tamil readers consume news.
USER ARCHETYPES
~10 MIN · MULTIPLE TIMES/DAY
News Enthusiast
Skims regularly across multiple sessions — extracts the important bits of a story quickly and moves on.
>10 MIN · EVENING DEEP DIVES
News Reviewer
Reads extensively at home to fully comprehend stories. Enjoys in-depth analysis and editorial content.
<5 MIN · TOPIC-SPECIFIC
Casual Reader
Interest in specific topics like sports. Scans headlines and summaries — doesn't commit to long reads.
07 — INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
From research to
structured design
Robust IA for home and category pages translated seamlessly into precise wireframes. Inspired by South China Morning Post, The Guardian, The Times, and Mathrubhumi.
Redesigned Home Page IA
Reorganised 35+ sections into a streamlined hierarchy with strategic ad placement following Google best practices.
Navigation & Categories
Main News Carousel
Breaking News (Live)
Latest News Timeline
Bottom Navigation
District News
Web Stories
Popular Now
Special Articles
Video Section
Cinema & Sports
Editorial
Weekly Magazines
Noto Sans Tamil typography paired with a sophisticated dark greenish-blue palette selected from three colour options presented to the client.
Noto Sans Tamil
Dark Greenish-Blue Palette
Scrollable Category Tabs
Inline Ad Distribution
Dynamic Card Layouts
Timeline-based News
Audio Article Feature
Dark / Light Mode
Voice Search (Elderly)
Voice Search (Elderly)
WIREFRAME COVERAGE
80+ screens across all page type
CORE
Home Page
CORE
Article Detail
CORE
Category Pages
CORE
Search & Results
FEATURE
Live News
FEATURE
Web Stories
FEATURE
E-Paper
CORE
My City / District
SPECIAL
Astrology
SPECIAL
Election Hub
SPECIAL
IP/Sports Hub
SPECIAL
Treasury (30+ subs)
ONBOARDING
Splash & Login
ONBOARDING
Region & Topics
ONBOARDING
Subscription Plans
ONBOARDING
User Profile
07.1 — DESIGN
Design mobile & web
Home Page
Latest News
News Cards
My City
Article Page
News Report
Website
THE HEADLINE RESULT
#1
in Viewership Across Tamil Nadu
The strategic redesign proved transformative — driving exceptional growth in user engagement and reshaping Dinamani's market position entirely.
08 — IMPACT
Design that
moved the needle
The strategic redesign proved transformative — driving exceptional growth in user engagement and reshaping Dinamani's market position entirely.
#1
Most-visited Tamil news portal in
Tamil Nadu, 2024
80+
Screens designed across mobile app and responsive
web
6mo
End-to-end redesign from research to dev handoff
+2
Follow-on contracts won from this project's success
SPIN-OFF PROJECTS
Success that scaled acrosss the group
Samakalika Malayalam
Received contract to revamp and redesign this Malayalam daily — applying the same proven research-to-design methodology.
Kannada Prabha
Received contract to revamp and redesign this Kannada daily — extending the design system across languages.
09 — REFELCETIONS
What I learned
Key takeaways from navigating the intersection of legacy media, digital transformation, and multi-stakeholder design.
01
Digital Transformation is Cultural
Balancing traditional newsroom practices with modern UX design requires empathy for established workflows — not just new wireframes.
02
Stakeholder Management is Design Work
Aligning editorial, marketing, and leadership perspectives — mediating conflicting content vs. advertising priorities — is as critical as the visual design.
03
Language Fluency as a Design Advantage
Tamil fluency was a critical communication asset — building trust through transparent, empathetic engagement with the editorial team.
04
Ad Placement is a UX Problem
Creating a framework that satisfies both ad revenue goals and reader experience required treating monetization as a first-class design constraint.
05
Research Builds Organizational Empathy
Using evidence-based insights to present design rationale to C-level stakeholders (CEO, MD, Director) transformed skepticism into advocacy.
Designed & built with care · Edwin Fernandes © 2026
Available for full-time roles