Emotional Design for The Washington Post
Building Gen Z Loyalty Through Childhood Brand Nostalgia
Context
Over the past decade, The Washington Post has undergone a major digital transformation under owner Jeff Bezos and former CEO Fred Ryan. Despite its technological advances, the organization continues to face a challenge: attracting Gen Z subscribers. Most of this generation consumes news through side-door sources—social media feeds and aggregator apps—rather than directly visiting news sites.
UX Researcher & Designer | 10 weeks (Spring 2022) | Interviews, Co-design with kids, Prototype testing
Rationale
While The Washington Post revolutionized its technological infrastructure, it failed to build emotional connections with Gen Z readers. The younger generation seeks instant access, visual storytelling, and a sense of community.
The question is: How might we help The Washington Post build emotional connections with the younger generation?
Innovative subscription models and paywalls might seem like the obvious business fix. But while exploring the app, I realized that The Post had a kids’ section that was not immediately visible as it was tucked under “Lifestyle,” and I noticed that it carried the same “serious” tone as the rest of the publication.
Around the same time, my secondary research into purchase behavior led me to the concept of childhood brand nostalgia—the idea that positive childhood associations can strengthen brand loyalty later in life. That insight made me wonder:
Could The Washington Post forge lasting connections by creating memorable, kid-friendly experiences through its kids’ section?
Prototype to Learn
Observing the Current Experience
While familiarizing myself with The Washington Post app, I came across KidsPost—a small, almost hidden section buried under Lifestyle. Its placement alone suggested it wasn’t treated as a core experience. The content reinforced that impression: the tone and layout were very “grownup”.
This discovery, combined with insights from my desk research on nostalgia as a driver of purchase decisions and brand loyalty, sparked a key question: what if the KidsPost became a fun, engaging space that builds emotional connection early on? The idea of redesigning it wasn’t just about improving usability—it was about transforming it from an overlooked corner into an experience that could nurture lasting affinity with the brand.
Deciding on the Approach
Recognizing how hidden and “serious” the KidsPost felt within the existing app, I realized that this challenge wasn’t just about improving findability—it was about building an engaging experience that kids could relate to and form a community around.
Rather than beginning with traditional user interviews, I chose to prototype first. Creating a high-fidelity concept early on allowed me to express an alternative vision and gather richer reactions from users once they could see and imagine it. The design became a conversation starter—a way to uncover what drew kids in, what felt confusing, and what could nurture long-term interest.
This decision turned the project into an experiment in learning through making. The prototype was not a finished solution; it was a tool for learning.
Designing the New Experience
The prototype introduced a dedicated Kids’ section that is immediately visible within the app hierarchy, featuring a playful, customizable homepage, optional quizzes, and a “gift an article” feature. The goal was to create a space where curiosity, learning, and community naturally intersect—an experience that feels engaging to kids, with the business goal of targeting Gen Z readers in mind.
The new menu design features KidsPost as its own category (left), while the new homepage (right) introduces a playful, customizable layout for young readers.
Beyond visibility and customization, the redesign introduced a gamified reading experience where kids earn points by taking quick quizzes after each article. As points accumulate, their “expertise level” increases, unlocking the ability to “gift” articles to friends—a playful way to turn KidsPost into a community built on curiosity and kindness.
The “gift an article” feature was designed to extend engagement beyond the app, transforming personal achievement into social connection and community value. This places The Post at the heart of an emotional experience that fosters loyalty early on.
Together, these features were designed not only to delight and engage kids, but also to support The Post’s long-term goal of attracting Gen Z subscribers.
Features of the new experience
Setting Up the Experiment
To understand how the proposed experience resonated with kids, I designed tri-fold testing sessions. The first part was an interview to explore their interests and digital habits. The second was a think-aloud test of the current KidsPost experience. The final part blended a walkthrough of the new prototype with a hands-on co-design activity. The goal was to gather early feedback on both desirability and usability. Three kids participated—enough to surface initial patterns and validate assumptions at this exploratory stage. All sessions were recorded with parental consent.
Testing procedures
What I Learned from Testing
The testing sessions validated my assumption that the current experience felt too grown-up for kids—without me leading participants in any way. The redesigned version immediately drew their attention with its colorful, playful home screen. However, some elements of the new experience weren’t fully understood at first; kids needed brief explanations about how the features worked. Once they grasped the flow, they expressed clear enthusiasm for both the look and the underlying ideas. Tagging and analyzing the interview transcripts revealed four areas that caused momentary friction—Knowledge Challenge, Gifting Articles, Customization, and the Congratulations Page—which guided the next design iteration.
Findings from testing helped me build a realistic persona that captures kids’ motivations, behaviors, and needs—guiding the next iteration of the design.
Snapshots from user testing (coded themes in Userbit, left) & user persona (right)
Iterating Meaningfully
Feedback from the testing sessions guided the next round of design changes. I refined the experience to make onboarding smoother, interactions more intuitive, and give kids more control.
Onboarding & Customization
Knowledge Challenge
Congratulations Screen
Gifting Articles
Missed Opportunities
Given the time constraints, I couldn’t explore every angle I had in mind. With more time, I would have:
Spoken directly with the KidsPost team to understand the business goals shaping editorial decisions—not just the audience experience.
Interviewed actual KidsPost readers to ground my assumptions in the voices of the children already engaging with the product.
Broadened participant diversity. My sessions involved three nine-year-old girls, but a wider age and gender range would have offered a fuller picture of Gen Z’s early digital and media habits.
These efforts would have given the case study a more nuanced and inclusive perspective.
KidsPost Today
Since my project, The Washington Post has relaunched KidsPost as a weekly print insert powered by What on Earth? magazine (its digital section was closed in 2023 amid layoffs). The new edition embraces color, playfulness, and interactive content—quizzes, puzzles, and jokes—that echo the same values of fun, curiosity, and agency explored in my redesign.
While the Post chose to reinvest in its kids’ offering, The New York Times discontinued its own Kids section in 2025 to pursue other digital endeavors. The contrast highlights how different editorial strategies respond to shifting priorities. Time will tell which organization has struck the right tone.
Next Project
