Problem

The Massey iPad app needed to be a one-stop experience to dive headfirst into the entire world of Massey Lectures and open the possibility that a user could ostensibly collect the entire history of Massey Lectures and content in one place. Furthermore, the client needed a solution that progressively increased book sales and expanded the audience beyond the realm of the “high-brow” academic types. All these requirements needed to be encapsulated in a package that effectively rebranded the Masseys in a simplified, broader context that encouraged users to spend long, quality time with the big ideas of the text.

Insight

We distilled our key insight - that “spending time with the Masseys was time well spent” - into actionable design tenets. Simplicity should reign -- cut out the noise. Let the words speak clearly. Never impede the user’s exploration. From this, we cultivated a design framework that emphasized the user’s need to curl up in their favourite nook and spend quality time with the Masseys.

Solution

The final product unites these concepts into a sleek, clean, and direct interface that celebrates the thematic connections shared by Massey lectures as the natural starting point for contextual book-bundling and user engagement.

Outcome

Now with the Massy Lectures iPad App, available for free in the iTunes App Store, readers can explore over 200 hours of audio and visual content, in-line discussions and thematic bundles as they immerse themselves in the Massey universe.

For the first time, the audio and text of selected lectures are brought together in one specially priced package available for purchase within the app. Each selected Massey Lectures e-book is illuminated with vibrant images and videos and includes the five-hour audio lectures. At launch, the app adds nearly 40 pieces of additional video and audio content. Also available for the first time are curated bundles of books and lectures that are divided by connected ideas across lectures called “themes,” such as “Constructing and Deconstructing Identity” and “Rationalizing the Truth.”