Displaying rainy days in Bergen(s Tidende): Combining weather and news in a user-friendly way

Abstract

This thesis studies users', especially Bergenser's, relationship to weather with the aim to make a prototype of weather widgets for Bergens Tidende's digital platforms. By applying Design Science Research methodologies, a front-page widget is prototyped, giving users the ability to get a quick overview over temperature, wind, precipitation and one chosen niche weather feature like pollen or ebb and flow. Users are able to choose how the data is presented to them, for example seeing the amount of wind as "a little wind" instead of meters per second. A weather theme page is also prototyped, giving users the ability to see all weather and climate articles in one place, along with a dedicated detailed weather widget containing summaries, a rainy day counter, extreme weather warnings, a seasonal-specific forecast section, hour-by-hour weather, a long-term forecast, sea-specific forecasts, and more. The thesis asks the following research questions: RQ1. What different needs do the users of weather services have? And how can we cover these needs in a customizable weather widget? RQ2. What makes a good summarized local weather report? RQ3. How can we use user-centered design to gain insights to create different weather forecast designs? The findings of this thesis will help future projects that aim to explore the design possibilities around local weather forecasts, especially connected to news platforms.