Timeline
Role
Team
PROJECT OVERVIEW
PROBLEM
RESEARCH + INSIGHTS
USER PERSONA
SOLUTION + DESIGN EXPLORATIONS
FEEDBACK + ITERATION
DESIGN OUTCOME
CONCLUSION + LESSONS LEARNED
What is CNN Shorts and why does commenting matter?
What problem were we trying to solve for CNN Shorts users?
How do people engage with comments on short-form platforms today?
Who is this commenting experience for?
How could commenting feel natural, responsible, and engaging on CNN Shorts?
How did critique shape the design?
Oct 2025 - Present (Ongoing)
Product Design Intern
Michele Feldmann (Manager)
CNN Mobile Apps Team
CNN Shorts is a short-form video format designed to deliver news in a fast, mobile-first way. As engagement with Shorts grew, CNN saw an opportunity to move beyond passive viewing and create space for audience interaction.
I worked on designing a commenting experience for CNN Shorts, focusing on general commenting and @mentions as core features, while exploring additional engagement tools like polls, AI summaries, and trending indicators.
Users watching CNN Shorts wanted a way to react, respond, and participate, but had no way to do so. Without a commenting feature, Shorts remained a one-way experience, limiting users’ sense of involvement and preventing the formation of community around news that naturally invites shared perspectives and discussion.
To understand how people engage with comments on short-form platforms, I conducted competitive research across TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Reddit, along with reviewing articles on commenting and reaction behavior. I focused on identifying patterns that would make sense within a news environment like CNN.
I focused first on general commenting and @mentions, as these form the foundation of any conversational system. Additional features were explored as extensions from this core experience.
Core Focus
General commenting (replying to comments, sorting and filtering, liking and disliking)
@mentions, allowing users to tag and respond directly to other users
Supporting Explorations
Polls for lightweight exploration
AI-generated summaries to provide context before commenting
Trending indicators to surface active Shorts
Based on research, I created a persona to steer my decision-making throughout the project.
I shared my prototype with senior designers during a peer design review and received feedback that challenged me to think beyond the commenting UI itself. Questions like “How does a user actually get to commenting?” and “What does onboarding look like for someone who wants to participate?” pushed me to consider the full flow, not just the feature.
Based on this feedback, I began exploring an onboarding experience that clearly explains why an account is required and sets expectations before users are able to comment.
Full final designs are part of an ongoing project and cannot be publicly shared. Access is available upon request (password-protected).
Engagement isn’t just about UI. Thinking about onboarding and how people actually participate made the feature feel natural.
Feedback really helps. Getting input from peers and senior designers made me rethink important flows.
Context matters. Comments for news need extra care around tone and clarity.
Key Insights
People spend significant time in the comments.
On short-form platforms, users often scroll through comments as much as — or more than — they watch the video. This reinforced that comments aren’t secondary; they’re part of the content experience.
Tone and structure matter more for news.
Unlike entertainment content, news invites debate and differing opinions. Without structure like threading or moderation tools, conversations can quickly feel overwhelming. This highlighted the need for organization and clarity within comments.
Comments create a sense of community.
Seeing others share similar reactions makes users feel validated and more comfortable engaging. For CNN Shorts, this supports building community around news discussions.
Quick reactions lower the barrier to engagement.
Not everyone wants to write a full comment. Features like emoji reactions or lightweight responses allow more users to participate with less pressure — increasing overall engagement while keeping the experience accessible.
Goals
Encouraging Participation: Transform CNN Shorts from passive viewing into active, two-way engagement.
Design for Clarity and Ease: Create a structured, low-friction commenting system that encourages participation.
Protecting Trust & Conversation Quality: Maintain a respectful, responsible tone aligned with a news platform.
About
Maya keeps up with the news through short-form videos and wants a quick way to react and see how others are responding.
“I want to stay informed, but I also want to react and see what others think.”
Maya Lopez
Demographics
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Location: Chicago
Goals
Quickly understand what’s going on in the world
Engage with news in a fast, responsible way
Pain Points
No way to engage or respond to Shorts
Comment sections on other platforms feel messy or toxic
Needs
Simple, low-effort ways to engage
Clear structure so conversations are easy to follow
Behaviors
Watches CNN Shorts between classes or on breaks
Scrolls through comments to see how others are reacting
