The Challenge
What Below The Crime Was Facing
Below The Crime was building a community platform around crime journalism and true crime entertainment, but early beta testing surfaced a polarised user base: engaged enthusiasts who wanted deep discussion, and casual consumers who felt the community features were overwhelming and occasionally distressing. A single IA could not serve both without alienating one group.
The Solution
What We Built
We conducted audience segmentation interviews with 45 beta users, developed distinct persona profiles, and ran co-design sessions with both segments to understand the boundaries each expected. The resulting IA introduced a "depth selector" — a clear structural distinction between browsable entertainment content and community discussion — with graduated content warnings designed through inclusive research with users who had personal connections to crime victimisation.
Results