Company and Invention Timeline
Design an editorial history experience that connects one influential invention with the people and companies that shaped it.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Popular histories often reduce an invention to one heroic founder and omit parallel work, employees, public funding, or social consequences. A well-sourced timeline can surface relationships without losing readability.
User context
Nora is researching the development of the personal computer for a college essay. She needs a coherent chronology and sources she can evaluate independently.
Product problem
Readers need to move between events, organizations, people, and evidence without mistaking a simplified narrative for the complete history.
Objective
Create a topic introduction, filterable timeline, event detail, and source trail for one invention history.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Understand the topic's scope and editorial approach
- Explore events by theme, organization, and period
- Open an event to see participants and consequences
- Trace claims to primary and scholarly sources
Screens and states
- Topic overview
- Interactive timeline
- Event detail
- Source library
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Nora reads how the timeline defines personal computing
- 02
She filters for interface and manufacturing milestones
- 03
She opens an event that credits several teams and earlier work
- 04
She saves two sources with citation details
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Distinguish documented fact, interpretation, and disputed claim
- Connect events to multiple people and institutions
- Offer list and keyboard alternatives to the visual timeline
- Provide complete source metadata and editorial corrections
Constraints
- The experience should cover one invention deeply
- Company marketing material cannot be the sole source for major claims
- Images require rights and captions
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four responsive editorial screens with a sourced disputed event
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.