A People's History of Tech

Collaborative Success: A People’s History of Tech Debut at Sundance

Fly Media Productions and Flagrant worked together to create and deploy a visually precise website with an award-winning user experience

Development

Development

A laptop, tablet, and phone screen showing the People's History of Tech website

Client Context

A People’s History of Tech is the first in a hoped-for series of projects overseen by The Tech We Want. It provides an online home for open source, collective storytelling focused on the history of the mobile phone. The site captures the full spectrum of the technology by enabling the general public to share significant moments in their own lives involving a mobile phone. Flagrant was enlisted by its frequent collaborator and partner, Fly Media Productions, to support the site’s development and technical build.

The Challenge

Fly Media Productions was responsible for digital strategy, experience design and creative direction of the entire project, with Flagrant responsible for development. Flagrant was given an accelerated timeline to deliver a premiere-worthy digital MVP for showcasing alongside the project’s physical installation at the Sundance Film Festival.

The technical implementation delivered by Flagrant had to meet an ambitious and custom brand experience designed by Fly Media Productions, including support for stringent accessibility requirements.
With design not done in-house, Flagrant faced additional constraints inherent to developing for another agency.

The key to success was that the website needed to be designed so non-technical users and admins could easily make updates. Further, it had to follow very explicit Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), especially with the general public submitting personal stories. Roughly one billion people live with disabilities, so it was critical that this content was accessible by as many people as possible and that there was a means to submit stories.

The Solution

Flagrant worked closely with Fly Media Productions to meet the tight schedule and deliver the project in record time. To accomplish this, Flagrant provided:

A team of senior developers versed in designing accessible, complex and interactive websites.
Transparent work with a pivotal partner to ensure design specs were met and functionality delivered.
A hosted, customized website provides a user-friendly experience, one that would require minimal ongoing maintenance.

Multiple screen shots of People's History of Tech screens

The Result

Flagrant delivered A People’s History of Tech on schedule and in time to support Sundance activities. The site met the high standards of the custom design and was interactive in every way Fly Media Productions requested and expected.

Today, the hosted, built-from-scratch site offers much lower maintenance costs than typically found. The work has received positive feedback from the client and users, especially given the tight turnaround. What’s more, the project’s success has paved the way for the continuation of the series. Fly Media Productions and Flagrant were jointly recognized with four CSS Design Awards for the project work. This prestigious international program honors web designers, developers, and agencies for excellence. The project received public votes for awards in the Best UI Design, Best UX Design, and Best Innovation categories, with additional Special Kudos awarded by CSSDA judges.

A screen shot of the homepage of People's History of Tech and a survey question "Tell your story" where visitors can contribute