<aside> ℹ️ In 2019 I successfully pitched an app idea to the leadership committee of the Communication Workers UNion. I worked with an app development company to produce Affiliate – the CWU app for both iOS and Android.
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The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is a democratically-led trade union where members can vote to influence the direction of the organisation.
In 2017, the members of the Communication Workers Union voted for the Union to create an app. There wasn't any guidance on what the app should do or who it should be for, but the vote meant that that an app had to be made.
I joined the Union's Communication's department in September 2018 as the Graphic Designer. At this point some work had been done to replicate the Union's website as an app, which struck me as a waste of an opportunity as it wasn't providing value for members' or the organisation.
Priorities for members
In late 2019 I had a chance discussion with a CWU member who said that they were frustrated with the range of information that the CWU published across its website, email and social media.
As the Union represents around 110,000 postal workers versus around 50,000 telecommunication workers and 40,000 more across other sectors, the Union’s channels are often dominated by information for staff of Royal Mail.
Creating a solution where users could have control over their CWU content and view it all in one place would be a real winner for everyone.
Priorities for the CWU
In 2019 the CWU spent over £500,000 on print and distribution of its members’ magazine. There were six issues a year and while some engaged members enjoyed the magazine, the content lagged behind what the CWU could deliver online. This made it a less useful communications tool for the organisation.
The app presented an opportunity to reduce print costs while also building a new content platform.
I began to draw some sketches of a newsfeed-style app that would bring together all of CWU’s content. Members would be able to follow or ‘affiliate’ different feeds depending on their sector or interests.
