Weatherscape
2022
Senior Product Designer
Design Lead,
Product Owner,
Tech Director,
2 Senior Developers,
MetService, New Zealand's national weather authority and provider of weather visualisation content to networks around the world such as Al Jazeera, Sky UK, and Nine Network Australia, was losing market share as viewership of traditional television weather segments declined. MetService recognised in order to maintain their position as a global leader in weather visualisation, they needed to completely reimagine their platform, Weatherscape.
I led the user research and design of a revolutionary platform using Unreal Engine transforming how 500M daily viewers experience weather news globally. Additionally we reduced clip creation time from 6 hours to under 10 minutes, enabling broadcasters to create more dynamic, responsive weather content without requiring specialised training.
Evolving legacy technology:
- Legacy software requiring 6 hours to update daily graphics
- 80 hours needed to design new weather presentations
- Declining viewership due to repetitive, static content
- High technical barriers preventing creative storytelling
As Senior Designer, I owned three workstreams:
- User Research & Strategy: Led interviews, surveys, and testing across global broadcasters
- Platform Design: Created the UX/UI for the MVP and future solution
- Global Adoption: Showcased the platform to news organisations worldwide
Understanding four distinct user groups
Facing competing needs across user groups, I made a strategic decision to prioritise Presenters and Graphic Producers as primary users, while maintaining close collaboration with Meteorologists for accuracy. This wasn't about excluding stakeholders—it was about recognising who would drive daily adoption and success:
- Presenters: Needed speed and creative control
- Graphic Producers: Required efficiency without sacrificing quality
- Meteorologists: Demanded scientific accuracy
- Presenters: Needed speed and creative control
iPhone camera simplicity
Just as Apple enables both quick snapshots and manual control, I designed Weatherscape with:
- One-click templates: Pre-made shots (pan, arc, fly-forward) for instant creation.
- Advanced controls: Hidden until needed, allowing fine-tuning of every parameter.
- Smart defaults: Demanded scientific accuracy.
- Presenters: Meteorologically accurate settings that look broadcast ready.
This approach addressed the feedback, where users felt overwhelmed by traditional video editing software.
Visualisation transformation
The photorealistic graphics delivered such a dramatic quality improvement. Broadcasters could now create responsive content that matched breaking weather events, fundamentally changing how weather news engages audiences.
Leading through innovation
The platform continues to evolve, with MetService's team building on the foundation we created. The success has opened conversations about applying similar game engine technology to other broadcast visualisation challenges—from sports analytics to election coverage.
This project transformed how I approach enterprise design. By treating domain experts as co-creators rather than stakeholders, we can push beyond incremental improvements to create industry-defining innovations.
Testimonials
Stephen Horner
Chief Strategy Officer - RUSH Digital
Combine that with being a crisp communicator, effective stakeholder manager and direction setter, Cam is able to translate business strategy into design execution no matter the environment he finds himself in. If you’re looking for your next high impact design hire, look no further.
