Case Studies

BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs website was commissioned to house the programme’s vast audio archive, along with details of each desert island choice made by every guest since 1942.

Desert Island Discs (or DiDs as we call it) is one of the longest running programmes in radio history. It was created by the broadcaster Roy Plomley in 1942 and invites ‘castaways’, to choose the eight records they would take with them if stranded on a desert island, along with a book and luxury item.

The site needed to be more than a static filing cabinet for 70 years worth of facts – we wanted people to explore and make links across the programme’s rich archive. We wanted to create an enjoyable experience for users, so the audio and data needed to be searchable in a way that was straightforward and engaging.

First launched in March 2001, the digital archive features more than 1000 audio episodes covering the last 10 years, and is accompanied by the ability to search for every record, every book and every luxury item chosen by all the guests who have appeared on the show since 1942.

With a weekly audience on air of nearly 3 million, fans of the programme are now able to listen online and download classic episodes from Morrissey to Nicole Kidman and delve into the data archive uncovering some fascinating choices and some surprising connections. Fans have the opportunity to discover what music choices Jonny Vegas, Grace of Monaco and John Humphrys all share. They can also listen or read about some surprising luxury item choices people chose to take to the mythical shores, such as Mike Leigh’s toilet and Oliver Reed’s inflatable rubber woman.

The site has been extremely well received by the public and audiences have downloaded nearly seven million programmes since launch in April 2011

The interaction design has had minor updates as a result of user feedback and the site has been used to promote several campaigns, most recently to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the programme. We are extremely proud of the site and it sits proudly in our portfolio.

The unexpected choices and connections that the archive throws up will take the audience on endless journeys around the site, uncovering the audio archive along the way. This iconic piece of British-ness has now becomes a part of the digital landscape

magneticNorth (or mN to our friends) is a design company working out of the UK. We create commissioned client work for some of the world’s most interesting companies and brands including the BBC, Arup & Reuters.

Find out more about the work of magneticNorth at mNatwork.com