Me...Jane
Me...Jane
Marketing design for musical theatre
Marketing design for musical theatre
Big Phone
Problems
Addressing UX problems of big screens
Completed: November 2020
Role: Designer
For: Personal project
Project Context
November 2020, Instagram rolled out a new update that made reels and in-app shopping features more accessible to its users. The problem was that these cool new additions replaced the frequently used buttons: notifications and new post uploading. For a while (and still now), many users found themselves staring at unfamiliar cards of shopping items when they were in full anticipation of checking new notifications.
At first, I wondered if this was a question of familiarity – if I would no longer be annoyed once I got used to where things were. But I found my frustration continued weeks into using the new layout, especially when I tried to upload new posts by hitting the “+” icon up top while lying down. Given the size and weight of my iPhone 11 pro, as well as the location of the home bar, the default position of my hands was on the bottom half of the phone, making the “+” hard to click without adjusting my hand location.
Instagram after November 2020 update.
The buttons used to check notifications and upload new posts moved up, giving space to Reels and in-app shopping features.
Visual hierarchy guidelines suggest that we view things top to bottom (as well as left to right), and to follow this pattern when prioritizing items in their ranks of importance. However, the latest Instagram update revealed a pain point I had previously been unconscious of – things located on the top of the screen are just hard to click. As I recall, reaching things up top was not much of an issue when I was using a much smaller, lighter iPhone 8 last year.
After surveying a few of my acquaintances, I realized this was a common inconvenience experienced by people who use phones with full-touch screen surfaces.
Process – Research
I observed the way six of my friends and family members used their phones in different standard poses:
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Standing, one hand / two hands
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Sitting (arm(s) rested on desk), one hand / two hands
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Lying down, one hand / two hands
Generally, users of bigger phones held their phones on the lower half of the phone. To support the weight of the phone, oftentimes they used their pinky to hold the bottom of the phone up.
After reviewing the apps we frequently use, I listed the common points of discomfort we encounter with the way we hold our phones.
The key takeaways from this exercise were:
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Inconvenient to switch the way we hold the phone to reach up top, especially if the action is going to be followed by typing
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New message on Messages
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Search bar on Google Maps and YouTube
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Frequently used actions should be placed lower for easier reach
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Favorite conversations on Messages
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Search suggestion keywords on YouTube
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Conversely, infrequently used actions can be located higher / smaller
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"Explore" section on Google Maps
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Search bar on Messages
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Sensitive (items with big consequence) buttons should be placed higher
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New video upload / live video start button on YouTube
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Back/cancel buttons
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Process – Ideating solutions
Final Product
In making these prototypes, I made sure to
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Place frequently used/useful keys towards the bottom
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Locate keys that precede typing in reach of the thumb
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Move infrequently used but important actions up
Phones have stopped getting smaller and lighter, and instead have been getting bigger and heavier over the years. UX standards should adapt not only to the visual hierarchy of how our eyes scan things, but what’s natural for our thumbs to reach.