Conceptualisation
User Research and Testing across 3 different continents and languages
Inclusive Design
Design System (Android)
UX Writing
Prototyping
Speculative feature for WhatsApp
Year: February 2020
WhatsApp users have to switch apps or rely on other means to create and organise events. This means they don’t have a centralised way to communicate:
Event Details (Date, Time, Time zone differences)
Event Updates (Changes, Share, etc.)
Making it much harder to decide on a common time to keep in touch.
A centralised event management system on WhatsApp that allows:
Creating events with the people in the same group chat -> Automatic reminder for participants
Suggesting changes right on the app -> Automatic update, notifications.
Managing events without switching apps
Sharing events with other contacts on WhatsApp.
Ultimately reducing time-lag between responses, making picking a time easier.
or continue to Design
To understand the users’ pain-points, I created two personas: Alex (Event Creator) and Céline (Participant)
Alex
32, Designer
San Francisco, US
Being confined at home, Alex wants to create an event to keep in touch with his mum Céline in Paris and his sister Anne in Tokyo.
Create an event in the middle of the conversation.
Having to remind his family.
Having to switch apps to change event details and communicate those changes.
Having to switch apps to manage events.
Having to switch apps to create events.
Invite his family.
Set reminder, in different time zones.
Easily change event details and communicate changes.
Organise and manage his events.
Céline
60, Retiree
Paris, France
Living on a different continent from her children, Céline wishes to keep in touch with them even more during the confinement.
Pain-points
Having to switch app to note down events.
Having NO direct way to suggest or modify event details.
Having NO direct way to share events.
Having to switch apps to manage events.
Having a hard time learning new features.
Needs & Goals
Functions easy to discover and understand.
Easily see events created.
Easily keep track of events.
Easily suggest changes.
Share the event.
Organise and manage her events.
Help identify the key moments of interaction between Alex and Céline to ensure seamless communication
Click image to enlarge
Wireframes and Low-fi prototypes were quickly tested to validate the design.
Event feature integrated in the chat screen to create events without leaving the conversation. This automatically:
Converts the event's time into participant's local time.
Reminds participants in their respective time zones.
Different versions of copy tested for participants' location text label:
'Set participant's time zone'
Too long, implies GMT system
'Set participant's location'
Too long
'Set local time'
Implies time and location
To ensure discoverability, the 'Calendar' icon is placed in the top menu bar next to the 'Call' button.
Set in the Participant's time zone.
A flexible response system helps both Alex and Céline response to events and pick a time more easily.
Updates and Notifications are sent to other participants automatically.
An Accelerator to help advanced users suggest changes easily as they would reply to a text.
making it clearer for older users that they can propose changes through the event invite.
to quickly resolve schedule conflicts.
Updates and Notifications are sent to other participants automatically.
From Event Menu
Direct tapping on invite
by taking advantage of WhatsApp's message forwarding function.
Updates and Notifications are sent to other participants automatically.
Helps cutting down on time-lag of switching back and forth between apps.
Any change or notification is seen right on the app.
Filters
Filter by Month
Weekly View
Filters by Today or Latest.
Users can quickly see their events based on urgency.
Horizontal Navigation allowing seeing the events by month.
Users can also see organise their events from a Weekly view.
Three out of four WhatsApp users are on Android (source). The Design System was created based on Material Design to provide a centralised and consistent visual language.
Two levels of Visual Hierarchy: Micro and Marco to help users grasp the information easily.
The information hierarchy is organised according to importance:
Date
Time, time zone
CTA
Event name, participants, Share
Skip Event
Eye Tracking Test
Test performed with 10 people, 24-55 years old
Notification
A red dot to signify notifications. Usability Testing confirmed that this is clearer than WhatsApp’s default green dot.
Red is also used to emphasise changes throughout the feature.
Colour Code
Same colour for Event Creator's name and event tag to quickly see whom the event belongs to.
Same colour for Message Seen, ‘Going’ button as confirmation.
Same colour for Message Sent but not Seen, Participation not yet confirmed.
Older users have a hard time figuring out new features. But they pay a lot of attention to shared media (photos, videos, etc.) as they wish to cherish those moments.
Event Invite designed to mimic WhatsApp’s shared media to :
Make it more familiar to discover and to learn the feature (Adhere to Standards).
Let it blend in with the app. (Internal Consistency)
A/B Testings revealed that the GMT system isn’t popular outside of the English-speaking countries.
That’s why it’s important to test early, test often and with as many people as we can.
'GMT + 1'
Unfamiliar outside English speaking countries
'Paris'
Intuitive, recognisable for everyone
