體驗設計 (EXPERIENCE DESIGN)

Communication is a vital part of our everyday lives. We almost don’t even have to think about it. With social media and our devices as prime tools, we’re constantly finding new ways to stay connected. Instant messaging — a quality example. Today; despite the rise of social distancing, we get to share our thoughts, ideas, and information all across the world. Within split seconds.

溝通是我們日常生活的重要組成部分。 我們幾乎甚至不必考慮它。 以社交媒體和我們的設備為主要工具，我們一直在尋找保持聯系的新方法。 即時消息傳遞-一個很好的例子。 今天; 盡管社會距離越來越大，但我們還是可以在全世界分享我們的思想，想法和信息。 在幾秒鐘內。

On this project I improve the user experience of Apple’s official messaging app — iMessage, with the central focus on restoring usability. My design offers potential solutions in the form of minor adjustments to the look, feel, and functionality of the app. With these improvements, I achieved a communication tool that is usable, accessible, and efficient; meeting users needs for rich interaction.

在這個項目中，我改善了蘋果官方消息應用程序iMessage的用戶體驗，并著重于恢復可用性。 我的設計以細微調整應用程序的外觀，感覺和功能的形式提供了潛在的解決方案。 通過這些改進，我實現了一種可用，可訪問且高效的通信工具。 滿足用戶豐富互動的需求。

了解問題 (Understanding the Problem)

挑戰 (The Challenge)

iMessage launched in 2011 and has received several major upgrades since then — most recent being the updates that came along with iOS 13. The application comes pre-installed as the default messaging app on every iOS device. Yet, we find that a lot of users do not adopt it as their primary messaging tool. Why? I found this an interesting challenge to solve.

iMessage于2011年啟動，此后已進行了幾次重大升級-最新的更新是iOS 13隨附的更新。該應用程序已預先安裝為每臺iOS設備上的默認消息傳遞應用程序。 但是，我們發現許多用戶并未將其用作主要的消息傳遞工具。 為什么？ 我發現這是一個有趣的挑戰。

As an occasional iMessage user, I had a few ideas about why this was. Interactions with the app often revealed clear usability issues and pain points. However, I needed to confirm my observations.

作為偶然的iMessage用戶，我對為什么會這樣有一些想法。 與該應用程序的交互通常顯示出明確的可用性問題和痛點。 但是，我需要確認我的觀察。

My major goal for the project was to revise usability in iMessage. I wanted to give people a more engaging and seamless experience while communicating and staying connected.

我對該項目的主要目標是修改iMessage的可用性。 我想給別人 一個 在交流和保持聯系的同時，獲得更多的參與和無縫體驗。

檢查痛點 (Examining pain points)

認識用戶 (Meeting the Users)

To get some data to work with, I carried out qualitative interviews with frequent iMessage users. Some of the questions asked were focused on:

為了獲得一些有用的數據，我對iMessage的頻繁用戶進行了定性采訪。 提出的一些問題集中在：

• their nature of use,
  使用的性質
• possible frustrations experienced during use, and
  使用過程中可能遇到的挫折感，以及
• functionalities they liked in other messaging apps.
  他們喜歡其他消息傳遞應用程序中的功能。

At the end of each interview, I asked them to use the application. I wanted to observe their personal interactions with the app and the context in which they used it.

在每次面試結束時，我要求他們使用該應用程序。 我想觀察他們與該應用的個人互動以及他們使用該應用的環境。

Likewise, I got feedback from a Typeform survey carried out with a group of 88 iMessage users across social media. I was able to gather the following insights:

同樣，我從Typeform調查中獲得了反饋，該調查是通過88個iMessage用戶在社交媒體上進行的。 我能夠收集以下見解：

FREQUENT MISCOMMUNICATION OFTEN OCCURRED

經常發生誤通信

• Users get annoyed when they had to carefully specify which response was to what question; so the reader did not misinterpret the meaning.
  當用戶不得不仔細指定對哪個問題的回答時，他們會感到惱火。 因此讀者不會誤解其含義。
• This slowed down the chatting process and allowed for big misunderstandings. Users expected iMessage to be more intuitive
  這減慢了聊天過程的速度，并引起了嚴重的誤解。 用戶期望iMessage更加直觀

SIMPLE TASKS REQUIRED LONGER PROCESSES

簡單的任務需要更長的過程

• Users were put off by the fact that they could get tasks done a lot faster on other messaging apps.
  用戶因為可以在其他消息傳遞應用程序上更快地完成任務而被推遲。
• People respond to a lot of their messages while multitasking. As such, they want to be able to process and divulge information as fast as possible. Users expected iMessage to be more efficient.
  人們在執行多任務處理時會回復很多信息。 因此，他們希望能夠盡快處理和泄漏信息。 用戶期望iMessage更加高效。

MINIMAL CONSIDERATION FOR RECURRING ERRORS

糾正錯誤的最小考慮

• Mistakes often occurred while communicating. And users did not trust iMessage to help them recover from errors with little effort.
  交流時經常發生錯誤。 用戶不信任iMessage可以幫助他們輕松地從錯誤中恢復。
• Users got irritated whenever a mistake occurred and there was no simple action to correct it.
  每當發生錯誤并且沒有簡單的糾正措施時，都會激怒用戶。

UNRELIABLE NAVIGATION

無關的 導航

• Users needed to reference other information when communicating and did not feel like iMessage met that need.
  用戶在交流時需要參考其他信息，并且感覺iMessage不能滿足需求。
• Actions such as sending media and conducting searches to find information were not optimised on the app’s interface. Users expected iMessage to be more coordinated.
  未在應用程序界面上優化發送媒體和進行搜索以查找信息之類的操作。 用戶期望iMessage能夠更加協調。

POOR ALTERNATIVES TO TEXT MESSAGING

文本消息的替代方案很差

• Users respond to a lot of their messages on the go; and as such also communicate using the voice feature. Ever lost several minutes worth of a voice recording? iMessage users often did.
  用戶可以隨時隨地回復許多郵件； 并且還可以使用語音功能進行交流。 曾經損失了幾分鐘的語音記錄嗎？ iMessage用戶經常這樣做。
• Users wanted a seamless playback experience.
  用戶想要無縫播放體驗。

Digging into the rest of the data revealed a major insight into the online messaging app experience.

對其余數據的挖掘揭示了對在線消息傳遞應用程序體驗的重大見解。

發現 (The Discovery)

用戶期望隨時間變化 (Users Expectations Changed Over Time)

The instant messaging scene had changed. Users had gotten used to innovation from other messaging apps and Apple’s iMessage was not exempted. It became clearer that users expected the experience to just work with minimal effort. As usability became more integral to their lives, their expectations evolved.

即時消息傳遞場景已經改變。 用戶已經習慣了其他消息傳遞應用程序的創新，蘋果的iMessage也不例外。 越來越清楚的是，用戶期望這種體驗可以輕松完成。 隨著可用性成為他們生活中不可或缺的一部分，他們的期望也在不斷發展。

更深入的見解 (Deeper Insights)

制定設計原則 (Formulating Design Principles)

Before I could go into designing, it was important to define the metrics of success and understand the required scope of the redesign. I reversed the nature of the imperfections discovered during the research to kickstart creativity. I wanted to maintain a direct relationship between the survey results and my visual hierarchy and UI design. Hence, I created five key principles to adopt while designing:

在進行設計之前，定義成功的指標并了解重新設計的要求范圍很重要。 我顛倒了研究過程中發現的缺陷的本質，以激發創造力。 我想在調查結果與我的視覺層次和UI設計之間保持直接的關系。 因此，我創建了在設計時要采用的五項關鍵原則：

“…How might we help iMessage improve usability?”

“……我們將如何幫助iMessage改善可用性？”

While ideating, I came up with a bunch of ideas that could solve the issues raised. There were multiple variations, so I concurrently got feedback from peers to narrow down the best solutions.

在進行構想時，我提出了許多可以解決所提出問題的構想。 有多種變體，因此我同時獲得了同行的反饋，以縮小最佳解決方案的范圍。

用戶任務 (User tasks)

平臺背后的邏輯。 (The logic behind the platform.)

I defined the important tasks users would have to perform daily. I aimed to create a mix of user and task flows. This kind of approach also helped me refine and think about each pages’ inventory, and how the system would react to required actions.

我定義了 用戶每天必須執行的重要任務。 我的目標是創建用戶流和任務流的混合體。 這種方法也幫助了我 完善思考 有關每頁庫存的信息，以及系統對所需操作的React。

To further validate my solutions, I carried out usability checks and consulted apple design guidelines. I wanted to retain the look & feel of the iMessage interface users were familiar with.

為了進一步驗證我的解決方案，我進行了可用性檢查并參考了Apple設計指南 。 我想保留用戶熟悉的iMessage界面的外觀。

Some of the primary questions that aided the usability checks:

有助于可用性檢查的一些主要問題：

• What is the most minimum action the user takes to accomplish a task?
  用戶完成任務所采取的最少動作是什么？
• How can I minimize the effort required to take the intended action?
  如何減少采取預期措施所需的精力？
• How can I design this feature to be discoverable within the app?
  如何設計此功能使其在應用程序中可發現？
• Will this solution pass for Heuristic Evaluation?
  該解決方案將通過啟發式評估嗎？

I tested early prototypes of the designs with real users. Every test was focused on the user achieving a single task.

我與實際用戶一起測試了設計的早期原型。 每個測試都針對于完成一項任務的用戶。

To my surprise, not a single participant had an issue with the flow. The accelerators I designed resonated well with users, confirming my intuition around designing for usability.

令我驚訝的是，沒有一個參與者的流程有問題。 我設計的加速器在用戶中引起了很好的共鳴，證實了我對可用性設計的直覺。

Enter, my proposal:

輸入我的建議：

重新設計 (The Redesign)

重新引入iMessage (Reintroducing iMessage)

In an age where messaging is a sure way to reach your loved ones, iMessage gives you the best experience by making communication fast, effortless and simple; meeting your needs for rich interaction.

在這樣的時代，通過消息傳遞是您與親人聯系的必經之路，iMessage通過使通信變得快速，輕松，簡單而給您帶來最佳體驗。 滿足您豐富互動的需求。

從不可靠到直觀 (From Unreliable to Intuitive)

滿足您需求的工具 (A Tool That Anticipates Your Needs)

The new message screen, showing new and existing users key information they need upon opening the message.

新消息屏幕，顯示新用戶和現有用戶在打開消息時所需的關鍵信息。

從復雜到簡單 (From Complex to Simple)

分享所有你想要的 (Share All You Want)

I understand that a critical part of real-time communication is exchanging media. Now, users can share their pictures, videos, files, location, and contacts; all at the tap of a button.

我了解實時通信的關鍵部分是交換媒體。 現在，用戶可以共享他們的圖片，視頻，文件，位置和聯系人； 只需按一下按鈕。

Add uses familiar and consistent interactions, making complex tasks straightforward to perform.

Add使用熟悉且一致的交互方式，使復雜的任務易于執行。

從乏味到即時 (From Tedious to Instant)

搜尋 (A Search Away)

Users can instantly reference previously shared information from their personal chat history. Now easy as pie.

用戶可以立即從他們的個人聊天歷史中引用以前共享的信息。 現在很容易。

Search features the voice input option, making lives easier through accessibility.

搜索功能具有語音輸入選項，可訪問性使生活更加輕松。

從低效到優化 (From Inefficient to Optimized)

智能重定向 (Smart Redirect)

A key insight discovered during research was that the reaction feature — Tapback — was underutilized. It often left them confused whenever they got a notification from the sender but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was being reacted to.

研究期間發現的一個重要見解是，React功能Tapback沒有得到充分利用。 每當他們收到發件人的通知時，這常常使他們感到困惑，但卻無法準確指出正在響應的內容。

Smart Redirect was born so the user no longer gets lost in the conversation. Central to this feature were these key ideas:

Smart Redirect誕生了，因此用戶不再在對話中迷路。 這些功能的核心是這些關鍵思想：

• Provide direct access to the highlighted message.
  提供對突出顯示的消息的直接訪問。
• Micro-interactions to immediately draw the reader’s attention.
  微交互立即引起了讀者的注意。
• An optional shortcut to return the reader to the initial point on the message thread.
  使閱讀器返回到消息線程上的初始點的可選快捷方式。

從受約束到體貼 (From Constrained to Considerate)

全部刪除 (Delete for All)

We all make mistakes, especially while communicating. Users can now simply erase miscommunications and get right back to it. Delete for All explores 3D Touch interactions, giving the user more control over their communication process.

我們都會犯錯，尤其是在交流時。 用戶現在可以簡單地消除誤解并立即解決。 刪除所有人探索3D Touch交互，使用戶可以更好地控制其通信過程。

播放滑塊 (Playback Slider)

Users no longer have to worry about missing out on that bit of the voice message. A simple rewind, or fast forward can do the trick. Playback Slider uses direct manipulation to engage the user, reminding them that the control lies with them.

用戶不再需要擔心錯過語音消息的那部分。 簡單的倒帶或快進都可以解決問題。 播放滑塊的使用 直接操作以吸引用戶，提醒他們控制權在于他們。

從受限到可訪問 (From Limited to Accessible)

快速回復 (Quick Reply)

Whether it’s a long chat or replying on the go, users can easily respond to messages with just a slide. Quick Reply optimizes the user’s accessibility by exploring simplified gestures for interaction.

無論是長時間的聊天還是在旅途中回復，用戶都可以僅用一張幻燈片輕松地回復消息。 快速回復通過探索簡化的手勢進行交互來優化用戶的可訪問性。

反射 (Reflection)

Redesigning this app and doing this case study reminded me that users are very integral to every design decision. It was amazing how little changes such as adding a search bar could create such a big usability impact.

重新設計該應用程序并進行此案例研究使我想起，用戶對于每個設計決策都是不可或缺的。 令人驚訝的是，幾乎沒有什么變化(例如添加搜索欄)會產生如此大的可用性影響。

Thanks for reading! Follow my medium profile to keep up-to-date on my incoming articles featuring UX nuggets, and links to provoking reads I’ve found helpful for my career. If you’d like to reach out, follow me on Twitter to continue the conversation. You can also check out more of my work on my portfolio.

謝謝閱讀！ 遵循我的中等資料，以了解有關UX掘金的最新文章，以及指向我發現對我的職業有用的激怒讀物的鏈接。 如果您想聯系我們，請在Twitter上關注我 ，繼續對話。 您也可以在我的投資組合中查看更多我的工作。

Let me know if you have any questions or comments on my redesign for iMessage AND / OR If you’d like to have a chat about anything design related I’d love to hear from you!

如果您對我對iMessage重新設計的重新設計有任何疑問或意見，請與我聯系，或者/如果您想就任何與設計相關的問題進行交談，我希望能收到您的來信！

Tools credit: Figma, Cloudinary, Overflow, Typeform and Miro (Awesome wingmen) 😌

工具信用： Figma ， Cloudinary ， Overflow ， Typeform 和 Miro (Awesome wingmen)😌