WhatsApp Redesign
I'm redesigning the most used messaging app across the globe- "WhatsApp".
Role
UX researcher
Protoypting
Product Designer
Tools
Figma
Google Docs
POP by Marvel
Duration/Project Type
7 Days
Personal Project
WhatsApp is a free, multi-platform messaging app that lets users make video and voice calls, send text messages, share their status, and more with just a Wi-Fi connection. It can be installed on any smartphone.
WhatsApp says it serves more than 2 billion people in over 180 countries, with over 1 billion daily active users.
Goals & Inspiration for the Redesign
My goals for the redesign:
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To deliver a personalized feel and user-friendly interface.
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To make the app more engaging and help the user chat seamlessly without missing important messages.
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Take full ownership of the various roles involved in redesigning the app such as a UX Researcher, User Experience Designer, UI Designer.
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Augmenting my learning experience by challenging some design decisions and addressing their solutions.
Task at hand
Enhancing the UI
Improving the Navigation.
Adding few features.
Research & Analysis
I reached out to my family and friends for reviews to know more about the issues faced by them regarding usability or functionalities on the existing product. I’ve categorized the complaints into 4 key pain points :
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Users are unable to find important chats in the first go.
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The status section is too boring and unappealing.
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Only 3 chats can be pinned.
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Changing profile pictures requires a user to go through many screens.
User Reviews
AppStore/PlayStore Reviews
To complement the user interviews, I looked through some of WhatsApp’s app store reviews and feedback we get through emails.
After assessing the reviews from AppStore and PlayStore, it’s clear that the majority of users are happy with the services provided by WhatsApp. A few issues which I noticed included better-looking UI and security/privacy issues of the app.
User Personas
Ritika Bhosale
21, Student
Goals: A better-looking status section. To be able to select only a few members of the group for video/voice calls.
Frustration: “As a student, I work on various projects using group video calls. It's a hassle calling everyone separately from the group. Also, it bothers other people who I know are busy but get added to the call automatically."
Rahul Gandhi
46, Dad, Businessman
Goals: Keeping track of potential customers and interact with workers.
Frustration: “ Important messages are mixed up with all the social groups and unwanted forward messages. Sometimes I can't locate important chats."
Shreya Jadhav
24, HR Manager
Goals: Wants to create various groups for different occasions.
Frustration: “I have to delete the groups and chats after the occasion manually.”
Aditi Gandhi
19, Student
Goals: Wants privacy while using WhatsApp.
Frustration: “Sometimes I want to send important details to my friends and family and don't want those messages to be seen by others.”
Competitor Analysis
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Telegram
Pros
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It has features like supergroups of up to 100,000 people, public channels, usernames.
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Also includes Passcode lock, self-destructing messages, and end-to-end encryption
Cons
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Telegram lacks a video calling feature.
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It has no voice messages
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We can’t know the status of a person if he is online or offline.
Discord
Pros
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You can make voice calls, video calls, or even browse together after sharing your screen.
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Combined with neat integrations from Spotify, Twitch, YouTube, etc.
Cons
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The Discord video chat function is fairly basic and doesn’t offer the perks or image quality of other, better-known video calling apps.
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Discord takes up a fair amount of RAM.
Concepts, Sketching & Wireframes
After completing my research I started brainstorming ideas for the areas for the app. I started with sketching various screens. Using the POP app by Marvel, I could make these sketches interactive. This has helped me a lot to improve the overall structure of the product.
I think after sketching my ideas out, basic layouts were almost done. Drawing wireframes made medium-fidelity prototypes bit easier to make. To make the product more engaging and user-friendly I worked thoroughly on proper placement of buttons, addition of new features and various workflows.
Let's check out the final outcome.
Share Photos Instantly
Users can send photos by swiping right. This will minimise the efforts of going through the long list of contacts or clicking on more than one screen.
Pinned Chats
Users will be able to pin more than
3 chats.
Delete Groups Automatically.
By using this app, users can delete groups by setting an expiry date. One can also change the date from the settings a per need.
Shhhh... Now you can send messages privately.
Using Disappearing messages mode, your messages will be deleted once you close the chat.
Smooth Sliding Menu
Click on the hamburger icon to change/update the settings of your account.
Video Call with Selected People
Now you can choose whom to call from the members of the group, without disturbing other people.
Challenges & Conclusions
WhatsApp being know for it simple and sophisticated UI, it was quite difficult to figure out small thing which required improvements.
But, after doing research and talking to people made me realise that small changes have a big impact. I remember my mom saying that the status looks so good and easy to use rather than switching between different screens.
