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Instagram Case Study: Enhanced the Visual Experience of Reels & Usability

Summary:


Utilizing the User-Centered Design principle, I addressed seven key user challenges within Instagram:

  • Identified and resolved issues with the current Reels UI, which was obstructing a significant portion of the screen and causing distractions.

  • Implemented a consistent design guideline to ensure a seamless visual experience, eliminating disruptions for viewers and allowing them to focus on content.

  • Enhanced Usability in Specific Sections like optimized searchability, stories, and post-edit functionalities.


My Role:


In this project, I played a pivotal role by implementing design strategies, conducting user research, creating personas, and facilitating interviews.


I gained practical expertise in user research, wireframing, prototyping, conducting user interviews, visual design, user journey maps, empathy maps, and usability testing through my active involvement in the case study.


Design Process & Timeline:

User Research:


Primary Research:


Engaging in delightful conversations, the interview process seamlessly blended online chats and in-person meetings. These delightful individuals graciously opened up about their daily use of Instagram, sharing unique insights into their personal experiences and candidly expressing their pain points with the platform.



The combination of virtual interactions and face-to-face discussions added a touch of warmth to the research process, creating an environment where users felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and perspectives.


Participants profiles:


User Interview Questions:


Conducting primary research, I posed open-ended questions to participants, urging detailed responses for better insight:


  • What is your favourite section of Insta? Reels, Explore page, Story or Other


  • What content do you love the most? Photos, Videos, Audio


  • Do you ever feel irritated about some specific functions of Instagram?


  • What is the one improvement or feature you wish to have in Instagram?


  • How do you manage and organize the content you save on Instagram, if at all?


  • How do you balance between personal and professional content on your Instagram profile?


  • Are there any features or aspects of Instagram that you find confusing or difficult to use?


  • How do you feel about the current algorithm that determines the content shown on your feed? Is there anything you would change about it?


  • Can you recall a time when you encountered a technical issue or bug on Instagram? How did it impact your experience?


Quantitative Analysis:

Qualitative Analysis:

  • Hashtags appear disorganized and aesthetically unpleasing beneath posts, impacting the visual appeal.

  • Reels unintentionally opening with loud auto-play creates an embarrassing and awkward user experience.

  • Locating someone on Instagram proves challenging, with even slight name misspellings failing to yield user profiles.

  • Reels lack essential features such as a play bar, play/pause controls, and a direct save option to collections.

  • Enjoyable content on the "explore page" is easily lost if accidentally refreshed, causing frustration.

  • The absence of post-editing options, including changing filters, music, or text after upload, limits creative flexibility.

  • Tapping anywhere in a story triggers the keyboard to pop up consistently, disrupting the user interaction flow.


User persona:

Empathy map:

User journey map:

Problem Statement & Solutions:


Reels:


Problem Statement #1: Upon thorough analysis of the researched data, I identified areas for improvement within the "Reels" section. Upon reviewing each segment of the Reels page, here are the five identified issues:

Wireframe:

Updated New UI of Reels:

High Fidelity Prototype:


Interaction Design:



Details about the Updated new design(UI):

  • Hashtags menu: All the hashtags are placed inside this menu giving it a very neat & clean look.


  • Music menu: All the details related to music are placed inside this menu.​


  • Tag menu: All the tagged users are placed inside this menu.​


  • Play bar: Now users don't have to wait to watch the video again for a specific scene & they can play/pause & forward/backward the reels video. Now reels are 90 secs(max), so play bar is a lifesaver.​


  • Save button: Users can quickly save their favorite reels & even into specific collection with the all new Save Button.​


  • Volume: On default keep the volume of the reels section low, so that even if the user opens it, they won't get freaked out.


Problem Statement #2: Finding someone is extremely difficult. Even a slight misspelling in name does not show the user profile.


Solution: Instagram needs to suggest profiles in better way, the similar way Facebook does. I mean searching someone on facebook is easy.


Problem Statement #3: Tapping anywhere in the story, the keyboard just pop ups every time.


Solution: This irritates a lot of users & this can be fixed by having a "Text" icon, so that when users need to type anything they can click that icon & do.


Problem Statement #4: If we are enjoying some content on the "explore page" & accidentally refresh it, then that post is lost.


Solution: A "Reverse" button should be installed in the Explore page so that users can go back to the previous page.


Problem Statement #5: There is no option of re-editing the posts after upload like changing the filter, music, text etc.


Solution: Users should be given additional features to re-edit the visual things like changing music in post, changing filters in photos & making changes in story etc.


User Testing:


I performed prototype testing with interviewed users & and others who use Instagram regularly to confirm the effectiveness of my design decisions & and received positive feedback. Users also offered specific suggestions for enhancement.


Many users expressed they find it more relaxing to watch videos as there is no clutters on the screen & the clean new UI design eliminated distractions by 60%.


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