Let’s face it, times are tight. It’s hard enough for small businesses and organizations to keep the cash flow going in a thriving economy, let alone in a difficult one. I’ve covered the importance of viewing branding as an investment, rather than a cost, but when finances are strained, your expenses and your investments seem like the same thing. After all, it’s all coming out of the same place right?
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The bulk of the interface changes were made to the iTunes store, and Apple’s design team really hit a home run here. Most of these changes were a long time coming, as Apple hadn’t made serious updates to their store interface for quite some time. Here are 5 positive design and usability features that Apple added to the iTunes 9 store:
iTunes 9 Store Design
1. Slider Function – Apple added a rotating slider feature as the main promo element to the store homepage. This is a great way (and a better way than the previous version) to feature new content.
2. Icon Lists – The previous version of the iTunes store felt a bit disjointed primarily because of the amount of content crammed into the homepage. Apple cleaned up the layout significantly (moving from a 3 column layout to a 2 column layout) and as a result highlights their content more effectively. The graphic menus and icon lists are more prominent now as well.
3. Rollovers – From a usability perspective, Apple nailed it with the rollover and pop-up preview functionality (see #s 3&4). Now you can sample songs, movies, etc my simply rolling over the content – much more user-friendly and you don’t have to dig deep into the site to discover if you like the song or not.
4. Pop-Up Previews – Like the list rollover functionality, the pop-up preview feature lets users sample content without having to leave the homepage. Not only is this a great design aesthetic, but it’s very user-friendly as well. These two features alone radically change the user experience for the better and I think add a whole new dimension to the iTunes Store
5. Updated Design – Finally, Apple spent a lot of time and effort updating the design of the iTunes store. It’s well known that Apple has been at the cutting edge of design strategy, and I don’t think you could find a graphic or web designer who hasn’t been influenced by Apple’s design style. But like anything in this day and age, the cutting edge quickly becomes outdated and the iTunes store design is no exception. Once again, subtle changes make the biggest differences. Apple got rid of the bland blues and highlighted grays for a brighter, richer design aesthetic which helps the content pop more effectively, and creates a cleaner, simpler, and better user experience.
Though I really dig all of the changes made to the iTunes store, I’m frankly surprised that Apple didn’t make similar changes to the actual iTunes interface. Granted Apple added some new features to iTunes 9, but the overall design remains relatively the same. It’s not a bad design, but with all of the progression made in the store, I would have liked to see, and would have appreciated the same aesthetic to be applied to the desktop interface. Here are 2 elements that I think could and should be improved:
1. A Better List – I’m still partial to the list view in iTunes because it loads faster, is easier to navigate, and I’m used to it. But man, it’s been the same style for the past several versions. Isn’t it time for a design upgrade? How about just copying the styles of the lists in the new iTunes store? That would be a great improvement.
2. Individual Artist Lists – This was a feature change in the last major iTunes update, and while I admit it’s not a bad design, it could be much better. And I know that’s a cliche and a cop-out at times, but again, why not apply the same styles that were applied to the store? Compared to the new iTunes store design, even this “new” feature seems outdated.
The verdict? Obviously I think Apple did a fantastic job with the iTunes store re-design. But I’m a little disappointed in the lack of design revisions to the actual iTunes interface. I know I’m spoiled, because Apple’s design overall blows most other mainstream application designs out of the water – but to me Apple reached another level (yet again) in the store re-design, and I expected something similar for the interface.
Maybe that’s what we have to look forward to in iTunes 9.1.
What are your thoughts? How do you feel about the latest iTunes 9 update?
Most of Facebook’s users wouldn’t understand or frankly care about the strategy and design that went behind the update – but the bottom line is the average Facebook user is more satisfied with the application today than they were a few days ago. Why? The answer is usability.
The new Facebook 3.0 is a lesson in usability and we can learn from it. And you don’t just have to be a designer, developer, or in the “creative” industry either – there are lessons that can be applied across all aspects of business. Let’s look at 3 ways that the Facebook mobile application has improved, and 3 additional points that we can take away and apply to our own businesses.
As I mentioned the biggest change that Facebook made is moving from a home screen based on aggregation to a home screen that is much simpler and easier to navigate. Remember the previous version where your home screen was simply an aggregate of all recent activity across your Facebook sphere. Now you have 9 options to choose from and even have the ability to customize shortcuts to friends’ profiles or pages that you frequently visit.
Facebook has done an excellent job of getting in the minds of their users (not without many focus group initiatives I’m sure) to define the most used aspects of Facebook – and has then deployed these into a very easy to use, and simple interface. Because of the simpler layout, I am able to navigate Facebook much easier and as a result I enjoy the experience that much more – and when a user experience is improved, that’s a very good thing.
The designers at Facebook didn’t make revolutionary changes to the design of the app (though the home page redesign is quite a feat), but what they did do they did with style, class, and once again, simplicity. The design is a bit more sleek and clean – and as a result the application comes across as “fresher”. It still retains the original “Facebook” feel, but the subtle, refined changes are very welcome and I think positively add to the overall user experience.
I’m sure it was a challenge for the designers to keep the design revisions simple and subtle – if you’re a designer you know how difficult it is to simplify. As designers we tend to want to add all sorts of bells and whistles (or icons and pixels) to make the design “better”. What ends up happening most of the time is the design becomes more cluttered and less usable. Facebook has done a great job of making subtle changes that enhance the experience, not bogging down the experience.
The biggest page might have been the homepage, and the simplifying of the application, but I think Facebook’s greatest achievement with this new update is the impact on the applications functionality. Because they’ve made the app simpler they have in turn made it more functional. This is a huge point, and one that so many in the web industry fail to understand, let alone apply. Because Facebook is simpler to use I know recognize different features, and end up wanting to use these features while I’m in Facebook.
You can see in the image the changes made to the Facebook “feeds” – that is the way you can sort through different data streams from your friends and pages. The selection wheel is a major addition to the app, and is much easier and more fun to use than the previous tabs that existed at the top of the page. This functionality – being able to sort through various data streams – is now much easier to use and therefore more functional.
That pretty much sums it up. So often we try to add the latest and greatest features to our website, application, marketing campaign, or whatever it is we’re launching. What really ends up happening is we convolute the user experience and degrade our brand. What Facebook 3.0 teaches us is that more often than not simpler is better. That doesn’t mean we go with the easiest option, because quite honestly the simplest, most usable way is often the hardest to design and develop. But our goal should always be to create the simplest experience for our users because that usually means the most usable experience.
Don’t discount the value of design. The majority of the changes in Facebook 3.0 are design and usability changes, not functionality and development changes. Sure the functionality is affected, but there aren’t any major new “features” to speak of. There is, however, a new design and structure to how the existing features of Facebook are used. That’s design. It takes designers to come up with those ideas and implement how those ideas will look and function.
You can have the best functionality in the world but if it’s not designed properly and effectively, no one will care and no one will use it. Sure, design isn’t everything, you have to have functionality, there’s no question – but design does matter. Facebook 3.0 proves that.
Finally, the ultimate goal for any initiative you plan to launch is usability. You have to create a positive user experience. It’s often humorous to me that when I talk to clients about user experience and brand experience they look at me as if I were speaking Russian. User experience is often a misunderstood or rarely considered aspect of a business – and this is a shame. As I mentioned the majority of Facebook users wouldn’t be able to articulate why they like this new version of the app – but you and I know that it’s because Facebook has created a better experience.
So what are you developing? Maybe you’re designing a new website for a client. Maybe you’ve got an idea for a new iPhone app. Or maybe you’re trying to figure out how to convert more sales for your business. Granted there is a lot of additional things to consider that we haven’t covered here, but I would almost guarantee you that if you spent some time considering how to make your application, website, or business more usable, you would do well.
Today’s consumers consume in an experience economy – to be successful, we must create and maintain the best user experience we can.
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I just downloaded the new iTunes 9 today after it was featured at today’s Apple event. Apple made some subtle, but I believe needed changes to the interface, particularly to the iTunes store, and I just can’t help but comment. This won’t be a lengthy post detailing all of the new features of iTunes 9…you’ll have to go elsewhere for that. This is just a quick review from a branding and design perspective.
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