skills used
UX Research
Usability Tests
Data Analysis
UI Design
Credits
Aurel Coza
Abhijith Ajith
Atharva Nikam
A research-driven design for usability and user retention
As part of my independent study project, I chose to evaluate and redesign the Google News experience to address emerging usability and engagement challenges. Google News is a news aggregator app designed to provide users with a personalized news. Overtime, users have been complaining about their experience with the app regarding the new upgrades, news content, and the UI changes.
I designed a UX strategy that fosters user engagement by introducing new features and optimizing navigation, thus increasing the overall usability.
skills used
UX Research
Usability Tests
Data Analysis
UI Design
team
Me
A research-driven design for usability and user retention
As part of my independent study project, I chose to evaluate and redesign the Google News experience to address emerging usability and engagement challenges. Google News is a news aggregator app designed to provide users with a personalized news. Overtime, users have been complaining about their experience with the app regarding the new upgrades, news content, and the UI changes.
I designed a UX strategy that fosters user engagement by introducing new features and optimizing navigation, thus increasing the overall usability.
skills used
UX Research
UI Design
Usability Tests
Data Analysis
Team
Me
A research-driven design for usability and user retention
As part of my independent study project, I chose to evaluate and redesign the Google News experience to address emerging usability and engagement challenges. Google News is a news aggregator app designed to provide users with a personalized news. Overtime, users have been complaining about their experience with the app regarding the new upgrades, news content, and the UI changes.
I designed a UX strategy that fosters user engagement by introducing new features and optimizing navigation, thus increasing the overall usability.
I selected popular news applications and conduced competitive analysis
The applications selected were Microsoft Start, Flipboard, and Smart News. Positive reviews highlighted the apps' user-friendly interfaces and robust personalization capabilities. However, a consistent pattern emerged across all reviews, pointing out shared issues.
A surprising insight was that the functionalities that were supposed to be the goals of the app, were considered as cons of the app as it was not functioning up to its name.
Reflection
Addressing user concerns and iteratively refining features, such as simplifying the sharing process and enhancing content visibility, reinforced the pivotal role of user feedback in creating a more user-friendly experience. Integrating various features throughout the redesign deepened my understanding of accessibility, personalization, and user engagement.
Reflection
Addressing user concerns and iteratively refining features, such as simplifying the sharing process and enhancing content visibility, reinforced the pivotal role of user feedback in creating a more user-friendly experience. Integrating various features throughout the redesign deepened my understanding of accessibility, personalization, and user engagement.
Final Outcome: Highlights
Each highlight captures an aspect of the new Google News experience. It calls out which problem its solving and what the solution is.
search
Search icon lacks visibility for users.
problem
The search icon reveals a search bar with a blank screen which is not ideal as it places the burden of initiating a search entirely on the user without providing any guidance or assistance. It requires users to know exactly what they are searching for, which may not always be the case.
solution
The search bar is placed on the "For you" page. Upon clicking, It offers text and search by voice options. it offers suggestions like popular news keywords, personalized keywords, and search history. feature which improves usability by guiding the users, resulting in a more intuitive and engaging experience.
share
Sharing stories limited to external platforms only.
problem
App allows users to share stories only through external apps and platforms, lacking direct integration with contacts within the Google News ecosystem. Users are forced to switch between different apps or platforms, disrupting their workflow and diminishing the experience.
solution
Direct sharing with contacts within Google News streamlines the process, allowing users to share without leaving the app. The received stories will be tagged in the "For you" feed. These stories are stored in the hamburger menu in "Shared with you", providing users with quick access to the received content.
read story
Text-to-speech feature is not available.
problem
The absence of text-to-speech feature poses accessibility challenges, particularly for visually impaired users, limiting their access to news content and hindering hands-free consumption for all users.
solution
The "Read" feature allows users to listen to news stories audibly, enabling them to access and engage with content effortlessly. It can be accessed by clicking on the headphones icon located at the top right corner of the story page.
saved stories
Difficulty in accessing saved stories.
problem
Users struggle to find their saved stories as they are hidden below the fold in the "Following" tab. Users have to navigate through the entire app to locate where their stories are saved, causing frustration and inconvenience.
solution
Upon saving a story, a confirmation message pops up ensuring users immediate feedback. These stories are saved in the hamburger menu inside "Saved with you", providing users with quick access to the received content.
LIKE AND COMMENT
Community engagement is absent.
problem
Users lack the means to express their opinions, engage with content. This limitation impedes user interaction and prevents the establishment of a loyal user base, ultimately leading to decreased engagement with the app.
solution
A dedicated like and comment section present on the bottom app bar helps user interact with content, and participate in discussions, facilitating a sense of connection and community within the platform. Providing notification alerts for replies or new comments encourages users to revisit stories.
🕹️ Limited user control
Users have little control over content relevance and preferences, often encountering articles and topics that do not align with their preferences, leading to disengagement.
🤔 Complex task execution
Common actions like saving and sharing stories require multiple steps, resulting in a cumbersome user experience and reduced efficiency.
🔍 Ineffective search functionality
The search functionality lacks refinement, with no options to sort results or filter by date, impacting user ability to find relevant content efficiently.
▶️ Accessibility challenges
Lack of accessibility features for users with visual impairments or those preferring hands-free consumption, limiting inclusivity and usability.
🗣️Community engagement gap
Users are unable to actively participate in discussions or express their opinions on articles, resulting in a lack of community interaction.
🧭 Navigation complexity
Users encounter challenges to locate saved articles within the app, as they are often buried deep within the navigation structure, requiring extensive scrolling or multiple clicks to access.
For this case study, I focused on the "For you" page and streamlined navigation to address the mentioned concerns.
Problem statement
The absence of efficient mechanisms undermines the app's ability to provide diverse perspectives, evaluate content credibility, and support user engagement and personalization.
How might we give users more control, streamline key tasks, enhance search, and improve accessibility, all while fostering a sense of community and trust within the app?
Gathering qualitative data through Play Store and usability testing.
I analyzed 56 most-voted customer reviews on Play Store (totaling over 3,000 upvotes) from August 2022 to February 2023.
I conducted usability testing and user interviews with five individuals who use the app at least five times a week. These interviews aimed to dive deeper into user preferences, behavior , and pain points, providing valuable qualitative data to inform redesign process.
I selected popular news applications and conduced competitive analysis.
The applications selected were Microsoft Start, Flipboard, and Smart News. Positive reviews highlighted the apps' user-friendly interfaces and robust personalization capabilities. However, a consistent pattern emerged across all reviews, pointing out shared issues.
A surprising insight was that the functionalities that were supposed to be the goals of the app, were considered as cons of the app as it was not functioning up to its name.
For this case study, I focused on the "For you" page and streamlined navigation to address the mentioned concerns.
Gathering qualitative data through Play Store and usability testing
I analyzed 56 most-voted customer reviews on Play Store (totaling over 3,000 upvotes) from August 2022 to February 2023.
I conducted usability testing and user interviews with five individuals who use the app at least five times a week. These interviews aimed to dive deeper into user preferences, behavior , and pain points, providing valuable qualitative data to inform redesign process.
OVERVIEW OF THE REDESIGNED EXPERIENCE
Problem statement
The absence of efficient mechanisms undermines the app's ability to provide diverse perspectives, evaluate content credibility, and support user engagement and personalization.
How might we give users more control, streamline key tasks, enhance search, and improve accessibility, all while fostering a sense of community and trust within the app?
Gathering qualitative data through Play Store and usability testing
I analyzed 56 most-voted customer reviews on Play Store (totaling over 3,000 upvotes) from August 2022 to February 2023.
I conducted usability testing and user interviews with five individuals who use the app at least five times a week. These interviews aimed to dive deeper into user preferences, behavior , and pain points, providing valuable qualitative data to inform redesign process.
I selected popular news applications and conduced competitive analysis
The applications selected were Microsoft Start, Flipboard, and Smart News. Positive reviews highlighted the apps' user-friendly interfaces and robust personalization capabilities. However, a consistent pattern emerged across all reviews, pointing out shared issues.
A surprising insight was that the functionalities that were supposed to be the goals of the app, were considered as cons of the app as it was not functioning up to its name.
Prominent issues emerged around customization limitations, inadequate search, intrusive advertisements, in-app navigation, biased content curation, and the inability to easily share articles.
For this case study, I focused on the "For you" page and streamlined navigation to address the mentioned concerns.
OVERVIEW OF THE OLD EXPERIENCE
header design
for you navigation
share
exclude/include sources
text to speech
hide articles
like and comment
top five stories
search
🕹️ Limited user control
Users have little control over content relevance and preferences, often encountering articles and topics that do not align with their preferences, leading to disengagement.
🤔 Complex task execution
Common actions like saving and sharing stories require multiple steps, resulting in a cumbersome user experience and reduced efficiency.
🔍 Ineffective search functionality
The search functionality lacks refinement, with no options to sort results or filter by date, impacting user ability to find relevant content efficiently.
▶️ Accessibility challenges
Lack of accessibility features for users with visual impairments or those preferring hands-free consumption, limiting inclusivity and usability.
🗣️Community engagement gap
Users are unable to actively participate in discussions or express their opinions on articles, resulting in a lack of community interaction.
🧭 Navigation complexity
Users encounter challenges to locate saved articles within the app, as they are often buried deep within the navigation structure, requiring extensive scrolling or multiple clicks to access.
Header Design
for you navigation
SEARCH
share
text to speech
hide articles
like and comment
top five stories
exclude/include sources
Final Outcome: Highlights
Each highlight captures an aspect of the new Google News experience. It calls out which problem its solving and what the solution is.
search
Search icon lacks visibility for users.
problem
The search icon reveals a search bar with a blank screen which is not ideal as it places the burden of initiating a search entirely on the user without providing any guidance or assistance. It requires users to know exactly what they are searching for, which may not always be the case.
solution
The search bar is placed on the "For you" page. Upon clicking, It offers text and search by voice options. it offers suggestions like popular news keywords, personalized keywords, and search history. feature which improves usability by guiding the users, resulting in a more intuitive and engaging experience.
share
Sharing stories limited to external platforms only.
problem
App allows users to share stories only through external apps and platforms, lacking direct integration with contacts within the Google News ecosystem. Users are forced to switch between different apps or platforms, disrupting their workflow and diminishing the experience.
solution
Direct sharing with contacts within Google News streamlines the process, allowing users to share without leaving the app. The received stories will be tagged in the "For you" feed. These stories are stored in the hamburger menu in "Shared with you", providing users with quick access to the received content.
read story
Text-to-speech feature is not available.
problem
The absence of text-to-speech feature poses accessibility challenges, particularly for visually impaired users, limiting their access to news content and hindering hands-free consumption for all users.
solution
The "Read" feature allows users to listen to news stories audibly, enabling them to access and engage with content effortlessly. It can be accessed by clicking on the headphones icon located at the top right corner of the story page.
LIKE AND COMMENT
Community engagement is absent.
problem
Users lack the means to express their opinions, engage with content. This limitation impedes user interaction and prevents the establishment of a loyal user base, ultimately leading to decreased engagement with the app.
solution
A dedicated like and comment section present on the bottom app bar helps user interact with content, and participate in discussions, facilitating a sense of connection and community within the platform. Providing notification alerts for replies or new comments encourages users to revisit stories.
saved stories
Difficulty in accessing saved stories.
problem
Users struggle to find their saved stories as they are hidden below the fold in the "Following" tab. Users have to navigate through the entire app to locate where their stories are saved, causing frustration and inconvenience.
solution
Upon saving a story, a confirmation message pops up ensuring users immediate feedback. These stories are saved in the hamburger menu inside "Saved with you", providing users with quick access to the received content.
weather access
This project reinforced the importance of a data-informed, iterative design approach, demonstrating how thoughtful experience improvements can drive both user satisfaction and long-term retention.
tagged stories
Reflection
Addressing user concerns and iteratively refining features, such as simplifying the sharing process and enhancing content visibility, reinforced the pivotal role of user feedback in creating a more user-friendly experience. Integrating various features throughout the redesign deepened my understanding of accessibility, personalization, and user engagement.
search
Search icon lacks visibility for users.
problem
The search icon reveals a search bar with a blank screen which is not ideal as it places the burden of initiating a search entirely on the user without providing any guidance or assistance. It requires users to know exactly what they are searching for, which may not always be the case.
solution
The search bar is placed on the "For you" page. Upon clicking, It offers text and search by voice options. it offers suggestions like popular news keywords, personalized keywords, and search history. feature which improves usability by guiding the users, resulting in a more intuitive and engaging experience.
share
Sharing stories limited to external platforms only.
problem
App allows users to share stories only through external apps and platforms, lacking direct integration with contacts within the Google News ecosystem. Users are forced to switch between different apps or platforms, disrupting their workflow and diminishing the experience.
solution
Direct sharing with contacts within Google News streamlines the process, allowing users to share without leaving the app. The received stories will be tagged in the "For you" feed. These stories are stored in the hamburger menu in "Shared with you", providing users with quick access to the received content.
read story
Text-to-speech feature is not available.
problem
The absence of text-to-speech feature poses accessibility challenges, particularly for visually impaired users, limiting their access to news content and hindering hands-free consumption for all users.
solution
The "Read" feature allows users to listen to news stories audibly, enabling them to access and engage with content effortlessly. It can be accessed by clicking on the headphones icon located at the top right corner of the story page.
LIKE AND COMMENT
Community engagement is absent.
problem
Users lack the means to express their opinions, engage with content. This limitation impedes user interaction and prevents the establishment of a loyal user base, ultimately leading to decreased engagement with the app.
solution
A dedicated like and comment section present on the bottom app bar helps user interact with content, and participate in discussions, facilitating a sense of connection and community within the platform. Providing notification alerts for replies or new comments encourages users to revisit stories.
saved stories
Difficulty in accessing saved stories.
problem
Users struggle to find their saved stories as they are hidden below the fold in the "Following" tab. Users have to navigate through the entire app to locate where their stories are saved, causing frustration and inconvenience.
solution
Upon saving a story, a confirmation message pops up ensuring users immediate feedback. These stories are saved in the hamburger menu inside "Saved with you", providing users with quick access to the received content.
weather access
This project reinforced the importance of a data-informed, iterative design approach, demonstrating how thoughtful experience improvements can drive both user satisfaction and long-term retention.
tagged stories