#006 The Design Insider: Digest
Airbnb unveils 100+ updates, Major updates to google shopping, FB allows users to hide like counts and more.
In the news
Airbnb unveils 100+ updates
Few companies have felt the impact of COVID-19 quite like Airbnb. With travel restrictions forcing the company to rethink its strategy and approach. However, it seems they've used the downtime wisely, unveiling 103 new updates last week that should put them in good stead to dominate once travel restrictions ease and we return to some form of normality. The updates are focused on four key areas;
Flexibility designed for new age travel
A simpler/more inspiring guest experience
Easier ways to host – from signup to Superhost
World-class support for the global community
FB gives users option to hide public like count
Ever since their introduction, "Likes" have been seen as a primary measure of success on social media, giving rise to a community of users chasing them obsessively for the hit of dopamine whose release they trigger and to feel some form of self-worth. In large, this has negatively impacted users' mental health and has been a major contributing factor for social media addiction. To help tackle this issue and ease the pressure, Facebook will allow users to hide like counts on their posts and those in the feed. The feature has begun rolling out on both Facebook and Instagram.
New updates from Twitter
Twitter spaces updated and on web: Users can now access an updated version of "Spaces" directly from twitter.com on both mobile and desktop devices. In addition, the web version of 'Spaces" will have an improved UI that better adapts to several screen sizes, give users the ability to set reminders for scheduled spaces and make the feature more accessible to all with the introduction of live transcription.
Progress on premium “Twitter Blue” subscription service: Twitter has finally confirmed its premium subscription service, "Twitter Blue", by adding it as an in-app purchase on the App Store. The service, first reported by researcher Jane Manchun Wong two weeks ago, will cost $2.99 and include several premium features such as custom icons, the ability to choose colour themes and much more.
Figma and Twitch champion self identification
Figma to show pronouns: Figma will allow users to select pronouns to display on their community profiles. The new feature is yet to go live; however, Researcher Jane Manchun tweeted a sneak peek of what it could look like.
Twitch adds 350+ self-identifications tags: While most platforms allow users to only select pronouns for their profiles. Twitch will give its users a choice of 350 new self-identification tags to add to their content, covering everything from gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ability, mental health, and more.
Linkedin gets slew of new features
The social network for professionals is adding several new features aimed at helping users better distribute their content to reach the right audience and new analytical tools to measure its impact. The new features include;
New "boost" button: Like Facebook, Linkedin's new boost button will allow users to easily convert an organic post into a paid ad to get more exposure.
Event Horizon: Unlike existing ads, this new ad format is optimised specifically for the virtual events market. It aims to help drive direct registrations by displaying important information such as date, time, "location," and details on how to join, which companies can easily add themselves.
Mobile app page analytics: Admins can now access all the web analytics specifically for mobile. These include everything related to visitors, follower, and other content insight data.
Google adds several shopping focused updates
The pandemic has further accelerated the transition of shopping from brick and mortar to online, with traffic and the number of sales processed by e-Commerce platforms seeing an unprecedented rise. As expected, Google is looking to capitalise on this trend, introducing several new tools to help brands better captivate audiences, from the point of discovery to checkout and beyond. The new tools include;
New identity attributes: A recent study by 5WPR found that 71% of consumers are making purchasing decisions based on how well a brands values align with their own. As a result, Google will be adding new identity attributes for brands to display to searchers. Last year, the Black-owned business attribute became the first; however, a new women-focused attribute is coming soon.
AR apparel experience: Users will soon be able to visualise how certain clothes look on them before buying with a new AR apparel experience feature. The new feature follows the successful launch of a makeup try-it-on experience last year, which allowed users to virtually try on beauty products from companies such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder.
Loyalty program integration: This new feature will give businesses the opportunity to showcase, allow existing members to link and new members to join their loyalty programmes directly from when they first start shopping on Google.
Deals results page: Searches for discount codes increased by 50% in the past year. To make it easier for users to find them, Google is creating deals specific page in search.
Flexible checkout options: Companies can now display all the different ways users can purchase a product using specific labels. In addition to this, Google is testing "Shop Pay", a feature that allows you to purchase directly in Google without being redirected to a third-party website.
Recommended Reads
10 principles of accessibility: Designing digital products that are friendly for a broad user-base is quite the challenge. Often, getting started is the hardest part. In this article, the author shares ten principles you can use to create great accessible websites and mobile interfaces right now.
Content strategy and UX-design — A love story: Content strategy and UX design are two different yet interconnected disciplines. They primarily overlap in areas such as content design and information architecture. In this article, the author provides a brief overview of the regions at which both these disciplines intersect and explores how content and design teams can work to deliver products that fulfil business goals and user needs.
How to come up with the right hypothesis for your A/B tests: Forming a correct hypothesis is the first and most vital part of the A/B testing process. It forms the basis upon which we create variations of our product for testing. In this article, the author shares some best practices you should follow to finalise a hypothesis that will help you gain maximum value from your A/B tests.
UI Grid Best Practices: Spaces and grids are the foundation of any design, which you must use correctly to create robust, aesthetically pleasing solutions. Conversely, when misused, they can have a detrimental impact. In this article, the author shares some of the best practices you should consider when using grids to create amazing UI’s.
How to design onboarding flows: A users perception of your product, from what it looks like and their understanding of its capabilities, begins from the first interaction they have with it. So you must provide a quality onboarding experience that does this and draws them back to it. In this article, the author shares seven best practices for creating a great onboarding experience that minimises churn and drives user retention.
Typography in digital products for kids: People often assume that when creating digital products for kids, the best practice would be to use quirky and fancy typography. In reality, this is probably the worst thing you can do. In this article, the author shares some tips and suggestions on choosing the right typography when designing digital products for kids.
Useful tools & resources
Book of the week: The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen
Inspo: An excellent GPT-3 powered tool that will help you transform a term or word in your mind to a sea of ideas that will inspire and help you kickstart the creative process. The product has a free version and a paid version priced at $10, which is a bloody bargain for the powerful features it gives you access to.
Doom Captcha: DOOM Captcha uses a simple version of the iconic video-game, Doom, to validate a real person on a website form.
Dark patterns Tipline: This website allows you to document dark patterns you find and share your experience to help prevent other people from also being harmed.