#007 The Design Insider: Digest
Apple Design Award winners revealed, Apple WWDC 21 round-up, Pinterest expands shopping features and much more.
In the news
Apple Design Awards winners unveiled
The recipients of Apples coveted design awards were revealed last week. With this years winners selected for their excellence in app design, innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement. The full winners listed are listed below;
Inclusivity: Voice Dream Reader (App) | HoloVista (Game)
Delight & Fun: Little Orpheus (Game) | Pok Pok Playroom (App)
Interaction: CARROT Weather (App) | Bird Alone (Game)
Social Impact: Be My Eyes (App) | Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (Game)
Visuals and Graphics: Loóna (App) | Genshin Impact (Game)
Innovation: NaadSadhana (App | League of Legends: Wild Rift (Game)
Apple WWDC roundup
Like previous years, Apple unveiled a massive list of new updates and features for their ecosystem at their annual worldwide developer conference. If you missed it, don't fret, we've done a round-up of the most significant updates to save you the time and stress of having to watch it back yourself.
iOS15
SVP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi announced iOS 15, an update focusing on four key areas; staying connected, finding focus, using intelligence and exploring the world. The update will be available in public beta from July, with a full rollout expected in the fall.
Facetime
The Facetime app will get see several new updates on iOS 15. These include;
Android access & Facetime links: The update will enable Android users to join in on FaceTime calls. In addition to this, users will have the ability to send calendar invites with links to join calls before meetings. A significant move as Apple aims to tap into the booming video communication market currently dominated by Zoom and Google Meet.
Spatial audio feature: This feature aims to make remote conversations more natural by pushing audio through the speakers relative to a person position on your screen. So, if a person is to the left, their audio will come from the left side of the speakers.
Voice Isolation: This feature will improve the voice quality when users are calling from a place where their is significant audio disturbance.
Share play: With this feature, users can listen to music, watch video and control apps in sync with their friends, and push the shared videos to their Apple TV devices. The feature will initially work with select video partners, including Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, and TikTok.
Portrait mode: This will allow users to blur their background during video calls.
Live Text
With the iOS15 update, the iPhone camera can detect text in any picture and make it selectable, searchable, copy/pastable. In addition to text, the "live text" feature will also recognise landmarks, animal breeds, books and more. If you’re an android user, you’ve probably had access to something similar for years in Google Lens.
Maps
An updated version of Apple Maps will now be available to users in Spain and Portugal, following the UK, USA, Ireland and Canada, who all got access last year. With Italy and Australia also in the works for later this year. In addition to the expansion, there will several new updates coming to maps on iOS 15. These include;
Improved detail: The updated maps will have greater detail, featuring turn lanes, medians, bus lanes, taxi lanes, crosswalks, bike lanes and much more to help all people get around cities better regardless of their mode of transport.
Nighttime mode: This new mode will see the various street and buildings appear with a moonlit glow on the interface after dark.
AR Navigation: In select cities, users will be able to use their iPhone to scan buildings in the area to get a more accurate estimation of their location and detailed directions of their destination in AR.
Focus mode
With the iOS 15 update, users will have access to several features to control the notifications they receive more smartly and efficiently, minimising distractions and maximising focus.
Customisable modes: Users can put their phone in several modes, in each of which they can customise the settings to control the notifications they receive, who they receive them from, the apps they see and much more. So, for example, if you're in a "Work" mode, you can adjust the settings only to receive notifications from your colleagues through apps like Slack, Gmail, calendar etc.
Notification control: Notifications will have a new classification system on iOS15. In addition to users adjust the settings, the system will also use AI to determine the types of notifications they're shown at a particular time. So, for example, it might encourage users to switch into a mode that blocks all non-emergency messages when they arrive at the gym. You can also adjust your settings, so you're given a summary of notifications instead of individual ones coming through each time.
Do Not Disturb status: This new status will notify anyone trying to contact you that you're in do not disturb mode directly on iMessage.
Wallet
Home, office and hotel keys will now be available in Apple Wallet. Perfect for travel as you'll be able to both check into hotels and use your phone as a room key instead of entering a code or carrying a card. Apple is also working with TSA to add an encrypted version of your driver's license to the wallet, which you can use for security checks.
Airpods
Conversation Boost: AirPod Pro users will soon be able to adjust the sound settings to block out background noise and increase the volume of the person's voice with whom they're speaking.
Find My Airpods: Airpods will now work with Find My App, even when in their case. So if you misplace them, you can adjust the settings to get an alert letting you know where they are and if you're leaving them behind
Announce notifications: Siri can now automatically read time-sensitive notifications to users through their AirPods. You can adjust the settings, so Siri reads them out based on various factors such as the time of day, location, etc.
Spatial Audio: You can enjoy an epic entire "virtual surround sound" audio on TV OS and Mac OS (for M1 Macs) if you have either the AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.
Android 12 second beta now available
The second of eight planned releases of the Android 12 beta is now available to select users and will have several new features and updates. The list is long, but some of the significant updates include;
Expansion of conversation widget: This feature allows users to jump into a message thread directly from the home screen.
Pixel 5 Quick Tap: This will enable users to perform customisable actions by double-tapping the back of their phones.
Privacy dashboard: A new and updated privacy dashboard with enhanced camera and microphone control settings.
Instagram unveils new features for creators
The social media wars have been heating up over the past year, with everyone unveiling a whole host of new creative tools, perks and features to encourage creators to post on their platform. Instagram has probably been one of the most active, and it isn't planning on stopping, unveiling two new feature updates in its latest announcement.
Native affiliate tool: This feature will allow users to tag products available on checkout and share them with users. If someone purchases via their profile, the creator will earn commission directly. The feature is currently testing with brands such as Sephora in the US.
Badges and Stars: Both Insta and Facebook will introduce gamification to their badge and star system by rewarding users upon reaching activity-based milestones, giving them an increased chance of earning, aside from when their followers purchase badges.
Pinterest expands shopping features
Pinterest is doubling down on its social commerce efforts, expanding its existing and adding new shopping features. Updates announced earlier this week include;
Expansion of shopping features: Users in Australia, Canada, Germany, and France can now get inspiration from influencers on the latest trends using the spotlight feature and shop directly from pins, boards, text search and lens camera search.
Shopping List: This new feature, which will initially go live in the UK and US, allows users to automatically save their pins in one place, making it easier for them to come back to and purchase later. Users will also get a notification when their saved items have new special offers, discounts and deals.
Verified merchant expansion: Following a successful trial in the US, Vendors in the UK, Australia, Canada, France and Germany will now have the chance to sign up and become a verified merchant. Once verified, their profiles will have a blue tick, and they'll be able to add a shop tab to their profiles and tag products in a pin. Click here for more info
Recommended Reads
Service design - What is it and why it’s important: Service design is increasingly being used across industries to improve business processes, products and engage customers in compelling new ways. In this article, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs to help you get up to speed with this emerging design discipline.
UX and healthy food routine: Some people have been cooking healthy grub during the lockdowns, while most have been hitting the takeaways hard and stuffing their gobs full of junk food. In this article, the author shares the entire process of how he and his team used UX Design to create tangible solutions aimed at helping people adopt new habits and behaviours relating to the purchase and preparation of healthy food routine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why A/B Testing is so Powerful for Product Development: People often ship products based on their gut instincts without testing and are left scratching their heads when they don't perform as expected. Instead of relying on assumptions, product teams use A/B testing to understand which changes significantly impact metrics such as conversion rate. In this article, the author gives an overview of A/B testing and how to leverage it to improve your website's performance.
Inclusive UX in an era of anxiety: The issue of mental health has come to the forefront of the public mind. As awareness increases, so too does the number of people suffering from mental health issues like bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. With more and more people coming forward to talk about their own experiences, designers need to start paying attention to making their designs more inclusive for this increasingly large consumer group. This article contains some tips and best practices to help you design products that offer a better experience for users with mental health issues such as anxiety.
Designing emotional colour palettes without the fake science: Do a quick google search, and you'll find an endless stream of articles claiming to have the correct answers on the emotional and behavioural impact colours have on users. In reality, the science and psychology of colour is a broad topic with no black and white answers. This article shares several factors, how they impact and invoke a varied reaction amongst people to several colours.
Useful tools and resources
Book of the week: Innovating for People - Handbook of Human-Centered design methods by Luma Institute
Maze Templates: Find inspiration and collect insights faster with this excellent collection of 50+ pre-built user tests and surveys, which you can copy, customise, and share with your users.
Growth.Design: A library of case studies, presented in a comic book style format, breaking down how the best companies design and grow products users love.
Good Landing Page: 300+ components from the best landing pages on the internet