INSTAGRAM REDESIGN
Enhancing User Experience with New Features
ROLE
UI/UX Designer
DURATION
5 Days
TEAM
Personal Project
TOOLS
Figma
Project Overview
Enhancing Instagram features to improve user engagement and experience
With 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms among Gen Z. Instagram has transformed how people connect, share, and engage with visual content. It is known for its image-driven design and features like Stories and Reels, with its strength lying in fostering community and self-expression. I contributed to enhancing this experience by designing new features like Custom Groups, Full-Screen Reels, 2.0x Speed Playback and Browsing History, aimed at making content sharing and discovery smoother and more captivating, ultimately boosting user interaction on the platform.
User Research
User Interview
I conducted user interviews with 10 participants age ranging from 18 to 28, falling between Instagram's primary target audience. The average interview time are around 15 min.
Affinity Diagram
Based on insights gathered from user interviews, I categorized and organized my findings into key areas: what users value, their motivations for using Instagram, specific frustrations, and potential improvements. The process involved grouping common themes into clusters focused on Reels, content sharing, messaging, and the feed. This structured approach allowed me to identify not only pain points but also opportunities for enhancing user engagement.
Define
User Pain Points
I transformed each key insight into targeted design solutions and potential features. These solutions not only address the identified pain points but also enhance the overall Instagram experience, making interactions smoother and more enjoyable for users.
Some key takeaways include users' frustration with losing unsaved posts, the need for more customization in content sharing, and difficulties in navigating Reels. These insights directly informed the creation of features like Browsing History for easier content recovery, Custom Groups for personalized sharing, and Full-Screen Reels for an uninterrupted viewing experience.
Design Solution
Core Features
After analyzing user needs, I identified four core features to address key pain points and enhance Instagram’s experience, focusing on improving content visibility, interaction, and navigation, ensuring a smoother and more personalized user experience.
Prototype
Stop Filtering Stories: Share What You Want, with Who You Want
Customized Group
Building on the "Close Friends" feature, this customizable group option allows users to create multiple groups for different social circles, such as family, coworkers, or friends. You can easily share stories and posts with your selected audience.
While the Close Friends group has a green background to convey a special connection, the customizable group features a blue background, symbolizing trust and reliability. This feature encourages users to share their stories with trusted circles while maintaining individuality in their sharing experience.
PAIN POINTS SOLVED: The need to repeatedly hide specific individuals or modify the Close Friends list when sharing targeted content.
Say Goodbye to Hiding Stories from Specific People 👋🏻
Sharing Stories
The custom group will appear under 'Share,' allowing users to select the group they want to share their stories with. The custom group icon, puzzle piece, represents each group as a unique part of the user's social puzzle.
Sharing Post
Sharing a post works similarly. Users can click on the audience to choose who they want to share their post with, and once the post is shared, a puzzle icon will appear next to it.
Instant Laughs: Quick Comment Sharing
You find a funny comment buried under a pile of other comments and want to share it with a friend. This feature offers users a more intuitive experience by letting them easily select who to share the comment with. It displays the reel/post, comment, and commenter directly in the message, eliminating the need for screenshots.
PAIN POINTS SOLVED
Inconvenience of screenshotting comments and the extra effort required to provide context when sharing.
A/B Testing
I conducted an A/B test to determine which design would provide a more intuitive and effective user experience for the comment-sharing feature. For Option A, I kept the current share icon since it works like other sharing features. For Option B, I used a text-based 'Share' label, aligning it with the same functionality level as replying.
Shared Comments in Chat
The results showed that 7 out of 12 participants preferred Option B. They mentioned that since 'Like' is still the primary action, having the share icon next to it could lead to accidental clicks. Participants also felt that placing the 'Share' option next to 'Reply' improved the feature's visibility and alignment with user expectations.
Subtitles Unblocked: Enjoy Reels in Full Screen
Based on user interviews and my own observations, I've noticed that subtitles on reels often get obscured by the creator's profile and caption. To address this pain point, I’ve created a full-screen option to eliminate this overlap.
PAIN POINTS SOLVED
Creator's profile and caption blocking subtitles or video content in reels.
Reel Rush: Double the Pace with a Press
Imagine trying to get through a long reel or just wanting to catch the highlights quickly—this feature gives you a smoother, easier way to control the video’s pace. The playback speed automatically increases when you long-press anywhere on the screen while watching. This feature allows users to effortlessly speed up reel playback, making it faster and more convenient to consume content.
PAIN POINTS SOLVED
Limited control over reel playback speed and inability to fast-forward.
Memory Lane: Quickly Revisit Your Favorite Reels / Posts
During interviews, many users shared the frustration of not saving or sharing a post and wanting to find it later. With Browsing History, they can quickly revisit their favorite reels without the hassle of endless scrolling and searching for it.
PAIN POINTS SOLVED
Struggling to find posts or reels without saving them and going through a lengthy search.
Success Metrics
User Testing
I conducted five rounds of user testing to evaluate the usability of the new features. The overall task success rate was 92%, with three participants successfully using the 2.0x playback speed on their second attempt, while all other tasks achieved a 100% success rate. Participants shared that the new features are intuitive, align with their expectations, and enhance the overall user experience.
Final Takeaways
If I had more time…
With more time, I would explore designing additional features, such as advanced content filtering options to give users more control over their feeds. I would also conduct further rounds of prototyping and user testing to validate these ideas and ensure they align with user expectations.
What I’ve Learned…
This project improved my ability to balance user needs with practical design constraints while staying aligned with what makes the platform familiar and engaging. I also learned the importance of focusing on key pain points to create meaningful solutions that enhance the user experience.