AOL Mail UI: From Primitive to Pure

This project was a request to evaluate the current design of AOL Mail, and to find ways to improve the look and feel of the application. This project required us to produce sketches, wireframes, and surface comps for the new design.

Users and Audience

As of 2021, AOL reported to still have about 1.5 million customers still paying for services (CNBC). These users will have access to AOL Mail as an email service provider. These and any others that sign up to use AOL Mail will be our primary audience and user base.

Roles and Responsibilities

This was a project that I did on my own, so I was responsible for creating the sketches, wireframes, and surface comps.

Scope and Constraints

The only major constraints of this project was that the email service needed to provide the same amount of functions that it had before. It needed to have the same functionality and ability as the previous design. There weren’t any major design constraints other than functionality.

Sketches

Creating sketches helps me to get an idea of how I want a design to look before I commit to anything in a design software. This allows me to play with several ideas before settling down on the direction I want to go.

Wireframes

Once the initial ideas of the design are sketched, it’s time to move on to wireframes. Wireframes will allow me to actually build out a design with correct dimensions. If any unforeseen tweaks need to be made, wireframes are the perfect place for that to occur. I prefer to use Figma to create the wireframes and surface comps when they are ready. For this project I created wireframes for mobile and desktop.

Surface Comps

After creating the wireframes, they serve as a base for surface comps. Surface comps included the colors that I was considering for the new design. It also includes specific icons that I plan on using in the final design.

Conclusion

This project was a great way to practice my skills in the design process. It was a great way to practice sketches, wireframes, and surface comps. The new design is not drastically different from the previous one, but ultimately I wanted to make minor improvements without taking away from the overall purpose of the application. In hindsight I would potentially look at other adjustments to make, but I am happy with how it went.