LinkedIn, Reimagined: Part II

UI/UX Improvements

Part II of LinkedIn, Reimagined details the reimagined LinkedIn user interface, hover interactions and specific UI improvements over the current web version.

Background

Linkedin, Reimagined: Parts I & II are follow ups to an article I published last year, Improving LinkedIN: Kitchen sink design dilemma which explains LinkedIn’s kitchen sink design problem.

The Design

The next sections detail the specific UI and UX improvements and the rationale behind the design decisions. These sections include designs for hover interactions throughout the interface.

// NAVIGATION

BEFORE
Users are presented with too much choice and too many main navigation options in the header. A sub-nav bar is unnecessary.

AFTER
New LinkedIn offer users intuitive icons, less red notification boxes, simplified search and an app dashboard button. Less space gives the rest of the site more breathing room.

On hover:

// PUBLISHING

BEFORE
“Share an update” and “Upload a photo” are presented as two separate tasks when they need not be. “Publish a post” is given same priority as “Upload a photo”

AFTER
“Upload a photo” and “Share an update” now happen via one input box. Messages are a form of content (albeit private content). Messages are now grouped with publishing articles and status updates. Javascript expands input boxes and bring them into focus on hover. Buttons on the right respond to input box hover and vice versa. Clicking on buttons takes users to separate page.

// SEARCH

BEFORE
Searching by category before embarking on a search seems like an extra step in the era of asynchronous data, javascript and single page apps.

AFTER
New LinkedIn search functions similar Facebook. Data is served asynchronously and categorized after starting search

// PROFILE

BEFORE
There are too many ways to edit profile currently. LinkedIn really wants users to modify profile data. Understanding how and why most users use the site is more important. I personally use LinkedIn to connect, publish and post. Profile is important but it’s not something I modify often.

AFTER
There is one path to profile. It’s simple and obvious.

// NOTIFICATIONS

BEFORE
One of the LinkedIn’s most annoying design choices (my opinion). The dreaded red notification circle. Business professionals are already over-notified. Red circles with large numbers does not evoke calm. I’ve read or glanced at all these notifications. I’ve chosen not to take action. The red notification circles of death remain with obscenely high numbers.

AFTER
Important notifications are calmly presented in one line with a flag using LinkedIn’s main brand color. When hovering, users see more detail about the notifications. Users can also quietly remove the notification.

AFTER
Notifications relevant to main content sections including jobs, connections, articles and groups are placed accordingly with similar color. These notifications are only visible when other users respond to an action taken.

// FILTERING

LinkedIn has user-, business- and group-generated posts. There is currently no way to view all these posts in one place. Adding a filter for individual, group and business could be an effortless way for LinkedIn users to consume more information thereby improving experience.

// SECTIONS AS BRANDED APPS (Unbundling)

LinkedIn is doing this with it’s mobile apps for jobs, articles and groups. Branding content types as separate apps is a great way to organize enormous amounts of content types. Our brains are now wired to associate apps with type of action taken.

//Stats

BEFORE
Currently statistics on post and profile views take up a gluttonous amount of real estate. While the information makes me feel good, it doesn’t warrant this much screen space.

AFTER
Having this information presented further down the page gives users an easter egg type reward for scrolling thereby encouraging more consumption of content and a better experience.

Conclusion

LinkedIn is already good tool. They dominate the market for business networking. A good user experience for the web interface makes it a brilliant tool. And brilliant tools always make more money than good tools. The ideas presented here are just ideas.

It’s been great fun thinking about LinkedIn’s interface. I love designing and redesigning interfaces. I have more LinkedIn work in early stages that I may or may not release in the future depending on my workload. Feel free to hit me up if you’d like to see more work @bitflipper1.

Please let me know what you think about the articles here.

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