Google UX design with heart
How Google builds features that make you go: “Of Course”
Ever since I started getting into User Experience Design, Google has always been a great inspiration. Simply because as a user, Google has always been able to know what I need, buckle it up in a simple nifty feature that makes you go “Of course, how could I’ve lived without that?” while I had never really thought I was missing that feature. Does this ring a bell? Let me share with you afew examples, that left me with “Aww” at first experience.
This is Google reminding you just in case you forgot
How many times have you received an email reply saying “You forgot to attach”? How many Assignment submissions did you miss, and how many bad first impressions did you make just because you were too hooked up in writing an email about the attachment that you actually forgot to add it. Don’t despair, Google to the rescue, with a reminder just in case you forgot:
But that is not the end of it, now with Google Drive you don’t get to attach as much as before, you also share documents with others to ask them to collaborate, the you “Forgot to attach ” email becomes “You forgot to give me access” and for that another rescue popup!
All at the tip of your fingers
Who doesn’t like a neat hyperlink in their documents? How many times have you left where you were typing in the document, went to a new tab in your browser, searched to get a link to paste as a hyperlink? Well no more running around the tabs, you say hyperlink, we bring you Google search at your finger tips, but not just that, how about we search in your documents as well and show results based on your search history.
Some reactions are just too predicatable, I mean well, if someone sends you an invitation to a dropbox folder, “Duah” you probably want to open it! And of course, I want to be friends on foursquare too! So why go to that other app and do that action, when Google knows what you want to do next and can bring it to you at the tip of your fingers even without opening the email.
Opps I did it Again!
The curse of the premature send. The one that caused half written awkward emails to be sent, the one that has caused you to tell a friend about the surprise party you are holding even though you realized your mistake right after hitting the send button, because you were replying to the wrong email thread. Fear no more, Google believes in second chances, and the past with a little sending time buffer can surely be undone.
Do you use multiple layouts on your keyboard? How many times did you start typing in Google search only to find out you are using the wrong layout? Well, it’s ok cause you know Google can understand you, and infers that the word you are trying to type is in fact in your other keyboard layout.
Hush those please
We may not be able to prevent everyone from using the reply all button, We may not be able to avoid the distractions of endlessly long and irrelevant email conversations, but we sure can choose to Shush them up! No need to get a notification at every update. Now you can choose to check that noisy conversation only when you have the time. Many people don’t know they can do that, but Google mail comes with a Mute button !
Put everything in its rightful place
Last but not least, the one feature that makes reading and managing your email easier, smoother and faster. The feature that saved us the time of creating endless filters. The feature that stops us from getting let down and “bummed” at every notification email that is simply a promotion or social update. Yes you guessed it, its the feature that helps important emails make it to the top of your inbox, the inbox tabs.
That’s just to name a few of those awesome features that Google crafts and engineers to its users with ultimate heart.
To be continued ….
