Studio Practice: December 2016

In the most recent update of the iOS Facebook messenger App, the user experience has been improved and manipulate it to simulate external experiences and influences more than ever.

The new functionalities include a instant camera short cut, possibly due to the extent of pictures sent to friends over messenger. To adapt to the ever changing needs of the market, Facebook have now made this easier than ever, reducing the steps the user must go through from 4/5 to 2/3, resulting in increased efficiency and hopeful visual communication amongst friends.

The update has adapted many aspects of Instagram and Snapchats interface, including the ability to add filters, manipulate text and create custom messages. Since taking over Snapchat, this lateral move is understandable from a business point of view, yet it may make the two social platforms too similar, therefore negating the use of something like snapchat.

On the other hand, I personally feel the interface's simplicity has been tainted. The board appeal of Facebook over numerous age groups and demographics almost gives it a USP which may never die out. Often grandparents are on Facebook, simply as a way of communicating with friends from the past who may be located all over the world- or just keeping up to date with the grand kids. If the messenger app continues to evolve appealing to a predominantly younger audience, Facebook could risk alienating secondary audiences or risk app un-instillation due to quite a vast change.

However, this could be counter argued by the extent older audiences play on the app, such as swiping right or left to now enable new features. As a 20 year old with a decent understanding of technology, even I got confused and stuck on new features- unknowing how to just send a message to a friend.
Facebook have added extra benefits to the app to reinforce its overall purpose- to simply and easily communicate with friends. The new features only applies when you hit the new centre button (the same as snapchats capture icon), in the bottom middle of the screen. When this is activated, two more functions are available, with a swipe left- All Photo's; with a swipe right- Message writing function in Helvetica bold (the same as Snapchats go-to 'in-snap' typeface). These similarities and overlaps are possibly due to Facebook taking over Snapchat, drawing influence form Instagram the way Instragram took influence from them, directly copying the 'story' function.

In conclusion, the interface of the new Facebook App update simplifies its overall intention of instant communication- yet may be swaying too much away from written spoken language. This has the potential to alienate sections of the audience, especially if they do not have the patience to investigate what the new functions do and just see it as 'confusing change'. The user experience for this reason has both been improved and possibly hindered as this is quite a drastic update, the experience could personally depend on how receptive the user is to change. The user experience none the less has been simplified, allowing more functions with ease at a swipe. The benefit of the camera function now means rather than pre-deciding who the photograph is being sent to, you have the freedom and flexibility to capture a moment and decide later- much like Snapchat. With the increase in older people using Snapchat and its many filters, it is understandable why this route has been pursued by Messenger, yet may negate the role of future social media platforms who operate in the same kind of structure.

When one is undergoing searching for a property, the natural thing to do is to explore on a desktop or laptop, rathe than an app. As the nature of house-hunting is quite daunting and official, you need complete trust in the service provided, with clear information and large informative pictures paramount for decision making.

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weroom.com

Simplistic design and layout, easy to manage functions. However, no back button. This means every time you want to go back to the list of pre-found options, you need to re-imput your location and advanced settings. This increases steps and decreases ease for the viewer, possibly a turn off for some viewers.

House hunting needs to be quick / simplistic / easy to follow and understand / visual breakdown / cost breakdown / ease of contacting a landlord

Simplistic infographic, explaining the benefits of 'sharing'. To some, sharing with strangers may seem daunting, yet these friendly info graphics are simplistic in nature, possibly appealing to a younger target audience.

Information on the 'roomer', aka, who your new friend will be. Also the property. This could instantly be improved by a 'Contact Lina' button, and perhaps further cost breakdown. All we know is that first months rent is £355- is that including bills? What about the second months rent? Is it possible to extend the tangency longer than 31st May 2017 or not?

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Spare Room.com

Really functional website, features great content and is adjustable to suit budget and personal specifications. However, the User Experience does not seem fully fit for purpose, as it is still causing stress rather than negating it.

Blue is the most popular colour on the internet, with Spare Room.com featuring blue and orange heavily. The typeface looks dated, especially featuring Arial- the standard go to type which is installed on everyones computer. Spare room.com also feature hidden costs- including sign up fee's and 'Early Bird' sign up. 'Early Bird' is aprox £10.99 for 7 days, giving you access to over '1400 properties' and provides the telephone number for each landlord- something which I feel should be provided regardless!

Uninspiring colour palette- resembellant of a prescription website or dated HTML, page width does not fit to screen- proving for a condensed user experience. All of the information just feels slightly cramped and claustrophobic, making the (already stressed out viewer) also feel like there is little breath room- or time for that matter.

The information feels overly cluttered, with little consideration given to the hirachy of information or even which property is a best match for YOU. As a house share means you'll have to adapt to someones way of living, this experience should be as welcoming and proactive as possible- helping match personalities not just property requirements. The advance search filters are varied, yet still limited.

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Air B&B

Unsuitable for long term lets, however simplistically chic user experience. Clear, modern graphics with large resolution pictures, giving a clear insight into what the viewers signing up for.

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Find a flat.com

Brought to you as a partnership with Spareroom.com, the same problems prevail when exploring housing options and user experience. The screen is once again, not fully fitting the browser, giving a cramped information.

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Flatmate Rooms.co.uk

Great website, yet bad user experience due to no back button. After viewing the property and sending a message to the landlord, there is no way of going back to the filtered list, meaning starting the whole process again.

It seems little consideration has been given to split up relevant information- including a cost breakdown- in the initial information.

Straight forward- simplistic at a glance way of showing what the property has to offer. The three catergory split between 'About the household' 'Welcomed Flatmate' and 'Bills Included' gives the viewer a good side-by-side comparison, comparing the property to their 'ideal' preferences. Simplistic infographics- does not illuminate a proportion of the audience through symbol ambiguity.

Again, flatmate finder are asking for a payment method to access mobile numbers. Naturally, people in this situation are desperate, so probably willing to pay for this service as it can speed the process up, and remove a lot of the stress. However, I do not feel this is a suitable action for the service to provided, the contact information should be there regardless.

Overall, web searching for properties for immediate access is a challenging process for students or working professionals to undertake. Some websites have made this a breeze- yet the design of others have hindered its potential. Keeping this in mind, I plan to conduct primary research on how people go about searching for properties, and what functions they would like to see.