Dropbox designer: How to make interface information more focused?

Always make design decisions around user goals, make different design forms according to functional priorities, and strengthen core functions. This is a great reference article for detail optimization. There is not much content, but it is quite inspiring. Share it with everyone!

Think about how it feels to work on your phone, your attention is easily distracted, your fat fingers keep pressing the wrong letters. At this time, you just want to put down your phone and go have dinner with your lover, or get together with friends who get along well with you and chat.

If you start to think in this way, the solutions proposed for mobile office will become completely different. Your product goal is no longer simply to increase user activity or let users spend more time on your application. Instead, the focus of the design should be on how to allow users to use such a small interface in the least amount of time and complete their work efficiently.

Over the past year, we have revisited Dropbox's mobile experience and made improving user productivity a core goal of the product. We have made some iterative improvements to make users more efficient and allow them to spend more time with family and friends. At the same time, we also hope that sharing our work will help those who have the same product goals as us.

1. Take advantage of the similarities between platforms

Ten years ago, Dropbox took advantage of the converged model on desktop systems. Through the universality of file browsers, Dropbox was able to provide the same "magic folder" experience on Macs and PCs.

We took advantage of similar similarities between iOS and Android in our recent redesign. By using common patterns on both operating systems, we created a more consistent dual-platform experience. Users can quickly use the app when switching between different phones without having to adapt to a new user interface. Teams can also reduce the confusion caused by interface differences when using different operating systems, and the familiar interface can keep users more focused.

2. Optimize icons

7 months ago, we released a new set of file icons with the goal of improving readability and focus when searching for files. We kept asking ourselves questions like: "What kind of icons are easier to recognize? How to distinguish between types of icons? How can we optimize icons so that users can quickly recognize them?"

After considering these issues, we updated all icons in the app to reduce complexity and increase readability. By optimizing small details like this, users can improve their focus while working, thereby improving efficiency.

3. External core entry

Switching pages on mobile is more troublesome than on desktop, because you can't open multiple windows like on desktop, and each view on mobile requires a whole screen to carry. Therefore, when it comes to jumping between multiple interfaces and wanting to find the function you want, jumping layer by layer seems like a very redundant operation. If you want to get the work done quickly, such operations will make users feel frustrated.

That’s why we made the comment input box visible (before, you had to click the chat bubble icon to comment). By sorting out the functional priorities on the interface, extracting the most commonly used functions and putting them in the front, we can reduce the time required for team collaboration.

4. Simplify the operation interface

Not long ago, we launched a new homepage in our app, with the goal of helping users focus on their work by displaying content snippets in a timely manner. However, we had a problem with information display. By putting all the different information contents together in the interface, we inadvertently increased the time it takes for users to make decisions (see "Hick's Law" for details). And because they are arranged vertically in one interface, the most commonly used functions or recently operated files may not be seen on the first screen.

Our latest version has optimized this problem. The default opening is a complete recent work file, and other functions can also be quickly viewed through tabs. Now, users can focus on the most valuable reading experience from the moment they open the app.

5. Highlight the most important operations

When you want to share a folder with a collaborator, you shouldn't have to find an icon, understand what it means, and then figure out how to do it. That's why we designed a prominent button at the top of the folder and changed the icon to text. It's just a simple change that can save you time thinking and work more efficiently.

(Translator's note: The core function of the page should be strengthened. For Dropbox, the main operation for users when entering this page is sharing, so this improvement will be made.)

6. Always provide feedback on changes

As the place where users keep their most important files, Dropbox is able to keep track of changes to these files. Today, we are using this ability of Dropbox to clearly display it to users with a new file activity list interface.

This means that you no longer need to ask your teammates if they have updated the file. With this feature, you can understand all the updated data of a certain file without having to communicate or email, and there is no need to interrupt the work of your teammates.

Summarize

We all know how frustrating it is when we’re working on our phones and the small screen feels like a hindrance rather than a productivity tool.

This is why efficient work is what mobile office applications have always pursued. Because only when users can quickly find the focus in the application can they feel like they have superpowers in their busy work.

We hope that the cases shared here can inspire others to explore more efficient methods and enable users to improve their work efficiency.