Yeah, redesign! Yeah!
Welcome to the newly improved dashboard. Some changes here will be obvious while others are but a single note in a large orchestra. We’ve dug in deep to examine and improve all aspects of the user experience and while we still have a healthy list of improvements and features we want to roll out, we now have a solid base to build upon — and most importantly, a structure to make web and mobile experiences identical.
“How?” you say? CARD UI!
Much has been said about card UI (here, here, here, here and here to start with) but the reason everyone is talking about it is because it answers a problem we (designers) all have with the ever changing nature of web browsing. Cards allow you to unify your product with a design that transcends any singular viewing format. They can easily be restructured to display information beautifully no matter what device you’re using. The dashboard was only phase 1 of this overhaul (I’m looking at you iPhone and android apps!).
My personal theory on the benefits of using a card based UI is that these smaller, self-contained morsels of information are easier to take in than an infinitely growing email-like list. They clear up clutter visually and mentally. When I open my email and see a wall of text demanding my attention, it just feels like work and that’s the opposite of what someone has come here to do.
Some unsung heroes that deserve a shoutout in our new UI: the new color palette and redesigned icons (now with consistent line weights!) that make up a simple color coding system to match the type of task you’ve placed (coral: Call, turquoise: Schedule, blue: New Request, gray: Research, green: Purchase… of course). We’ve (well, I really) pined over spacing and the relationships of elements to help bring the focus of your attention where it needs to be giving more weight to important items and less to secondary items. Simplicity and straightforward-ness were my top priorities for this redesign.
Speaking of straightforward-ness — a seemingly small but important tweak to our new navigation is making a more visible, general purpose “New Request” button that stands out front and center. We’ve kept the 4 other quick links to the request categories since these have proved to be successful in speeding up response times and assistant replies, but sometimes you just want to get something down and our of your brain without having to tackle the new problem of mulling over where to file your request. After all we’re aiming to simplify your life.
Finally, lets talk about sorting. Although the ability to sort out archived and recurring tasks isn’t brand new, we’ve improved visibility ofthese features and given them a more prominent home. For those who haven’t seen it, the “archive” function will allow you to tuck away old requests to keep your focus on newer requests. You can do this by either swiping right on a request or by clicking the floating archive button inside a request. We’ve also pulled your recurring list out of the menu drawer and into this tab structure.
And thus concludes my brief design overview of dashboard changes. Enjoy them and be on the lookout for more to come!
Good day.
