Tumblr filter feature allows users to customize the newsfeed content based on user preferences. Users can navigate through their newsfeed more easily with specified groups, types, and timeframes.
This is a UX case study of and the App I choose is Tumblr.
Nowadays most youngsters love to share their stories, interests, and hobbies with the world whether it is through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, or others. Yet, each platform has its unique characteristics. Unlike Twitter or Facebook, Tumblr provides a semi-public platform with no words limit for people who have common interests to share their arts, fictions, thoughts, and many other interesting things.
If Tumblr could help users better navigate through their feeds and My page, users would have better chance to interact with each other.
Through 7 user interviews and 31 survey responses, here are some key insights I learned:
As for market research, I investigated how Twitter and Instagram (it’s more similar to Tumblr than Facebook!) displayed information as well as Tumblr’s search section.
Twitter & Instagram
The biggest difference between Tumblr and those two platforms is that Tumblr allows users to do more without limitations.
Tumblr Search
Tumblr Search feature allows users to specify what they want to see.
When I look for a specific post from my favorite artist, I want to go directly to the date and content so I can save some times.
But I can’t do that because:
The new feature should allow users to filter their new feeds by time and post types, and allow customizations of creating groups from their follows.
After going through user research and a brainstorm session with two other people, I finalized my idea for the new feature.
The main function of the filter feature is to give users control over the contents they see on their dashboards. Users will also be able to add their following Tumblrs to a customized group when visiting their homepages.
While exploring different means of filter, different ways of information architecture and layout, I always kept in mind that I needed to be consistent with the existing design style of Tumblr and what the main purpose of the feature was.
Below are some of my explorations.
Version 1
Version 3
Version 4
Version 5
The final design was created based on the feedbacks from all previous versions.
This individual case study helped me to understand how to design for a product, especially designing a new feature for an existing product. Unlike designing a brand new app, I needed to understand the existing users’ habits and the app’s design style, and on top of that, design a new feature to enhance the experience with the app. It also helped me to think about the intentions behind the current design as well as how it might relate to the business goals. With this kind of experience, I learned that designing a new feature is not only about how it fits into the overall design, but also about how it can makes a product better.