Role
UX/UI Designer
Timeline
September 2024
Team
Andres Brandt
Chloe Arteaga
Tools
Figma, Figjam
Design an email application that simplifies managing importatn communication in life, specifically tailored for individuals with ADHD
Gmail
Overview
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This project is part of the Interaction Design Practice class, where our first assignment focuses on addressing user challenges within Gmail.
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We aimed specifically to assist adults with ADHD who often feel overwhelmed by their email management tasks.
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These users frequently struggle with information overload and the inability to prioritize effectively leading to frustration and inefficiency.
01
Actionable Inbox:
Stay Organized
The "Action" feature helps users prioritize important emails. Swiping left reveals an exclamation mark—clicking it opens a date picker to set a due date and time.
This feature ensures users stay on top of time-sensitive tasks while keeping track of emails that need attention.
02
Action Page:
Your Task Management Hub
Emails marked as requiring action are moved to the Action Page for easy management. Swiping left on these emails reveals three buttons.
03
Smart Email Sorting: AI Suggestions
The AI Suggestions page automatically sorts and organizes emails based on the platform providing users with a streamlined view of their inbox. Users can easily navigate through the categorized inbox using buttons at the top allowing for quick access to specific email platforms.
04
Stay On Track: Calendar Page
The Calendar page offers a visual representation of due dates for emails, allowing users to see all deadlines at a glance. This feature helps users manage their tasks effectively by providing a clear overview of upcoming due dates.
Problem Statement
Email inboxes are overflowing with emails. People get a mix of emails ranging from objectively bad junk to critically important communication.
When our team first saw this prompt and began thinking about how to prevent the user from feeling overwhelmed, we realized the importance of clearly defining our target audience to better understand their needs. As a result, we decided to focus on people with ADHD and sought to understand the challenges they face.
Research
To gain a deeper understanding of our main audience, we conducted interviews with four individuals—two male and two female, aged 19-22—who struggle with ADHD. Through these conversations, we asked specific questions about their experiences and challenges and we were able to identify four key findings.
After interviewing individuals with ADHD, we gained insights into how they feel when faced with a cluttered email inbox. We wanted to understand more specifically why they experience such overwhelming stress and anxiety about potentially missing important emails.
"The adult becomes disappointed in his or her own behavior, becoming self-critical ... As a result, they become demoralized, feel guilty, or get angry when they do not complete tasks or meet goals" (Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 2023, p. 413).
Key Findings & Insights
How about helping users set due dates for emails, similar to a to-do list, so they don’t miss important tasks?
Ideation
Our key design principles were prioritization and organization. By sorting emails based on due dates, we aimed to help individuals with ADHD track actionable emails more effectively. To further support this goal, we incorporated a simple swipe-left gesture that reveals icons making it easier and more intuitive for users to interact with the feature. This gesture will be implemented across both the inbox and action pages for a consistent streamlined experience.
These are the icons we selected to represent our feature. Important emails are marked with a star, which is an existing feature in Gmail. For our new feature, Action, we created a unique icon to represent emails requiring follow-up or immediate action. For the AI Feature and Calendar pages, we aimed to find icons that clearly convey their respective functions.
Reflection
We received feedback from Shankar, who is currently working at Gmail and provided us with a prompt to work on. We were ranked as number one!
He gave us positive feedback on our date picker feature and how we're using AI to solve problems. However, he also raised a question about what we plan to do with the existing feature that archives emails when swiping to the left.
After reading his feedback, I plan to discuss the issue with my team and explore potential improvements or alternatives for the archive feature ensuring it aligns with the other functionalities we've implemented.
05
Hello, Email!
Daily Notifications Just for You
The app sends users notifications every morning to remind them of emails that require attention. Each night users receive an update on their progress: if all emails have been completed, they are congratulated with a "Great job!" message. Additionally, the notification serves as a reminder for any emails due the following day helping users stay organized and on top of their tasks.
