Once upon a time, Yahoo was the major email provider, but things took turn when Gmail was created in 2004. I've been a dedicated customer of Yahoo Mail for 11 years. But in recent years, after deciding to pursue a profession in UX design, I've come to the realization that I've been doing life the hard way, hehe. Ask me why.
So fast forward to my incredible five-year design career. Yahoo Mail has been a crucial tool in my daily tasks. especially while I'm looking for a job, lol. However, I came to the realization that I frequently make the same mistakes. I then questioned what. ( Why, Yahoo!). My preferred email service provider doesn't care about me, I then learned.
They failed to consider that I am one of their most loyal customers and that the mobile app I use the most isn't as easily accessible as they believe.
As a designer actively looking for opportunities and offers, I usually want to send an email as quickly as possible since I think hiring managers pay attention to early submissions, but I frequently forget where to compose the message in. Sad, huh?
I now moved on to see if I was the one having the issue. With a new user (who presumably doesn't have a Yahoo Mail account, hehe), I tried the Yahoo Mail mobile app. I observed and discovered that he was having the same problem as myself. I then realized that action was required (Hero designer to the rescue)
After doing a participant observation, I documented the steps and activities taken, the errors committed, and the enjoyment of the experience. I'd be presenting you with illustrations illustrating some of the notices while taking into account the majority of the activities.
Inbox Page (Home) of Yahoo Mobile App
More Section Pop-Up
An active button that displays other sections is the Yahoo! logo in the top left corner. It is not accurate to represent an interactive button with a logo alone; in my participant observation, it took the user some amount of aggravation to grasp that it was an interactive menu rather than simply a logo.
Series of Unexplained Icons
The Y+ Icon represents Yahoo Premium. The Icon is an invitation to upgrade to a premium edition of Yahoo Mail.
<aside> 🚩 The problem with the icon is that most people are unfamiliar with it, which causes confusion in the user's head.
</aside>
The Pencil Icon depicts Compose a Message.
<aside> 🚩 The problem with the icon is that it is in the wrong place; it took my participant more than a minute to locate and interpret the icon. The improper positioning of the icon gives the icon a new definition.
</aside>
The Search Icon.
<aside> 🚩 The icon's problem is that it's difficult to find; as a user, I frequently had problem locating it when I needed to look through my messages (mind you I am a 11-year customer)
</aside>
The Sender’s Avatar. It has confusing qualities; scanning the avatar takes some time before you understand it. Adopting the standard first letter of the sender's name has been created to look like a Captcha.
Time of Mail Entry. Duration, rather than Time, is displayed in the current illustration. Duration is used when an event has a temporal limit. It has little informational power.
As a user, I want to know what time and date the email was sent, not how many hours ago.
The Ad Section. Scroll Experience is greatly distracted by the ad section. As a basic Yahoo Mail customer, you should be able to utilize your basic plan smoothly, which may entice you to upgrade to a premium account. However, the size and placement of the ad area disrupts a basic experience that a user should have, given their status.