This is the first blog post I am writing for my studies at UX Academy. In this exploration, I am going to compare five messaging apps that I have been using on a daily basis and what effects they have on my communication experience, virtually and authentically.
We are living in an era where text messaging is among the most common ways to communicate. It’s quick, easy, cost effective and low commitment. No doubt that many people still prefer the human touch of talking on the phone or chatting in-person, I understand and respect that. However, let’s face the facts that most of us are texting nowadays. Below are five messaging apps that I have been using for years, and they all have pros and cons in affecting my daily communications.
Design Criteria
Since we are talking about app design, I have found Derek’s Hierarchy of App Needs more suitable than Steven Bradley’s Design Hierarchy of Needs in this evaluation. To simplify this, I have translated his graphic into a more commonly spoken language:
Functionality (Level Red) — “This app works as expected.”
Efficiency (Level Orange) — “It’s fast respond in simple steps.”
Intuitiveness (Level Yellow) — “It’s self-explanatory and makes sense.”
Customizability (Level Green) — “I can personalize the app.”
Attractiveness (Level Purple) — “It’s pleases to the eyes.”
WhatsApp Messenger is a free messaging app available on mobile phones and desktop devices with internet access. It offers simple, secure, reliable messaging and calling for more than 1 billion people in over 180 countries.
Functionality —The app works as expected. Users can share text messages, photos/GIFs, videos, voice messages, contacts, links, documents and location information in the moment. However, as a web-base application, the only way to add contact is through phone number seems a bit exclusive and inconvenient.
Efficiency & Intuitiveness — Clean and concise navigation bar works efficiently and intuitively. Advanced functions are easily discoverable.
Customizability — There is customizable option, but quite limited.
Attractiveness — The design of the app is clean and clear. However, the color scheme and the interface are a bit boring; and it lacks an emotional touch. Moreover, the UI of the app are different across various devices (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and web version). It shows inconsistency of the brand image.
Overall Design: 4/5
Known in Chinese as Weixin, is a Chinese social media application developed by Tencent. It was first released in 2011 and by 2017 it was one of the largest standalone messaging apps by monthly active users, with over 938 million active users.
Set aside all the other features that WeChat carry and let’s focus on its messaging function and design.
Functionality — The app works as expected. Users are able to connect through phone number, user ID, or simply by scanning a QR code. Messages are available to be sent in text, image, voice, and short video. Users can transfer contact informations, locations, links, and money instantly.
Efficiency & Intuitiveness — Clean and concise navigation bar works efficiently and intuitive. Advance functions are easily discoverable.
Customizability — There are plenty of customizable function. Such as customizable conversation background within each chat group, and personalize stickers(emoji).
Attractiveness — The design of the app is simple and clear, but the color options and design of the icons seem a bit outdated in app design.
Overall Design: 4.5/5
LINE
LINE is a free instant communication app that can be used on electronic devices such as smartphones, tablet computers and personal computers. Users can exchange texts, images, audio, video, and conduct free VoIP conversations and video conferences. In February 2015, it announced the 600 million users mark had been passed and 700 million were expected by the end of the year.
Functionality — The app works as expected. Users are able to connect through phone number, user ID, QR code, or using the “Shake It!” function in the app. LINE lets user share photos, videos, voice messages, contacts, and location information in the moment.
Efficiency & Intuitiveness — Clean and concise navigation bar works efficiently and intuitive. Advance functions are easily discoverable.
Customizability — The options to customize are limitless. Users can personalize conversation background within each chat group, or apply a completely different theme for the app via the “theme shop” function. In addition, there are over 10,000 stickers(emoji) available for download or purchase within the app.
Attractiveness — The interface is aesthetically pleasing. Well use of white space and font choices. The design of the icons are concise, while the overall color scheme is well balanced.
Overall Design: 5/5
Messenger
Messenger (Facebook Messenger) is an instant messaging service and software application. It is integrated with Facebook’s web-based chat feature and built on the open MQTT protocol. Messenger lets users send messages to each other, make voice calls and video calls both in one-to-one interactions and in group conversations. In April 2017, it enabled the M virtual assistant for users in the U.S., which scans chats for keywords and suggests relevant actions, such as its payments system for users mentioning money. Additionally, Facebook expanded the use of bots, incorporating group chat bots into Messenger as “Chat Extensions”, adding a “Discovery” tab for finding bots, and enabling special, branded QR codes that, when scanned, take the user to a specific bot.
After being separated from the main Facebook app, Messenger users had grown to 1 billion in July 2016, and 1.2 billion in April 2017.
Functionality — The app works as expected. Users are able to connect through Facebook account, QR code, or via phone contacts.
Efficiency & Intuitiveness — The app has a lot of built-in features. However, advanced functions are not easy to locate. “Home” screen contains too much information which can cause confusion. For example, “Active contacts” can also be found under the “People” tab. The list of people under “More Conversations” are the same list as “People with Messenger”, while they are listed twice, under two different tabs. In compare to the other apps mentioned above, the interface of Messenger is not intuitive. It needs to find a better balance between wanting to cram as many features as possible into one single cohesive product and the need to make the product as easy to use as possible.
Customizability — The customize options are limited. Snap selfies seems to be one of the few customizable functions. The interface of the app is not customizable.
Attractiveness — The design is modernist with consistent color scheme, yet lack of emotional connection. Due to the overload of information being shown on each screen, the interface seems very busy and does not have much room for the eyes to breath.
Overall Design: 2.5/5
Snapchat
Snapchat is a multimedia mobile application. It is primarily used for creating snap messages that are only available for a short time before they become inaccessible.
Functionality — The app works as it promised. Users are able to connect through username, Snapchat code, phone numbers, or using the “Nearby” function.
Efficiency & Intuitiveness — The app runs pretty smooth once I discovered all the elusive features and gestures. Due to the minimal design, not only are the advanced functions are hard to locate, but some of the basic features are also hidden. The fact that the camera opens every time you open the app can be confusing for new users.
Customizability — Photo filters and Geofilters are among the most appreciated functions in Snapchat, although the interface of the app is not customizable.
Attractiveness — Snapchat’s design is original, clean, and minimal with a consistent color scheme. Its interface is different from a lot of other apps. For instance, it doesn’t follow the standard left and right messages that most apps use. Instead of using icons or buttons, users need to swipe up and down, or left and right to discover other features. Its simple nature successfully makes it appealing to its target market: teenagers. On the other side, adults and older users may find it difficult to understand without a navigate bar.
Overall Design: 3/5
My Takeaway
I believe that all these messaging apps are designed to improve the way people communicate, encourage us to live in the moment, and freely express ourselves. I appreciate these technologies for what they enable. They give us unique ways to connect closely and effortlessly than ever before. Having said that, technology will never replace the power of people sitting around the table, sharing, listening, understanding, challenging, and encouraging one another.
Because “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
