samsung pure breeze usability exercise

Pure Breeze

Usability Analysis ExerciseYing Xia

Overview Detailed Analysis andRedesign Proposal Redesign Walkthrough

I downloaded and used Samsung Pure Breeze Launcher Lite for a period of two days, and reflected on the usability of this launcher app.

Overall, I feel that it delivers a strong sense of easy organization and simplified task workflow, but details in the interaction and visual style could be improved. I enjoyed the kite and group features very much. These ideas are quite novel and efficient in reducing app clutter and improving the navigation between different apps and widgets.

Although at first I felt a little puzzled as to what the “kite” is, I quickly got the hang of it. I think it’s a very smart decision to limit the space of the kite to a single scrollable page instead of the traditional series of horizontally scrollable pages, because by limiting the available space, users are forced to include only the most essential and frequently-used apps and widgets here, so that when they access the kite, they can easily find their target. The slick animation is a nice touch too.

Overview


Color CodingI think differentiating groups in a way other than names is a

great idea. However, color coding may not be the best way to do it. Culturally, there is no color scheme associated with app functions like “games” or “utilities”. Therefore, users would not immediately associate the blue icon with their games group until they have intensively used this app for a long period of time. Also, multiple highly-saturated colors make the interface seem a little messy. For a launcher that strives to provide a simple, intuitive way of managing apps, I believe a better solution should be sought. In addition, the current highly-saturated color choices can be harsh on the eyes if the chosen color is a complementary or analogous color of the wallpaper image.

Detailed Analysis and Redesign Proposal

Groups

Proposal: Icons are a much more universal way of representing functions. Games could be represented by a game controller icon, and utilities by a wrench icon. This would drastically reduce recognition time when users try to navigate to a particular group.

}Widgets

Currently, it is only possible to add widgets to the kite. However, I believe that one of the best things about the Android system UI is its ability to have easy access to powerful widgets right from the home screen. Say that I use multiple social networking sites, but only Facebook most frequently. I want to have only a Facebook widget in the kite to reduce clutter, but I still want easy access to all my SNS’s. It would be great if I have a social media group that displays multiple widgets for Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, etc.

Proposal: Include the ability to add widgets to group screens.

}


PositionThe fact that the all apps tab is in the center of the bottom

navigation bar was a little unsettling for me. Because the aim of Pure Breeze is to offer an easy way to organize and access apps, ideally the user would only need to go to the all apps tab very sparingly. Therefore, it seems rather counterintuitive that the all apps tab is right in the center, which seems to suggests that this page is central to everyday use.

All Apps

Proposal: Place the tab at one end of the navigation bar.}

InteractionWhen dragging an icon to the trashcan in the all apps tab, it

uninstalls the app, but when dragging to the trashcan in a group tab, it removes the app from the group. I was quite puzzled by this inconsistency during usage. Because uninstalling is an often dangerous and undesirable action, when I wanted to remove an icon from a group, I was hesitant to try putting it in the trash can in fear of accidentally uninstalling it. Also, the trash can is large and placed very close to the bottom navigation bar, so there is a chance of accidentally dragging to the trashcan when the user actually just wanted to drag to a group.

Proposal: Place the trashcan on the top left corner and add some hover tip-boxes to inform the user of the action.

}


Visual StyleThe look and feel of the all apps page is quite standard and

a little boring. I think it’s a wonderful idea to add analogies to an app to make it more unique and cool, and I really like the kite / sky analogy used in Pure Breeze. However, the analogy is only translated to visual style in the animation of the kite, and it would be great if it is referenced elsewhere in the app as well. Adding a unique style to the otherwise bland all apps page would add a significant oomph to this app.

Proposal: Because the all apps page is essentially a very long scrollable page, it would be great to have a sky image in the background that scrolls from sky to earth as the user scrolls from top to bottom. It would be even more interesting to add floating clouds or kites in the background image that scrolls at different rates, adding a 3D effect to scrolling and improving the overall aesthetics and fun factor.

}Navigating

When scrolling through the navigation bar, tip boxes appear to inform the user of the group name the same way that it does when scrolling through the main panel, but requires an additional click if user wants to navigate to that group.

Navigation Bar

Proposal: Scrolling the navigation bar should also scroll the main panel, because in my opinion, users would only want to scroll the navigation bar if they want to navigate to a different page. So, reducing that extra click saves time and effort for users.

}


DraggingWhen dragging an icon to hover over a group on one end of

the navigation bar, the bar soon starts to scroll horizontally. I had several quite annoying experiences when the group icon scrolled away as I tried to access it. Also, each group icon occupies only a small touch area, so that sometimes it is very hard to precisely drag an app icon to the right place.

Proposal: Decrease the screen area for recognizing side-scrolling so that the navigation bar only scrolls when the user really wants it to. In addition, add a grow animation to group icons when hovered to help increase touch area.

}Empty Slots

Currently, the navigation bar displays five empty slots on either side. Because the user would never interact with the empty slots during usage, it seems puzzling to me why there are ten empty slots on the page. When users scroll through the navigation bar, it’s very easy to scroll over to the empty slots, and the navigation bar would automatically scroll back. This seems like an unnecessary interaction.

Proposal: Display only one empty slot at the end of the navigation bar, signaling that additional groups can be created. It would also make more sense, when users try to create a new group, to have the empty slot rather than the all apps icon to turn into a plus sign to drag to, because physically, users are creating a new group in the empty slot and not the all apps page.

}


Visual StyleWhen long tapping an icon, group labels appear over the group

icons. The idea is great in that it helps users distinguish between the groups, but the labels are slanted and in a small serif font, making it hard to read. In addition, the color of the label might clash with the wallpaper image, making it even harder on the eyes.

Proposal: Use the same sans-serif font that is used elsewhere in the application and a white color with dark shadow or outline to increase readability.

}


All apps tab on left side of nav bar.

Groups identified by icons instead of colors.

Only one empty slot visible.

As user scrolls down, the background image gradually changes from space to sky to ground, referencing the kite / sky analogy of the app.

Redesign Walkthrough

All Apps Page


Group Page

Change icon and group name, or add widgets and shortcuts here.

Widgets can be displayed in group page for qu ick access.


Tap and Hold an App Icon

Trashcan moved to top left in order to steer away from bottom nav bar. Tip-box appears when hovering to guide user.

Consistent white-on-black sans-serif labels to improve readability.

Empty slot changes to add button to imply that a new group can be added here.


Tap and Hold an App Icon, Continued

Icon grows when hovered over to help increase precision.

Tip-box appears when hovering to guide user.