A new mobile OS paradigm.

This passion project was an exploration of a more efficient mobile OS paradigm. By 2012, various mobile user interfaces had come and gone and the industry had converged on the simple “app grid” layout. But I wasn’t satisfied with this user interface. I knew there had to be another paradigm, something that was more efficient at delivering content. And something that was more visually stimulating than a grid of icons. So in my free time, over the course of a few months, I researched and designed what this new paradigm might look like. And once I was satisfied with my work, I packaged and sold it to others as an iPhone theme called MyFeed.

Why do users open apps?

Developing any new paradigm starts with research. Since I wanted to redesign how a mobile OS might deliver content, I started by researching how users actually consume their content. First I discovered that there are two basic categories of apps: tool-delivering and content-delivering apps. Tool-delivering apps are those where the user must open the app to perform a task, such as making a phone call, using the calculator, or taking a picture. Meanwhile content-delivering apps are those where the user launches the app and passively consumes its content, such as reading a Twitter feed or viewing a weather forecast. My research suggested that, in many cases, it wasn’t actually necessary for a user to open content-delivering apps. Most of the immediately relevant content could instead be delivered through notifications, RSS feeds, and widgets. And this method of delivery would actually be quicker and easier to consume than opening the app and navigating to the relevant information. With this insight, I started designing a UX that more efficiently put content at the user’s fingertips.

Super efficient content delivery.

The underlying premise of the UX design was an information hierarchy. With the focus on content delivery, it was crucial to determine what content users should be presented with instantly, what content users should be presented with quickly, and what content users should open an app to consume. I converged on a system design that took cues from the lockscreen. Each app was represented as a “band of information”. The band had the app name as well as any new notification information and could be expanded to reveal more detailed information or related apps. In many cases the user would never have to launch an app because they had enough relevant content right in the expanded bands. And in every use case the user was able to consume their content quicker than with a standard app grip.

Typography driven.

The UI design was to be in stark contrast to the standard app grid. Instead of skeuomorphic icons and bland backgrounds, I wanted to create something that was clean and minimal. Something that was more artistically cohesive yet somehow more efficient at the same time. I achieved this by using clean typography, minimalist glyphs, and subtle transparencies. This combination allowed the wallpaper to shine through while still maintaining focus on the important information and content. It was also much more future-proof than the icon grids of the time thanks to its focus on typography. While the skeuomorphic icons of iOS 5 look dated through today’s design lens, the heavy focus on Futura typography in my design has aged a bit more gracefully–though, admittedly, it still looks dated.

A more fluid experience.

Careful consideration went into the interaction design of the product. The animations were designed to feel snappy and responsive but not uncomfortably fast. And all motion and rotation was designed to add to an overall fluid experience instead of being unnecessarily flashy. As for the widgets and RSS feeds, special care was taken to ensure that they were easy to scroll through and quick to load. Interacting with the widgets was a central part of the overall product experience so they had to feel as responsive as their native apps. Altogether the interaction design elements improved the product cohesion and made it pleasant to use.

A one of a kind experience.

I released MyFeed for the iPhone 4s in May 2012. The unique UX and clean UI received very positive reviews from consumers with some calling it the best iPhone theme available at the time. Though it’s a bit dated now, it’s still one of my favorite mobile UX explorations from college.