Printerest Redesign:

Real-Time Collab Unleashed!

Timeline

Mar - May 2024

Design Role

Product design, UX/UI, Branding, Research

Discover

As a designer, Pinterest is one of my favorite app. The collaborative aspect allows designers to share their own work, fostering a dynamic community that encourages the exchange of ideas and creative thinking.

While Pinterest has been helpful for my creative work, my usage is currently limited to seeking and sharing inspiration. I wish to redesign some features of Pinterest, aiming to enhance its functionality to better cater to the needs of designers.

Problem Statement

Pinterest allows users to collaborate on boards by inviting others as collaborators, who can add, remove, and organize Pins on shared boards. I noticed that Pinterest also provides a collage feature, enabling users to create cutouts, add text, and arrange, resize, and organize Pins—making it a great tool for planning and organizing ideas.

However, the collage feature can only be used individually. I cannot invite friends or colleagues to collaborate on editing a collage board simultaneously.

Solution:

A New Pinterest with Real-Time Collaboration feature

The redesigned Pinterest app introduces real-time collaboration features tailored for creative professionals and teams. This enhanced version allows users to seamlessly navigate to the design feature, invite collaborators, and utilize a suite of tools for effective teamwork.

Research

User Interview

To gain insights into how creative teams experience collaboration challenges and evaluate the effectiveness of the new Pinterest app's real-time collaboration features, a targeted interview plan was developed. Fifteen-minute interviews were conducted with three creative professionals from diverse backgrounds to gather perspectives on the app's usability, collaboration tools, and overall user experience.

Findings

All users expressed a strong desire for real-time collaboration to enhance workflow efficiency.
The current collaboration features on Pinterest are viewed as insufficient for dynamic teamwork.
Many users turn to external tools for better collaboration, highlighting a gap that Pinterest has the potential to address.

User Persona

Based on the research findings, two personas were created, each with distinct goals and expectations from the app.

Competitive Analysis

To identify the strengths and weaknesses of different design apps with collaboration features, an analysis was conducted on three competitors: the existing Pinterest app, Canva, and Figma.

How Would the New Pinterest App Compare?

Combining the strengths of its competitors, the new Pinterest app facilitates seamless collaboration and creative project management by integrating advanced design tools (similar to Figma), a user-friendly interface (like Canva), and real-time brainstorming features.

An effortless and engaging collaboration experience.

Users, whether designers, content creators, or professionals, often face time constraints and require efficient collaboration tools. The new Pinterest app focuses on providing easy-to-use, interactive features that enable real-time feedback, collaborative designing, and flexible project sharing, streamlining creative teamwork and boosting productivity.

Define

Hypothetical Solutions

1. Adding a Collaborative Invitation System:

Allow users to invite friends to join a design project and collaborate in real-time.
Share a link or username to enable others to view and edit the project alongside the author, ensuring seamless collaboration.

2. Integration of Saved Pins and Boards into Design

Enable the use of saved pins or entire boards in design projects.
With a single click, users can add them to the design workspace, where they can arrange and customize the content.

3. Real-Time Commenting and Editing Features

Allow users to chat and leave comments directly on design elements, sharing ideas and feedback instantly.
Enable real-time collaboration, where changes to the project are visible immediately, ensuring everyone stays on the same page.

Benefits of the New App:

Make designing easier: Incorporate your favorite pins into projects for added inspiration and creativity.
Teamwork made simple: Collaborate with friends seamlessly, making the design process more fun and efficient.
Better communication: Talk and edit designs together, keeping everyone in sync and ensuring great results.

Develope

Wireflows + Wireframes

Based on the research and proposed solutions, low-fidelity prototypes were created using Figma.

Wireflow Usability Test

Testing was conducted with three participants, focusing on three key tasks:

Navigating to the design feature
Inviting collaborators
Using design tools such as commenting, whiteboards, and drawing

Takeaways

Positive:

All testers successfully completed the tasks.
Testers reported smooth and intuitive navigation throughout the process.

Areas to Improve:

Add labels to icons and provide clearer instructions for using design tools to improve user understanding and adoption.
Introduce a "Design" section or tab within the profile that showcases all the user's design projects in a visually appealing and organized layout, allowing easy browsing and display of their work.