Tuesday, May 17, 2016

UI Design in Crowded Applications

Mousewait.

It's an unofficial Disneyland application which seeks to simplify navigating the park with a single do-it-all style application. Its got wait times and scheduling and bathroom locations and, heck, even quizzes to kill time while you're waiting in line for the bathroom break that you scheduled at 3:30.

It's also, really, really cluttered, and overflowing with information.



Look at all dem buttons. Yes this is on iOS, but on Android the situation really isn't any better.

Admittedly, MouseWait sees this kind of interface as convenient, a one-handed mode of operation. While certainly debatable, there is no argument about it that MouseWait presents a lot of information. This information is, in my opinion, poorly organized into these radio button categories in this television remote like interface.

If one were to try and clean up the interface without changing much of the actual design patterns around it, I would do so first by replacing these buttons with Card like views. The cards could be re-arranged so that the things I view more important can go on top for easy access. Similarly, the things I view as not important at all can be dismissed into an archive of sorts so that they do not clutter up the main view.

If one were to go even deeper, reorganizing the application into a tabbed view-pager like interface can also provide some benefits. Think about the Google Play store, and the massive amount of information that it presents. It separates this information into distinct categories, which it then presents individually per tab. MouseWait could do with a system of categorization around common themes of its interface.

For example, the tabs for Disneyland and California Adventure wait times could be condensed into one view page centered around Wait Times that is split into two halves. Each half can then be dedicated to either Disneyland or California wait times.

Similarly, the Find Food and Find Restrooms and Find Events nearby you buttons could all be condensed into a Nearby page with some kind of similar structure.

Settings would be moved into its own category in a menu button, as the Settings control how the application itself works and does not necessarily affect the park experience.

Yes this would ultimately amount to more clicks, more swipes, and more taps, but it allows the user to break down each section of MouseWait's presented information into concise groupings. Users interested in wait times will go to the Wait Time tab and then work entirely in there until they are done focusing on wait times. Users seeking nearby refreshment can go to the nearby tab and work from there. It is very important for applications which present a large amount of information to break it down into small, easily processed pieces so that a user will not become more confused by trying to use the application.

To keep the theme of a "do-it-all" kind of application, the default tab that the application opens to can serve as a dashboard like interface, where the user's favorites and most commonly visited actions can be presented on the page. This will allow the users who want this fine grained customization to place wait times on the dashboard next to their nearby food locations, and can make the app feel more personalized and therefore create more of an emotional attachment for the user.

Now I am not the developer behind the MouseWait application nor do I know what his or her goals for the application may be. Admittedly I am not a very regular user of the application either, but perhaps if I found the interface less confusing I would be open to using it more.


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