Case study: Redesigning India’s first microblogging platform
In this article I will explain the process and the decisions I made to redesign India’s very own social media: Koo
Hi! 🙋🏻♂️
Welcome to my very first UX Case Study. This case study is based on an Indian microblogging platform — Koo. Right off the bat, I am not affiliated with Koo in any capacity, and the views for this case study are strictly my own. This case study was done to enhance my learning experience and challenge myself to redesign it to serve a specific purpose. I hope you like it!
What is Koo? 🤔
“Koo is a Personal Updates and Opinion sharing micro-blogging platform. It empowers people to express their thoughts in Indian languages with a strong knit local Indian community.”
Well you can say Koo is like a ‘desi’ Twitter.
Wait wait wait… if Koo is just like Twitter then why should I even bother to use Koo?
That’s a very good question. Stay till the end and let’s see if I can convince you to use Koo! 😃
Addressing the Elephant in the Room 🐘
Why does Koo exist?
I had to do some research to answer this question.
1. Primary Research
I met with some of my friends and relatives and asked them about how they felt about social media and what their reactions were to the frequent news of user data getting misused. Some of the specific questions asked were:
i. Are you concerned about your data online?
ii. Are you aware of the new IT Rules issued by the Indian Government in 2021?
iii. Do you wish to have a social media account that complies with the new IT Rules so that you no longer have to worry about data compromises?
For those not aware of the new IT Rules 2021, it is a set of guidelines meant to empower social media and digital media users along with creating a secure social network in the country. The new social media rules provide a means of addressing grievances of content that can be harmful to the nation’s security as well as the modesty or privacy of a person.
Summary of the response received:
I surveyed nearly 20 people and all of them are concerned about their data online and are constantly worried about the social media giants leaking their personal data or using it to target ads without their permission. The majority of the respondents are willing to shift to a safer social media platform but can’t as there is currently no platform that provides complete security to the users’ data.
2. Secondary Research
Next, I searched the web for existing surveys to confirm whether the findings from my primary research falls in line with the majority of social media users all over the world. What I found was quite shocking..
84% of respondents indicated that they care about privacy and they want more control over how their data is being used. Of this group, 80% also said they are willing to act to protect it. ~Cisco Consumer Privacy Survey 2019.
80% of social media users are concerned about advertisers and businesses accessing the data they share on social media platforms.~VPNgeeks.
46% of customers feel they’ve lost control over their own data. ~ Salesforce research.
77% of respondents say they have heard or read at least a bit about how companies and other organizations use personal data to offer targeted advertisements or special deals or to assess how risky people might be as customers. ~Business news daily.
72% of customers who would stop buying from a company, or using their service due to privacy concerns. ~Salesforce research.
Amazon was the most-trusted technology company at 30%, followed by Google(27%), Apple(22%), Microsoft (22%) and Facebook(19%). The least trusted were Uber(5%), Snapchat(6%) and Twitter (8%). ~Marketing Dive
“If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product”
This is exactly where Koo comes in. Koo is a social media platform built by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka with the primary objective of providing a secure and transparent experience to the users. Koo also won the government of India’s Atmanirbhar App Innovation Challenge in August 2020 and also abides by the new IT Rules.
You can also check this article by NDTV to know further about Koo’s importance and also about Twitter’s disputes with the Indian Government.
I hope this proves why people should switch to Koo as their primary social media platform.
With that being cleared, let’s move on to the part for which you all came for..
Why the Redesign? ❓
Koo's core idea of providing absolute privacy to its users seemed promising to me and quite frankly unique amongst the competition. However, although Koo is a step-ahead with better privacy features, it lagged way behind the world class UI and UX of some of its competitors namely: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
I faced a lot of trouble navigating through the app and finding relevant stuff. The screens were cluttered with so many options that I often found myself overwhelmed and not being able to complete any task. The design also felt outdated with poor organization, layout and, most importantly, inconsistency.
After this unsatisfying journey through the app, I set out to reimage Koo and try to improve its experience.
Goals and Motivation for the Redesign 🎯
Goals for the Redesign:
- Solve existing problems and provide a seamless and intuitive user experience.
- Propose the idea of Koo being more than just a micro-blogging platform.
Personal Goals:
- Take full ownership of the various roles involved in designing a product such as User Researcher, User Experience Designer, UI Designer.
- Create a compelling case study.
App Analysis 🧐
Before moving on to asking people for their feedback on Koo, I decided to do an in-depth analysis of what the majority of the users all over India were saying about Koo. To find that, I took a look at the user reviews on the Play Store and the App Store.
Discovering the Problem
The main motive of this phase was to find out how many people know that Koo exists, their point of view on the app and their frustrations and struggles regarding Koo, if any. This would give me a clear knowledge of what the users think of Koo and will also help me to define the problems which need to be addressed in my redesign.
Quantitative Research
I decided to conduct a survey via Google Forms. Over 20 people from various age groups ranging from 18 to 65 took part in this survey.
Summary of the response received:
All of the respondents were on at least one social media platform irrespective of their age and the average time they spend on social media on a daily basis has been found to be around 2 hours. Facebook takes first place as its favorite social media platform, followed by Instagram and then Twitter.
All of the respondents are concerned about the security of their private data on social media and are willing to shift to a safer platform where they don’t have to worry about their data getting misused.
Strangely, only 20% of them have heard of Koo.
The response from this survey was sufficient to understand the user’s preferences regarding the existing social media platforms but as none of the respondents have used Koo, it was not possible for them to give any feedback on the app.
As user feedback is necessary for the redesign, I asked 8 of the previous respondents to download the Koo app and use it for a week as their primary social media. I would then ask for their feedback on the completion of 7 days. The participants were between 18–45 years old.
Qualitative Research
After completion of one week I approached the participants individually and asked them how their experience was with Koo and whether they faced any difficulty while using the app.
Summary of the response received:
Koo is not impossible to understand but it is surely difficult. No necessary walkthrough of new features was given in Koo and the users used the app mainly based on their prior knowledge of Twitter, as Koo and Twitter are both essentially microblogging platforms. Some of the users found the interface outdated and unintuitive while some got confused by the vast number of options and features that Koo straight up provides on the front page. The app also lagged and sometimes even hung while performing a task. None of the respondents were confident they could replace their current social media platform with Koo.
However, people appreciated that Koo allows to use their app in a vast number of Indian languages such as Tamil, Telegu, Bengali and many more. Support for the remaining languages is coming soon as well. Users also realized that as with most of the ministers/ government departments, imminent personalities like journalists and film stars were already on Koo, so the information which will be posted by those accounts will be genuine and verified.
This feedback proved to be really valuable as it helped me to clearly understand the existing problems in the app and also gave me a fair idea of what changes should be made to achieve a seamless experience.
A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the research process and provided me with valuable feedback. This case study probably wouldn’t have been possible without you amazing people! 💛
Competitive Analysis
“If you know yourself and not the opposition, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.”
If you’re expecting to see something like this..
well, then I am sorry to disappoint you. 😅
I made the decision not to include something like this as I could not see how my redesign would benefit from it. Most of the features were already common between Koo and it’s competitors and some which weren’t like ‘Facebook Marketplace’ or ‘Instagram Stories’, I really don’t think Koo could benefit from having any of those.
“You can’t look at the competition and say you’re going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you’re going to do it differently.”
Instead I took this opportunity to analyze the popularity of different social media platforms in different age groups. Why? Follow along and let me explain.
Yes, it’s a huge win for Koo to gain 10 million users in just 16 months. But the above numbers clearly state that Indians find quick photo & video sharing platforms more interesting than microblogging.
Koo might even achieve its goal of 100 million users in a few months, but my concern is for how long Koo can keep those users who are essentially more intrigued towards non-microblogging platforms? This is why I believe Koo should evolve into something more which will have a consistent popularity amongst different age groups.
Defining the Problem
Pain Points Common to The Users:
1- Lack of options to register/sign in
People are hesitant to open a Koo account with their phone number. They want an alternative method like the option to create an account with an email. Although this very feature is present, it only works for some of the users as most did not get the verification OTP in the mail even after waiting for a long time.
2- Confusing and cluttered UI
Most of the users complained that the UI made the app very difficult to use. The icons are not consistent across the app which leads to confusion as there are different icons on different screens for the same feature.
3- Notifications
Users expressed that endless pop-ups asking them to rate the app and notifications from random photos are annoying. Some users also stated that they did not get any notification for incoming messages.
4- Incomplete app
Many users clearly understand that the app is still under development. Tasks like liking a post, editing profile, sending messages etc. would not work properly.
What do the Users Need?
1. Seamless Experience
The users demanded a simple and intuitive user interface so that they don’t have to keep on thinking and guessing before taking any decision.
2. Easy to access information
Finding the right information easily at the right time is a feature desired by everyone. Users want to get updated on the latest news and stories on-the-go without having to dig deep into the app.
3. Better Accessibility
Difficult to read font sizes, unorganized layouts, unconventional color schemes, icons without labels made the users scratch their head every time they use the app. So, improving accessibility is a fix which is happily welcomed by all.
Information Architecture
After many attempts I finally finalized the information architecture of the app on top of which I would start redesigning.
Phew! That is a lot of research. Coffee anyone? ☕
Let’s Talk (re)Design 🎨
1️⃣Color and Type System
Both the old primary and secondary colors were replaced by their darker shades. This was done to achieve a better contrast between the background and the text.
For the typeface, Roboto was replaced by Poppins, which delivered a formal as well as a fun and modern look.
2️⃣Logo
I must admit that I might have to brush up on my illustration skills. 😆
3️⃣Onboarding
4️⃣Feed
Highlighting Important Changes
Redesigned Navbar: The navigation bar has been redesigned with a new set of icons which are consistent throughout the entire app. The Icons are now accompanied by clear labels for confident navigation without second guessing. The navbar now also docks to the bottom of the screen irrespective of wherever the user is, so that they can always find their way back ‘Home’.
Chat: After thinking for some time I realized that Chat does not really fall under the primary navigation which needs to stick with the navbar always. I took the chat option out of the navbar and gave it its own space in the top right corner of the screen.
Uniformed Padding: Created a design that minimizes padding and divisions and gives a modern looking UI. Now users can enjoy their full-width media which they have been asking for.
Removing Horizontal Ribbon: This was the most challenging task as the ribbon helped in categorizing posts under different topics and removing it would mean leaving out an important feature. That is why I came up with an easier way of exploring different categories. It is called the Feed Switcher.
Feed Switcher: The feed switcher replaces the ribbon. Now users can switch between the 4 main categories — 1. Home, 2. News, 3. Sports and 4. Entertainment. Users can access the feed switcher by either long pressing the first icon on the navbar and then selecting their desired category from the pop-up or they can also simply give a swipe up/down on the feed icon to switch between feeds.
5️⃣Creating Koo
Highlighting Important Changes
Categorization of posts: Users can now post under a specific category: news, sports or entertainment. This has been implemented to fully utilize the feed switcher fully. Categorized posts can be found under their respective feeds.
Removing the option to post in different languages: This is a very unique feature that Koo provides but the implementation could have been better. For example, if a user wants to write in 3 different languages, then he/she has to rewrite the same post in 3 different languages. This is a very tiring process and breaks the seamlessness of the app. I believe there is a simple solution to this. The user can write their posts in their selected language, let’s say: Tamil and when someone views the same post and if the viewer’s selected language is Bengali, then the post automatically gets translated into Bengali.
6️⃣ Trending & Search
Highlighting Important Changes
Combining Trending & Search: The trending and search page have been combined together under the Search section. Users can now easily access trending topics, hashtags and accounts from the Trending page.
Adding Connections from Phonebook: Now the users don’t have to manually search for their close ones on Koo. They can now easily add those contacts from their phonebook by clicking on the book icon.
7️⃣ User Profile
Highlighting Important Changes
Organized Profile Header: The layout has been redesigned to fit additional information like Follower count, Number of posts made, etc.
Reducing Divisions: The 4 sub divisions namely Posts made, Liked posts, Comments made and Mentions have been reduced to only 2 divisions: Posts and Media for a better experience.
Navigation Bar: The navigation bar has been added to the bottom as usual.
Menu: The Settings menu has been replaced by a More menu. This has been done to display more important options like Permissions, Saved posts, Dark Mode Toggle etc. at a glance.
8️⃣Chat
9️⃣Settings
There isn’t much to go in-depth about the settings page. The options have been logically categorized under different sections for easy finding.
I would however like to introduce a new feature here: Permissions Manager.
Permissions Manager: No more questions like “What permissions have I granted for this app?” or “Is it safe to give apps access to camera/microphone?”. With Permissions manager users can now check which permissions are granted to Koo, directly from the app itself. Users can also toggle permissions on/off whichever they feel is right for them at the moment. Koo respects users’ privacy ! 🙌🏻
🔟Dark Mode
Just like Light Mode, the Dark Mode has also been carefully redesigned with the same amount of dedication and ❤.
Prototype 🚀
“All theory and no prototype makes a case study boring.”
Yes, I quoted myself there. 😂
Go and check-out the prototype now! Click Here.
That’s a wrap 👋🏻
From being nervous to even starting and then ending up with this looong medium article, this was surely a roller-coaster ride for me! Over these 14 weeks I have learned a lot that UX design ain’t easy as it seems. Sometimes I would just sit for hours completely drained out of ideas and yet still break my head figuring out the next iteration of the design. I also realized something which helped me grow as a person. You see, during this project I would frequently go on a 2min-turned-2hrs long breaks which clearly delayed the project, until one fine day I got a wake up call that procrastination wouldn't take me anywhere and that is when everything changed.
Yes, there were many hurdles along the way but I still had a lot of fun doing this project. I hope you enjoyed reading it too! 😃
Thank you for staying till the end! It means a lot to me.💛
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If you have any feedback or want to chat with me, drop me a message at rajdeepghosh1209@gmail.com or connect on LinkedIn.
