Tinder
Problem & Objectives
Tinder's interface found itself with limited space for incorporating new features. To support Tinder's desire to scale, it was imperative to create extra space within the app's interface by strategically reconfiguring the core navigation without impacting our key metrics (e.g. swipes per session).
We began by experimenting with relocating the navigation to the bottom.
The hypothesis was that positioning the navigation closer to the user's thumb would not only facilitate easier interaction and engagement but also create additional space at the top of the screen later on. However, relocating the navigation to the bottom presents some design challenges concerning the Gamepad buttons. To implement this change, I had to first make some visual adjustments to the Gamepad.
Positioning the navigation at the bottom without making any visual adjustments was problematic because it made the screen feel very bottom heavy with far too many tappable elements right next to each other.
To help with the visual clutter problem we experimented with a vertical Gamepad design where we removed the Like & Nope buttons. We found that solely relying on users to swipe for Like & Nope significantly reduced swipes per session metrics.
I discovered that making slight UI tweaks to the Gamepad not only visually distinguishes it from the navigation but also decreases the visual weight of the buttons. This way we don't have to lose any of the buttons, therefore keeping our swiping metrics healthy.
We still had one minor problem...
While these changes have helped in reducing the visual clutter in the current state of the app, the question remains: How well would it withstand future feature additions by Tinder?
In spite of certain UI enhancements, the introduction of additional visual elements leads to an imbalance on the screen, with numerous elements competing for attention within the same area.
Final
Adjustments
With the bottom of the screen now serving as our primary navigation, we have the opportunity to employ the top section of the screen for secondary navigation. This creates ample space, allowing us to incorporate additional features in the future.
Conclusion
Repositioning specific items from the bottom to the top not only facilitates the incorporation of new features while upholding visual balance on the screen but also ensures that modifications made to the Gamepad successfully preserved our key metrics.