Foursquare’s Crowded UI
Everyone knows the iPhone’s screen has limited real estate. So the information you choose to present in this space is very important. With foursquare’s recent 3.0 update they’ve added some cool, new features. But they’ve also added some noise to the signal and it’s getting difficult to play the game as it was originally envisioned.
Let me first say that both Gowalla and foursquare have some massively talented designers on their staff. This is just a simple observation that I think could make a big difference.
First, let’s look at the current design of the Places screen.
At the top, you have the logo. Followed by the ID tag letting you know what page you’re viewing, a favorite venue (one in which you’ve checked into before), and finally you get to other, nearby venues. Except that you can’t see many of them because there is a “Specials Nearby” banner that starts to obscure the incoming venue title. This leaves only two venues visible for the user on the initial screen.
This may not seem like a big deal until you start to dissect the UI a bit. Why does foursquare put the page identifier at both the top of the page AND the bottom tab bar? This seems like redundant information. And that top banner takes up a lot of valuable real estate.
Next, we have the search bar. This too, is a valuable tool for users. But I don’t need it all the time. Only if a venue isn’t listed in the Nearby section would I begin a search. And when so few venues are listed on a single page, the percentage of people who might use the search bar goes up. It’s the chicken and the egg scenario. If you got rid of the search bar, allowing for more venue titles to be listed, fewer people might need it. Plenty of apps hide the search bar under the top banner and it’s only revealed when the the user pulls the list of items down the page.
So, what do we have if we get rid of the redundant places banner and only enable the search bar when a user requests it? Something like this…
This feels much cleaner and you can see more venues in the initial screen without scrolling. And if you don’t have a favorite venue listed it gets even better. With no favorites listed, there is no need for section IDs and you can loose the Nearby section divider.
Just pull down on the list when it’s at it’s upper most limit and you reveal the search bar.
I know some people won’t think the current design was even a problem because a user can just scroll up and see more venues very easily. But I subscribe to Jonny Ive’s design philosophy of - reduce, until there’s nothing left to take away and you’re left with only the most essential elements.
Before
After
Little touches like this could make a big difference when applied to the overall app - making it feel ‘lighter’ and giving the impression that it’s faster as well. Even if no coding enhancements have been made.
Now, go out there and See The World - I mean, Explore Your City. Just go!
