Skype Redesign — UX Case Study

Keep the world talking

Background

Project Overview

Meet the team!

Timeline

Research

Skype at a glance

Surveys and Interviews

Personas

Competitive Analysis

Ideation

Affinity Mapping

  1. Adding a friend
  2. Starting a Video Call
  3. Messaging a friend
  4. Personalization

‘How Might We’ statements

  1. HMW modernize Skype’s UI to make virtual communication more convenient?
  2. HMW increase awareness of personalization features?
  3. HMW make video calling more friendly/inviting for first time users?

Sketches & Lo-Fi Prototypes:

Mid-fi Prototyping

Home Page

  • The banner runs along the entire top of the screen with the option to change it using preset gradients or for users to add their own photo

Video Calling

Messaging

Usability Testing

  1. Add a friend from the Friends Page
  2. Start a video call with friends
  3. Message your friend
  4. Personalize your home page

Positive Feedback

Areas to Improve

Hi-fi Prototyping

Transition from Mid-fi

Design System

Final Prototypes

Adding a friend

Starting a Call

Voice/Video Calling

Messaging

Personalization

Presentation Day

Feedback

  • “Evolution of fidelity from low to high showcased a thoughtful evolution of your patterns.”
  • “The design system nurtured a cohesive visual aesthetic, even as you appended new functionality onto the platform.”
  • “I really liked the app and it got me excited to use Skype again. The simplification was really good and made Skype more appealing!”
  • “I like the iterative prototyping and how you used repeated user testing and research to guide your design. I also like how well rounded the user research is and how you clearly outlined your research goals.”

Challenges

  • In reflection, we all agreed that research had played a fundamental role in this project. Skype is an app with many intricate features, and it was difficult to know where we needed to start. But through this redesign, we learned the importance of research, and how we can utilize it to roadmap the project, and create proper solutions.
  • Accessibility proved to be an issue, especially with the color scheme we opted to use. We found it difficult to create proper contrast between elements in our design while still keeping it eye-catching and modern.

Next Steps

  • With more time, we would conduct research to get a more accurate representation of Skype’s audience, and their needs. If we have a strong research foundation, it will make it easier to pinpoint what exactly needs to be changed.
  • Further flesh out some of the social features we’ve implemented and continue developing ideas that enhance social communication.
  • Develop a mobile version. From our research, users were as willing to use Skype on the go as much as on desktop. Given the growing popularity of smartphone usage, a mobile version seems most appropriate.

Thank you !

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