What Were They Thinking?

Every product with a UX undergoes multiple redesigns as it evolves. I have encountered these primary reasons for a redesign: rebranding, introducing new features, or leveraging new technology. With all redesigns, the focus should be on facilitating user actions. Keep users focused and make it easy for them to accomplish what you want them to do.  

Facebook is rolling out a redesign for its web UX, and I am perplexed by their design choices.  I captured the screenshot above from my home screen.  What actions are they promoting with this design?  The first post in my feed is nearly below the fold, and the excessive whitespace is confusing.

​I like how Alex Bigman describes visual hierarchy patterns in his article "6 principles of visual hierarchy for designers".

​Visual hierarchy is the arrangement of graphic elements in a design in order of importance of each element. The visual weight defines the importance of an element in a design's hierarchy, communicating to a viewer's eyes what to focus on and in what order.

The visual hierarchy should facilitate one of two goals:

1. Optimizing the tasks your users want to complete
2. Optimizing the tasks you want your users to complete

Going back to the screenshot, what is Facebook trying to get me to do on this page? If I apply information hierarchy, it appears they want me to create a story, create a post, or interact with a room. I do not use stories or rooms, so the features taking up the majority of real estate on my screen create friction for me. I primarily use Facebook to consume content posted by others. This UX deprioritizes my primary goal.  

I do not have Facebook usage metrics, so I do not know if browsing content is a low priority action, but this change seems counter-intuitive. I have to assume that the purpose of this redesign was goal #2 above. Facebook wants me to adopt stories and rooms.  

What if I don't want to adopt these features?

Creating a user experience that prioritizes your goals over your users' goals can effectively drive change. Give your users what they need, not just what they want. The crux is to understand when you need to back off and refocus on your users' goals. Facebook is somewhat unique in that there is little competition, so users are not necessarily going to stop using their platform in favor of another product. Yes, there is Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., but the sunk cost for participating in a social media platform is so high that switching is not easy. Many products do not have this luxury.  

If you redesign to force a change in user behavior, do it deliberately.

1. Define and monitor metrics to measure both success and potential adverse effects
2. Understand there will be a tradeoff; you may have to sacrifice one goal for another
3. Define when adverse outcomes outweigh positive outcomes and have a plan to make adjustments 
4. Implement a communication plan to help your users understand and adopt the new behavior 

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Listen to the user feedback and be honest with the results. It is OK to admit something was a major failure. Make it right, learn from it, and laugh about it with your users. Evolution happens through experimentation. Do not be afraid to try, but do it intentionally. ​