Reimagining a traditional tool to increase efficiency and creativity

The trouble with email...

Email is something many of us have to use on a daily basis, but increasingly users - particularly younger age groups - are opting for alternative tools to have digital conversations. Many people I interviewed reported that their workplace uses tools like Slack, Teams, Trello or Basecamp on top of email, making for a confusing array of communication channels. Email isn’t going away any time soon, but there certainly seems like there is scope to reexamine the traditional client to make it better suited to today's user.

Market Research

I began by looking at some existing email clients and communication tools to identify successful features and UI patterns. I found many email interfaces to be really cluttered with icons for tools I rarely used.

Userflows and Wireframes

I began to map out an email user's journey to establish whether I could cut out or simplify any steps, and sketch out some wireframes to incorporate the ideas I was forming.

Solutions

I strived to keep the UI as clean and uncluttered as possible, stripping out any buttons for little-used options and features to make it utilitarian and unobtrusive in feel. The features I did keep are largely in a clearly delineated, customizable sidebar - an established UI formula used in popular email clients. The auto options (such as delete, schedule, or phone etc) for individual emails simply appear on hover.

Inbox views

I introduced a view function to effectively filter the inbox at the touch of a button. Users can choose to quickly view their emails not only by subfolder but by tag or favourite contact.

Tags

I was keen to not lose sight of why we still use email in the first place. Many users rely on subfolders as a digital filing system, and a calendar tool to help organise their various deadlines. On top of keeping these features prominent I introduced a Tag tool to help users identify and group their emails in a more dynamic and personal way.

Threaded chat

Interviewing various email users I found that many use Slack, Teams chat or even Whatsapp if they need to have a quick back and forth about a project they’re working on. Unlike with email, it’s very hard to miss a message, even with multiple participants, and it tends to flow more easily than the more formal email exchange.

AI-driven auto responses

Many users admitted that the day-to-day emails they write could be pretty repetitive, so having an intelligent tool for templated responses could save some precious minutes. I wanted to make it quick to set up and easy to use, so the most-used responses are prominently positioned. Inspired by Spotify’s AI driven search function, users would be able to search by subject, name or assigned tag.