A lot has happened since the previous Pixel Shift post. Most notably, Google announced an all new design guideline called Material Design. Since the announcement, I've spent an insane amount of time pouring over all the new documentation to learn about every new, little detail as possible.
With that new knowledge in hand, I felt it was time to put it to use. So, I present to you, Twitter, redesigned with Material Design!
The current Twitter app seems to be universally disliked. It's poorly designed and clunky to use. If Twitter wants to limit 3rd-party apps, the official app needs to be at least as pleasant to use as other the clients.
The Twitter app is a perfect candidate for an overhaul with Material Design. Twitter is all about the Timeline, so that's what I worked on first. I focused on stripping the design back to the basics and creating a simple, clean look that's easy to read and understand.
Side nav isn't right for every application. In the case of Twitter, however, I think it makes a lot of sense. Twitter has quite a few options. Their current solution is to crowd the top of the application with icons and tabs. It's messy and confusing to navigate. Side nav addresses those issues, making it simple and easy to use. (Notice a theme, here?)
Rather than load up the Timeline with all the icons for retweets and favorites, how about we only present those to the user when they're actually interested in them? All the actions a user expects can be here, on the expanded tweet view.
The profile view can also be simplified. Using Android's new design features, the Header Photo can be given greater emphasis, with clear stats, and an obvious way to follow/edit each profile right below.
A Twitter redesign wouldn't be complete without a tablet layout. For some reason, to this day, Twitter has not properly supported tablets. It shouldn't be difficult, especially for a company of their size.
Following the phone layout, I focused on simplicity for the tablet layout. With the larger size, the side nav can be docked to the edge, making it easy to quickly change views.
Next, individual tweets can expand in-line to present the relevant actions, while also keeping the user on the timeline .
Finally, a two column layout can be utilized to take full advantage of the larger size and present more details about specific account profiles. So, that's Twitter redone using Material Design! As always, I appreciate any and all feedback. Feel free to comment on this post, or hit me up on the usual social networks (including Twitter!) with the buttons down below. Finally, if there's another app you'd like to see given the Pixel Shift treatment, let me know! I keep a list of all the suggestions.
Until next Shift, Internet!