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http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672250/how-a-tiny-new-compose-window-could-reinvent-gmail http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672250/how-a-tiny-new-compose-w... Reasons

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672250/how-a-tiny-new-compose-window-could-reinvent-gmail http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672250/how-a-tiny-new-compose-w... Reasons for redesign: > "Google’s actively trying to make email less fussy and formal--or, in other words, to make it a little more like instant messaging." > "email is just too much work" > "Jason Cornwell, Gmail’s lead designer, explains, one of the ways to do that is simply to "give you permission to write shorter messages." Why is gmail trying to compete against iMessage or Whatsapp or fb chat? Email IS for work and should be optimized for it. Email is a useful medium because you are allowed to write long messages and permitted to respond later during the week. A friend would not read your text if it was 500 words long.

jcc80 13y ago
Also recall reading a justification that less formatting should be used in emails and that was part of the UI decision. Don't recall whether that was from Gmail team or a writer editorializing but fact is I use formatting to make my emails more clear to people. This whole new idea of having quick conversations through email feels like trying to shove a square peg in a round hole to me.
- seferphier 13y ago
  I agree that formatting is important. For users that like to use the pop out layout for compose, hiding the formatting may be needed to save space. For users that opted for a full screen layout for compose, the full formatting options should be available as a default given that space is not a limitation.
jasoncornwell 13y ago
Are you really suggesting that email should just be for work, and that we should ignore personal use cases: photo and link sharing, for example, or just writing a thoughtful message to a seldom-seen friend? Lots of Gmail users do those things, and I reject the notion that email providers should just cede that ground to proprietary communication silos. The point that I was trying to get across in that article was not that all messages should be shorter. Rather, that the form of the composition UI sets expectations for what the message itself should look like. The form of Gmail's old compose set the expectation that it was a formal medium; that writing something short might not be appropriate, and that writing an email should be like writing a memo in a word processor. That makes messages feel less immediate, less personal, and as a result raises the bar for sending shorter and/or personal messages. The goal was not to prevent users from writing long messages, but rather to provide a better balance between the two. Ultimately, though, this isn't a personal vs work issue. Facilitating short messages is arguably even more important in work settings where everybody tends to be inundated by large amounts of legitimate work-related email. There is real value in having a UI that gives users signals that it is ok to write shorter messages. At the same time, on a 1366x768 browser window I can fit more than 3 paragraphs of lorem ipsem from http://www.lipsum.com/ http://www.lipsum.com/ in the default Gmail compose window before it even starts to scroll. In full screen mode at the same resolution you can fit 5 paragraphs before it starts to scroll. The UI isn't preventing you from writing something longer if that's what you need to do.
- seferphier 13y ago
  Hi Jason. thanks for replying. I was genuinely curious as to your opinion on the gmail UI since you are more experienced than me. I don't have much issue with the spacing in compose. I have an issue with hiding the formatting and functionality of the email. I was not suggesting ignoring personal use cases. Given the popularity of Gmail, a lot of people uses email to do work for personal use. However, SMS/whatsapp/fb chat is a much more effective medium for personal use cases. Picking up the phone to reply a text feels a lot more personal and less intimidating than email. The new redesign does not make it less intimidating to use email. I agree that Gmail should "influence" users on their behaviors by changing the UI to some extent. However, you should facilitate the user's existing use cases. Most people would prefer to send an SMS for personal messages and send email for work. Forcing email to look more minimalistic like an SMS by removing formatting / forward button is not user friendly. Another example is the pop in compose button. I like to see other emails before I compose - naturally, you would think i would love the new pop in since I can see emails as I compose. However, I am used to having one tab open for composing and another for reading emails. Out of curiosity: How do you determine whether a redesign is successful or not? Are there particular metrics you pay attention to?

jcc80 13y ago

Also recall reading a justification that less formatting should be used in emails and that was part of the UI decision. Don't recall whether that was from Gmail team or a writer editorializing but fact is I use formatting to make my emails more clear to people. This whole new idea of having quick conversations through email feels like trying to shove a square peg in a round hole to me.

seferphier 13y ago
I agree that formatting is important. For users that like to use the pop out layout for compose, hiding the formatting may be needed to save space. For users that opted for a full screen layout for compose, the full formatting options should be available as a default given that space is not a limitation.

jasoncornwell 13y ago

Are you really suggesting that email should just be for work, and that we should ignore personal use cases: photo and link sharing, for example, or just writing a thoughtful message to a seldom-seen friend? Lots of Gmail users do those things, and I reject the notion that email providers should just cede that ground to proprietary communication silos. The point that I was trying to get across in that article was not that all messages should be shorter. Rather, that the form of the composition UI sets expectations for what the message itself should look like. The form of Gmail's old compose set the expectation that it was a formal medium; that writing something short might not be appropriate, and that writing an email should be like writing a memo in a word processor. That makes messages feel less immediate, less personal, and as a result raises the bar for sending shorter and/or personal messages. The goal was not to prevent users from writing long messages, but rather to provide a better balance between the two. Ultimately, though, this isn't a personal vs work issue. Facilitating short messages is arguably even more important in work settings where everybody tends to be inundated by large amounts of legitimate work-related email. There is real value in having a UI that gives users signals that it is ok to write shorter messages. At the same time, on a 1366x768 browser window I can fit more than 3 paragraphs of lorem ipsem from http://www.lipsum.com/ http://www.lipsum.com/ in the default Gmail compose window before it even starts to scroll. In full screen mode at the same resolution you can fit 5 paragraphs before it starts to scroll. The UI isn't preventing you from writing something longer if that's what you need to do.

seferphier 13y ago
Hi Jason. thanks for replying. I was genuinely curious as to your opinion on the gmail UI since you are more experienced than me. I don't have much issue with the spacing in compose. I have an issue with hiding the formatting and functionality of the email. I was not suggesting ignoring personal use cases. Given the popularity of Gmail, a lot of people uses email to do work for personal use. However, SMS/whatsapp/fb chat is a much more effective medium for personal use cases. Picking up the phone to reply a text feels a lot more personal and less intimidating than email. The new redesign does not make it less intimidating to use email. I agree that Gmail should "influence" users on their behaviors by changing the UI to some extent. However, you should facilitate the user's existing use cases. Most people would prefer to send an SMS for personal messages and send email for work. Forcing email to look more minimalistic like an SMS by removing formatting / forward button is not user friendly. Another example is the pop in compose button. I like to see other emails before I compose - naturally, you would think i would love the new pop in since I can see emails as I compose. However, I am used to having one tab open for composing and another for reading emails. Out of curiosity: How do you determine whether a redesign is successful or not? Are there particular metrics you pay attention to?