OVERVIEW
With the advancement of technology in smart devices, we are now in an era where the familiar cloud system is widely used. Unlike the previous method of storing information on external hard drives or computers, cloud storage allows access from anywhere at any time.
This project conducted a case study based on the design opportunity arising from Apple's email notification about my iCloud storage shortage. It aimed to explore the possibility of providing all users with a better experience during the storage space upgrade process.
✔️ Why this project?
One day, I received an email from Apple regarding insufficient iCloud storage space. However, the email content was all in text format, making it difficult to understand at a glance. Therefore, I decided to take this design opportunity as a case study to explore possible improvements.
✔️ What was the problem I had to solve?
I reviewed the email from Apple to secure additional iCloud storage space. However, I found the email content too complex to find a solution for upgrading storage. It was challenging to grasp at a glance because all the information was presented in text format, and even after clicking the link to add storage space, only additional explanations were provided instead of actual upgrade steps.
✔️ What was my solution?
I realized the inconvenience of not having an upgrade option to address the storage shortage in the notification emails provided by Apple, and decided to investigate alternative approaches used by competitors. Additionally, I conducted brief interviews with other users to gather insights and propose solutions for improvement.
Design Process
The overall design process is structured into four stages:
firstly, identifying the problems, then deriving opportunities through various research methods, and finally providing design solutions.
RESEARCH
01. Understanding Structure
Current Email Notification Flow:
When iCloud storage space is low, Apple sends an email notification providing users with recommended solutions to resolve the situation. However, the current approach has poor readability and text-heavy content, which can cause user fatigue when trying to grasp information.
Alternative Notification Options:
I tried to understand the overall notification process for iCloud storage shortage in Apple's current system. First, I investigated how Apple informs users about insufficient iCloud storage aside from email notifications.
Photo App:
When users attempt to take photos, they may encounter a pop-up notification indicating insufficient storage.
Settings Page:
If users try to back up information on the iCloud settings and there's not enough storage, they receive a popup notification.
Notification Center:
When a user's iCloud storage is low, Apple provides notification on the screen in a banner style.
02. Competitive Analysis
To identify the fundamental issues, I researched how competitors in the industry are addressing the similar problems.
I observed and dissected the solutions provided by competitors to understand their design process thinking, in order to contemplate which approach should be taken.
Insights
According to this research, I was able to realize that all three competitors were not just presenting texts, they had considered good balance with either text and graphics, or Call To Action button.
Moreover, All of the competitors had clear information hierarchy through different font size and spaces.
03. User Interview
To find potential design opportunities in the flow provided by Apple, I conducted user interviews targeting users familiar with the mobile environment. This was deemed the most insightful approach, considering that most users are likely to have experienced the situation through mobile devices.
Participants:
6 people
Method:
Survey (Google Forms)
Process:
Sent the link for the survey to the participants and asked to participate and submit whenever.
Questions
I have created 8 questions to define how users are experiencing and feels about the email notification and plan upgrade process.
Answers
Based on the survey findings, I mainly focused on addressing the pain points related to the lack of direct solutions within the email interface.
04. Define Problems
The text-based structure and lack of information hierarchy can hinder users' problem-solving abilities and inefficiently impact the process of upgrading plans.
Therefore, there is a need for a new and enhanced method of data visualization and solution delivery.
05. Opportunity
During the research process, I delved into fundamental solutions rooted in the identified issues.
As a result, it is clear that enhancements are essential to ensure users experiences the most efficient upgrading their storage space process for the better conversion rate.
One notable approach is implementing a "Nudge" effect, offering users visual options to choose as solutions.
06. Idea Sketch
According to the ideation, I have created several sketches to express possible outcome of the design structure.
I personally liked the option 2 and 3, which I thought both of methods of showing the urgency and direct solution could improve the conversion rates by encouraging users upgrading their plans. Therefore, I decided to combine them together as one solution.
DESIGN SOLUTIONS
Before providing a solution, I tried to understand the notification process for iCloud storage shortage in Apple's current system. Firstly, I investigated how Apple informs users when their iCloud storage is running low.
Solution 1.
Information Hierarchy
As identified during the user interview process, the absence of information hierarchy is one of the factors that hinders the overall readability of the content.
Considering company's regulations, I kept the content of the context unchanged but introduced a new structural approach to enhance readability.
As is
The current notification email content lacks intuitiveness, and the solution for adding more storage space is only provided through a link button, making it difficult to convey urgency to the users.
To be
In order to address these issues, I decided to keep the existing content, while enhancing readability by adjusting the font size, thickness, and spacing.
Solution 2.
Data Visualization
When delivering urgent information to users, conveying the content in text form and requiring users to read it individually is not very efficient.
Since users perceive information visually faster than reading text, I decided to implement data visualization to represent the storage status by using a simple progress bar-type graphic. Strong colors were used to enable users to grasp the information immediately.
Furthermore, the UI that I used for the status bar is identical to Apple's storage status bar, considering the mental model of the users.
Inspiration from a design tip called Loss Aversion discovered in the Nielsen Norman Group.
Solution 3.
Offering Direct Solution
The most pivotal solution in this case study, the Direct Solution, offers a flow that enables users to kickstart the upgrade process right within the email, diverging from the structure of previous emails.
While the actual payment process gets redirects to the Apple page for account verification and security purposes, enhancements were made to allow users to confirm their options just before proceeding with the payment by implementing accessibility design components.
This approach empowers users to directly verify solutions within the email, streamlining complex steps and directing their attention solely to upgrading their storage space. Consequently, we can expect an improvement in the conversion rate.
