NextDoor and UI Design

What design rule did NextDoor break?

Good web design is often chalked up to minimizing friction between user and interface, and providing clarity and cohesion with minimal steps. This generally helps the website retain the user's attention, and be more satisfied when they attempt to accomplish any particular task. NextDoor breaks this rule by adding very precise and legnthy steps to the process of filing incident reports

What led them to consider this change?

This change was intially provoked by an article in Fusion magazine that alleged that incident reports on NextDoor had a racist slant, particularly vague descriptions of areas being "sketchy" due to the presence of black people. NextDoor reviewed this information and saw that it was true, citing problematic social norms rather than overt racism.

Was it a good or bad decision? Why or why not?

It was a good decision to change it in the end, as the change in design actually managed to solve a problem for NextDoor. By introducing friction to the design, NextDoor could recieve a better quality of incident reports that could better serve their customers. In addition, they could help mitigate a societal problem.

Was it successful? Why or why not?

It was a successful move for NextDoor. Some customers may have been upset by the design change, but their service was better for it in the long run. The change earned some positive press for NextDoor, and may have helped mitigate or prevent negative press in the future.

Another example of a site that breaks the design rule:

PMG's Job Page

When you click submit resume on PMG's job listing page, it takes you to a form that requires a lot more than just uploading a resume. This is intentional firiction, but it works out well for PMG. This friction ensures that only candidates serious about the position will actually take the time to deal with the friction, in turn resluting in a better group of candidates for the agency.


Potential Nonprofit Site Redesigns

Bat World Sanctuary

I believe this site needs a redesign due to the dated layout and visual aesthetic. The layout crams too much information into small areas, and it the site's navigable structure is not clear. The bat/cave foreground and background are cute, but not particularly well executed given the visual blandness of the content. Hopefully the bat-asethetic could be translated into a sleeker layout where the content is more easy to navigate.

Greyhound Adoption League of Texas

This site simultaneosly seems bland and confused. Way too much information is displayed on the front page, some of it irrelevant. Visually, the site could be much more interesting, rather than jsut all grey. Better photography of the greyhounds could be incorporated. I would like to take a swing at redesigning this page since I really like greyhounds as animals.

Child Care Group

Child Care Group's website does look very professional, but it is not particularly dynamic. The site has a whole lot of information to distribute, but seems to try adhere to the 3-click rule, which in turn leads to complicated navigation. It might be difficult to improve upon, but I think something more compelling that better conveys the organization's mission and information could be drafted up.