Elon Musk has all the time most well-liked minimalist design, with as many buttons and controls hidden as doable, leaving a extra modern and simplistic look.
That’s the strategy that he’s taken at his different firms, so it ought to come as no shock to see that Musk can also be trying to implement a extra stripped-back design ethos at X as nicely.
We’ve already seen this with the modifications to hyperlink previews within the app, whereas over the previous few months, we’ve additionally seen numerous examples of X’s extra vital pending redesign, which can take away all of the operate buttons and metrics from the underside of X posts in-stream, as a way to put extra concentrate on the content material itself.
That’ll additionally change the way you work together within the app.
With the intention to interact with posts, X will quickly swap to a extra haptic-focused strategy, in that customers might want to swipe left to love and submit in-stream, and proper to answer.
Which, once more, clearly aligns with Elon’s minimalist imaginative and prescient, however it is going to be a big change in how individuals work together within the app. And with most customers by no means partaking with posts already, it looks as if a dangerous transfer.
However that’s not the one UI shift coming to X.
X can also be experimenting with extra minimalist reformats, together with a simplified “faucet to develop” operate, to extra simply learn longer posts.
Whereas it’s additionally growing new video controls, primarily based on extra intuitive engagement behaviors.
These are fascinating additions, which align with making the X platform extra of an extension of pure motion and interplay, versus urgent handbook buttons on display screen.
However will customers come alongside for the experience, and observe together with these much less upfront management choices?
It’s value noting right here that Twitter had lengthy grappled with learn how to simplify the app, with firm execs viewing this as a key obstacle to its development.
Again in 2018, then Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey famous that utilizing Twitter was “a whole lot of work”, with many new customers having a poor expertise the primary time that they use the app, resulting in greater churn charges. Twitter had sought to enhance this, by improved suggestions and streamlined account set-up processes, however they may by no means seemingly get it proper, and maximize its enchantment amongst net customers.
With this in thoughts, it’s exhausting to see how X’s coming revamp will assist. Positive, having fewer controls on display screen will imply much less visible litter, however it would additionally make it far more tough for brand new customers to know learn how to work together with the app.
Possibly, ultimately, this can higher align with individuals’s expectations. However proper now, it looks as if a dangerous transfer, particularly for a platform that’s seen little to no consumer development in virtually two years.
However Elon has a imaginative and prescient, and plainly nothing goes to face in his manner of creating it a actuality.
And on the similar time, previous Twitter administration was additionally too danger averse on this respect, hardly ever rolling out any change that hadn’t been beta examined for literal years beforehand.
It appears the optimum strategy might be someplace in between the 2, however perhaps, Elon’s accelerated growth program is simply what the app wants.
