With the volume of emails I receive in my Inbox, easy access to the Spam button is a feature I appreciate. I can quickly remove over-achieving Spam emails that have snuck past the layers of spam filters and still managed to land in my email Inbox folder, with the click of a button. The design is efficient and intuitive.
Inbox Folder Design
So why not apply that same intuitive design to the Spam folder so I can easily select and click on email that didn’t make it past the Fort Knox of spam filters, but should have? Then I could quickly move those Not Spam emails into my Inbox folder where they belong.
Spam Folder Design
With the current Spam-handling design, I’m unable to indicate whether an email accidentally caught in the web of filters is from a sender I actually want to hear from in the future. And, in order to locate future emails from the wrongfully spammed sender, in addition to checking my Inbox folder, I’ll also need to check my Spam folder. The current design adds extra steps to the process that could easily be improved.
How can this customer experience be improved?
Two simple steps will improve this customer experience.
· Design consistency. · Gather customer feedback to make sure it’s designed right for your customers.
Design consistency enables customers to feel in control knowing how to complete a task, and anticipate how the system will respond when they interact with it. Leverage the design of the Spam handling in the Inbox folder and apply it to the Spam folder. For example, a button labeled Not Spam would be visible on the top navigation bar and the same steps to transition the selected email into the Inbox would apply. The design consistency will help your customers feel less anxious and more in-control while they interact with your system.
Paper-prototyping is an easy way to obtain customer feedback during the design process and understand what your customers are thinking while they use your product or system. It’s simple, low cost and done right, consistently provides unexpected insights that reduce design, development and maintenance costs in the short and long-term. The end result is a more pleasurable experience for your customers while they interact with your product.
Applying these simple design principles reduces the need for your customer to wonder what to expect from your system. Instead they’re able to focus on the real reason for using the system, which in this case, is communication.
