The conversation page is where everything comes together. Co simplifies communication by bringing all your personal messages together in one place; and since that place is the conversation page, it really has to deliver on simplicity. That said, there's also a fair amount of information (sent messages vs received messages, original manner in which the messages were sent aka platform, timestamp, etc) that needs to be communicated, so the challenge has been to find the balance between clarity and simplicity.
The first version of the conversation view was very simple and really did nothing more than get the raw messages on the page.
What worked:
- There are messages on the page
What didn't:
- The only thing that differentiates between sent and received messages is a tiny arrow
- There's no differentiation between platforms
- The messages are very small and the page is overwhelming
The next version of the conversation page started to add some clarity. The first order of business was to
clarify the platform where the messages originated.
What worked:
- There are messages
- The platforms are clearly differentiated
What didn't:
- The difference between sent and received messages still isn't clear
The next version focuses on differentiating between sent and received messages. Previously the messages were all the same physical size on the page, and, while there was color differentiation between the platforms, there was no color differentiation between sent and received. This next pass physically moves the messages either left or right, limits them from taking up the entire width of the page, and differentiates the color.
What worked:
- The platforms are clearly differentiated
- It is now easy to determine if a message is sent or received
What didn't:
- The messages are still a little small and hard to read