What you don't know about the iphone input method secret

Baidu Mobile Input Method iphone version from the initial to meet the basic input needs, to the present all-round emotional input experience, experienced more than 10 versions of the transformation. As the functionality and experience continues to rise, more and more users are enjoying it and have become the best input method on the iphone.

For its experience design, is a gradual improvement of the process:

From basic experience building (available)--Optimizing the upgrade experience (ease of use)--the user's deep needs are met (Love), which is a process that allows users to use them from the available to the easy-to-use and then to the love.

Input method, especially the iphone platform's input method is a need for a highly integrated system of products, the design process should have a good experience, but also must follow a variety of restrictions. How to break through limits and do a better job of limiting them? Next, we'll talk about how we deal with the limitations of design problems from the top three levels:

Basic experience building (available)

Early in the product development, the basic experience is the most important, which is to ensure that users are willing to stay in the product basis.

Limitations of the basic experience

We considered a lot at the beginning of the keyboard design, said these are restrictions, rather than for the user think a little more.

1, reduce user adaptation costs: Because the input method is a system tool, in the iOS platform is also a jailbreak can be installed, so I hope that users use the minimum psychological burden, to maintain the user's focus on input, ignoring the third party app feel, to ensure the input experience.

2, Design Compatibility: Input method may be any app call, so be sure to ensure that the input method in the visual and interactive level can be very good compatible with a variety of apps.

Standing on the shoulders of giants we can stand high, so the initial keyboard vision chose to fuse the system keyboard style, and then based on the characteristics of their own optimization. With this direction, some of the problems ahead can be solved. From this point of view we have done a lot of design and research practice.

Breakthrough: Continuous attempts + research support

9 Keyboard Design Experiment: 9 Keyboard is Baidu Input method users the highest rate of keyboard, input efficiency is significantly better than the system 26 key layout.

So it's the experience of excellence to give users the best experience. Here a lot of design experiments, including the keyboard color experiment, key spacing and morphological experiments, keyboard input mode to indicate the experiment.

Take the key spacing shape experiment as an example:

Keyboard keys can be rounded corners, can also be a right angle, the key and the key can be between the gap can not be. But what is the way to be efficient and to satisfy the user?

Here we have done a lot of design experiments, trying various forms of configuration. Finally, the user study the actual test of the classmate, get the conclusion:

1. Hot zone Under certain circumstances, the smaller the button shape, the higher the accuracy rate.

2. The larger the button area, the faster the user can enter.

Therefore, need to take into account the input speed and accuracy rate, the key between the need for a certain interval. And the rounded button and the System 26 keyboard form the closest, the input feeling consistent. There is a clear demarcation and raised buttons more click sense, can effectively reduce the user input when the heart pressure.

Finally, after the previous study coupled with repeated design attempts, we adopted the "round-spaced keyboard" effect.

Optimize the upgrade experience (ease of use)

Breakthrough point: Starting from user pain points

The basic functionality has been able to meet the needs of users, but does the basic functionality make users comfortable? This requires continuous optimization.

Figure Banner Optimization:

Because of the particularity of many functions inside the input method, users may have mistaken ideas in understanding and understanding some function icons. In the very good to meet the basic input requirements on the need for further optimization of the icon to reduce user use and learning costs.

Limitations: Here the biggest limit is the input method of the function of special users do not recognize, and display space limitations may not be able to match the icon to explain the text appears.

Breakthrough mode: Establish rules to help users understand the identity of the icon itself.

1, the location space allows the limited use of the icon and text combined way.

2, for the user's favorite icons and familiar icons to use the way the icon.

3, for infrequently used icons and unfamiliar icons, to ensure that user identification as a priority, add text instructions.

Important function Front Design:

The function of the input method is gradually strong, but before doing this design good multi-function still buried in the deep setting item, the user is very difficult to find. Take a skin-changing operation for example:

After optimization than optimization before the reduction of 4 operations, later we have to do more simple.

Limitations: The contradiction between more and more functions and limited space. Input Panel cannot carry too much content.

Breakthrough mode: According to the use of the frequency and importance of function to choose their presentation and the degree of placement.

First level (most commonly used): Cand area toolbar. Users are the most frequently used, but also the most direct click to.

The second level (commonly used): Logo menu panel. This place is also very common, but not as important as the first level of functionality, the operation is relatively easy.

Third level (rarely used but must have): Set item. All of the feature settings can be found here, but many features that do not need to be set up here are only available here without having to appear at the top two levels.

User's deep needs meet (Love)

Breakthrough point: Another way of thinking, can not be achieved

When you meet the needs of users, you need to meet the needs of his heart, in order to firmly lock the user. Personalized and emotional is the most appropriate to the user's soul satisfaction.

Skin shop and Batch theme online:

We through the skin shop to meet the user's personalized input method, the premise of the skin shop is the need for large quantities of exquisite skin and themes.

Limitations: How to quickly line up a lot of skin.

The initial skin design cost is very high, can not be rapid mass production. A complete set of skin needs to design a large and small 36 interface, plus the development of cut map to achieve, a skin needs at least half a month/1 people time.

Breakthrough Way: Technology + design Change the world through creativity.

Design can be realized by the program skin resources, using a single color design a layered interface.

expression and expression store design:

is the input only dry, dry text? Obviously we have to think more for the user. To further find the outlet for the user's emotional expression, the birth of the expression input and expression store. Through a variety of selling facial expression, let the user love input.

Restriction: Sell Meng also must and the input method vision unification, must take the user to enter the experience first.

Breakthrough way: The interface style unification, but the individual place has the bright spot.

Through the small details sell Meng, such as the entrance icon blink effect and whale expression icon restore the system bubble shape.

Combined above, from basic experience building (available)-> optimize the upgrade experience (easy to use)-> user's deep demand to meet (love) Three aspects, we can sum up the good design is in fact, in the process of constantly breaking through the restrictions gradually recognized, good product design concept is gradually be validated. From the design process of input method can be summed up a number of effective ways to break through:

1, keep trying + research corroboration: Repeated design attempts to add practical research, will be able to find the most suitable design method.

2, starting from the user pain Point design: To find the user's most concerned about the problem, to solve it, can make your product a big step forward.

3, another way of thinking, it is impossible to achieve: you think impossible to do, there are always a lot of people can. Another way of thinking may be a breakthrough.