VSCO 100

Redesign of the popular photo editing app.

VSCO is a powerful photo editing and filtering tool for iPhone and Android, lovingly used by amateurs and professionals alike. VSCO 100 improves the experience by adding usability improvements, a brand new set of icons, and a new way of exploring and applying filters.

PROBLEM SPACE

The VSCO app design had numerous usability issues, such as cryptic icons and head-scratching patterns.

OBJECTIVES

  • Make the user experience intuitive, follow industry standard patterns, and elevate the stylish aesthetic of the VSCO platform.
  • General usability improvements
  • Increase user adoption through increased app discoverability

Research

We gathered data through online surveys sent to  VSCO reddit forums and VSCO users. The survey gathered information about demographics, app usage habits, usability complaints, and general feedback. We received 20 respondents from all over the world. Here's some of the insights we gathered from the surveys:
We also conducted usability testing on 2 users, asking them questions on button functionality based on icons and imagery, observing task flow, and spotting usability problem areas.

Planning

Critical to our solution was spending time planning through the use of information architecture, user flows, sketching and wireframing. In order to solve for the numerous usability issues and inefficient user flows, we restructured functions such as the feed and the profile.

Solutions

One of the most impactful improvements was text labels alongside a new set of hand-crafted iconography that would notably improve discoverability and usability.
Notable other areas of improvement include combining the search and discover functions within the feed, addition of a vertical scroll for filter browsing, and restructuring everything under the profile section into tabs.
On the discovery feed and the profile page, retaining the unique gallery-style image display allowed us to preserve the sleek and unique style of the app. We also restructured the feed to a two-column flex layout (similar to pinterest), increasing information density while allowing the content to take the spotlight.