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Redefining Gmail Settings

A Modern Information Architecture and Interface Overhaul

Concept design prototype

Problems overview

More tools, high learning curve, low user retention

The current interfaces of both premium products exist outside the core Smartsheet platform, resulting in a range of complex business and design challenges:

design problems

  1. Fragmented User Experience

Both premium products share similar workflows, causing redundancy and a fragmented user experience.

  1. Limited Discoverability of the tools

Operating outside the core Smartsheet interface, these tools are difficult for users to find and access seamlessly.

  1. Insufficient Integration Options

The limited selection of native integration logos falls short of user expectations, especially compared to competitors.

  1. Rigid Workflow of legacy tools

Users lack the flexibility to customize workflows by adjusting steps as needed.

  1. Context Disconnect with the sheet

Users cannot reference or link active sheets during workflow creation, disrupting focus and efficiency.

  1. Inconsistency and Scalability Issues

The lack of uniformity between the products hampers usability and limits future scalability across the ecosystem.

business probelms

  1. Losing out on $$$ big business deals

Users lack the flexibility to customize workflows by adjusting steps as needed.

  1. No scalability in the current product

Users cannot reference or link active sheets during workflow creation, disrupting focus and efficiency.

  1. Increase in operation cost from backend

The lack of uniformity between the products hampers usability and limits future scalability across the ecosystem.

Common P1 & P2 probelms

6-8 steps long wizard stepper

  • Refrains from quick import/export

  • Lead to a high learning curve to setting a workflow from start till end


No context with the sheet

  • Feels disconnected from where data is coming and going to

  • Often leads to using of an extrenal screen to refer and validate data

Not in the logical order

  • The functions are not logically in order and differ from product to product often leading to confusion

  • Feels initimidating to the first time users because of complex function names

Context

Context

New streamlined way to navigate the gmail settings

New streamlined way to navigate the gmail settings

The current Smartsheet platform features multiple premium products, of which two of them offer similar capabilities for importing, exporting, and syncing data between Smartsheet and third-party integrated tools. However, this overlap has led to a fragmented user experience and limited discoverability of these critical functionalities.

Recognizing this challenge, there was a clear opportunity to streamline the import/export experience, and elevating the overall data integration process within the platform.

Goal

  • Reduce cognitive load

  • Improve scannability and discoverability

  • Standardize components to align with Gmail's core product UI

  • Build an IA that scales with new features

  • Create a familiar yet evolved Gmail experience

Problems overview

Condensed, ill-structured, legacy look like, fragmented experience

Users find the existing Gmail Settings:

problems

  1. Dense and visually exhausting

  1. Spread across long, scroll-heavy pages

  1. Lacking hierarchy between primary

    and secondary actions

  1. Visually inconsistent with the core Gmail UI

As a result, users struggle to locate key options like filters, forwarding, and display preferences. This directly affects usability and task completion time.

Research insights

Research insights

User types

Everyday

users

Everyday users change basic preferences occasionally.

Power

users

Power users rely on filters, forwarding rules, and add-ons.

Admins


Admins need clarity and trust, especially in security or account-related sections.

Common Struggles

  1. Hard to predict where a setting lives

  1. Pages feel text-heavy

  1. Some options repeat across tabs


  1. Low contrast and loose spacing lead to scanning fatigue

Redesigning UX for persona -

General Gmail users

Olivia Cooper
Marketing coordinator, 28, manages multiple email accounts for work projects and personal use

———————————————————————————————————————————————

GOALS

  • Quickly find and update specific settings without hunting through lists

  • Set up different email signatures for various work contexts

  • Configure Gmail efficiently without getting overwhelmed

  • Understand what each setting does before making changes

PAIN POINTS

  • "I waste 5 minutes every time I need to change my email signature because it's buried"

  • "I get lost in the endless list of settings and forget what I was looking for"

  • "All those 'Learn more' links look the same - I can't tell what they're for"

  • "I've lost changes before because I forgot to scroll down and hit save"

TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS

  • Medium-high (comfortable with most interfaces, expects modern UX patterns)

JTBD (Jobs To Be Done)

  • "When I need to modify Gmail settings, I want to quickly locate and change specific options so I can get back to my actual work without frustration."

Concept design prototype

Success Metrics

Success Metrics

Quantitative

Task completion time

Measure the average time it takes for a user to find and change a specific setting. A successful redesign would show a decrease in this time.

Number of clicks

Track the number of clicks required to access and change a specific setting. A more efficient, organized design would likely reduce the number of clicks.

Search queries in help centre
Monitor the number of search queries related to "how to change settings name" in the Gmail help center.

Qualitative

User Satisfaction Score (e.g., NPS or CSAT)

An increase in the satisfaction score would indicate a more positive user experience.

User Feedback on Discoverability

Users questions like "Was it easy to find the setting you were looking for?" and "Did the settings feel logically grouped?"

Suggested methods to track the metrics

A/B Testing

In-Product Analytics

User Surveys

Track the Error rate

Feature adoption rate

Proposed

What I'd do in future

What I'd do in future

What worked out?

✅ Categorise main left panel into 2 main sections; General and Advanced to simplify further

✅ If my persona is for Enterprise users, I would keep add security section and keep it on top

✅ I would make it AI powered settings once the new designs is well received by the users so that they get personalised suggestions on which settings option they use the most, what they can change to tighten the security, suggestions to optimise their profile.

✅ I would add gamification badge for their settings health check and give them score of like 6/10 to show what they can improve to keep their account secure and updated.

Fin.

More detailed case study available on request.

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