File Explorer Redesign: Effortless, intuitive, proactive
🌟Highlights
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Reforming the folder structure by using tags to manage files
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Better file saving, organizing, and searching
📝 Overview
The directory folder structure in File Explorer makes it difficult for users to find their stored files. Our group came up with a solution that reshaped File Explorer’s structure and its dependence on folders so that it became easier for users to save, organize, and find files.
Role
Competitor Analysis
Wireframing & Prototyping
Design iteration
Team
UX Designer
UI Designer
UX Researcher
Tools
Figma
Miro
Word
🎨 Redesign directions
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1.File Saving(Effortless): It is easy for users to save their files in a short amount of time.
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2.File Organizing(Intuitive): The representations of files are easy to understand
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3.File Searching(Proactive): The system is dynamically learning and adapting to users’ behavior patterns
🎯Final deliverable
Following updates to our high-fidelity prototypes, we showcased the revisions to the teaching team who evaluated our workflow. Each reported enhanced usability in the high-fidelity prototype
File saving: Reduced cognitive load
Restructured the directory system to lower the cognitive effort required to find files by shifting from folder-based to tagging-based organization.
File saving: Reduced manual effort
Integrated auto-generated and system-recommended tags, utilizing machine learning to reduce manual effort during the file-saving process.
Tagging based file saving
File search: Proactive recall aid
Display other files labeled with the same tags when saving, helping users recall-related files easily.
Display other files that are associated with the same tags
File search: Multiple ways to achieve
Allowed users to search by tags or filenames, addressing both scenarios where users have strong memory of files or need external help to locate them.
Locating a file by searching its name or use tags
File Organization: Enhanced flexibility via multiple tags
Enabled many-to-many mapping with tags, allowing multiple tags to be associated with a file and making the organization more flexible and intuitive.
More than one tag can be attached to a file
