After analyzing the data, we found 4 main insights about Pinterest Collage

Key Finding #1: Lack of System Status Notifications

Our finding of highest severity was a lack of system status updates when the app was experiencing connection issues or any other unexpected behaviors. These issues would cause certain elements or tools in the collage feature to freeze and stop their functionality completely with no system notifications such as a connection error message.

Evidence:
Participant 1: “I guess the one thing that kind of struck me was not receiving, like, a notification, like, oh, your data's slow, like, retry, maybe having, like, some type of, like, notification that lets the user know, like, oh...connection is low. That's literally… if I saw that, I would have been like, oh, yeah. Instead, I was like, oh, what's that? It just, it doesn't work.”  (Participant 1 transcript, Line 107)

Design Recommendation

Our recommendations include adding clear status messages for low connection issues so that users can try to refresh the app or find better connections.

In addition, adding a loading indicator specifically during deleting and publishing and not just saving would be helpful to signify whether it was successful or not. We also recommend showing a clear confirmation notification when a collage is published and to direct to the collage rather than prompting to save it. This would allow users to explore the tool with more confidence. 

Key Finding #2: Unclear Automatic Cut-Out Tool

This finding came from the observation that half our participants were unclear on whether or not their image had actually been cut out when using the automated “cut-out” tool. The tool shows a light moving stroke around the object in the image it detects, and although it is visible, it is not easily detectable which part of the image will be removed. This caused confusion in participants, especially in cases where the participant would add a “cut-out” to their collage, and see that the background had not been removed where they had expected it to be.

Evidence:

Participant 7: “It looks like it already made a cutout of my hand. I’ll click Add… no? I’ll try again. I’m confused because it traced my hand, but when I clicked done, it placed the whole image.” (Participant 7 transcript, line 107)

Key Finding #3: Unintuitive Camera Tool Location

We found that the camera tool was not where participants first checked in all ten interviews. Everyone intuitively clicked the gallery icon, expecting there to be a camera option within the gallery button. The camera was actually underneath the ellipses icon, at the end of the list. This location is inconsistent with industry standards and violates the consistency and standards heuristic, causing confusion in users as most platforms pair the camera and photo library tools.

Evidence:

Participant 10: “It was also hard to know that the three dots meant there were more tools like the camera. I expected the camera button to be in the image icon instead.” (Participant 10 transcript, line 173)

Design Recommendation

We recommend adding the camera option underneath the photo gallery icon, so that users can choose whether they want to choose an existing photo from the library or take a photo with their camera once clicking that icon. This would be more in line with industry standards and be intuitive for users so they can more efficiently use the collage tool. 

Key Finding #4: Hidden and unintuitive delete button

We found that for most users the delete button was extremely difficult to find. The delete button wasn’t where they first navigated to and expected to see it, took multiple tries to find, and was reported to feel confusing and strenuous. For more experienced users that use Pinterest at least once a day, the delete process was easier as it was similar to deleting Pinterest boards and pins, however they agreed that the process is hidden and should require less steps. Most participants expected to see a delete option under the ellipses icon, or when long holding on a collage. Those options felt so intuitive that many users kept trying the same process even when they didn’t find the delete button the first time. The delete button is only accessible after selecting the “edit collage” button, and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Even then, the option doesn’t include an icon, and only text. The unintuitive and hidden location creates user frustration and reduces user satisfaction with the platform.

Evidences:

Participant 7: “I expected delete to show when I press and hold the pin. I didn’t expect to go into edit first.” (Transcript 7, line 171)

Participant 5: “I wouldn't really say so since, like, I said, it kind of mimics deleting a regular pin, and I have done that before, um, but I suppose, like, just generally speaking, I wouldn't really expect to have to, like, forget what the step was, but after I click on The dots, and then I have more options to press Edit pin than to delete it. I would probably expect to just see a delete” (Transcript 5, line 469)

Design Recommendation

Our recommendation for this finding is to move the location of the delete button to be more visible and accessible in fewer steps. One of the most anticipated locations to see the delete button during the interviews was while holding down on a collage. This shows a small tool bar, and if it were to contain the delete button, would be very intuitive for users. Another option is to also add a trash icon to the bottom tool bar when on the full page screen of a collage, where the current options are to like, comment, or share the post. Although extremely visible, that tool bar is more geared towards interacting with the collage than altering it, and another more intuitive option would be to add a delete option under the ellipses of that toolbar.