Role
- Lead designer: Embedded in between Maps and Search team to enhance local search features. This included visual and interaction design, design thinking, collaboration, and stakeholder reviews.
- Cross Collaboration: Worked closely with leadership, product managers, researchers, engineers, and Data Science to brainstorm, design, and validate design directions.
Impact
- Local Query Growth: Increased local queries and improved user satisfaction.
- Enhanced mobile UX: Leveraging a more efficient, tappable search process.
- Partner Foundation: Set a component foundation for future partner work.
Problem
- Poor Mobile Support: High search volume on mobile devices revealed inefficiencies in how users search.
- Wider Markets: The need for inclusive and localized features beyond the core demographic helped prioritize data quality from emerging markets.
- Typing and Query Issues: Typing full queries on mobile devices was cumbersome, leading to user frustration and ineffective searches.
Research
- Analyzing Competitors: Studied Apple Maps and other competitors to understand their local search methods, including transit modes and search categorizations.
- User Journeys & Audits: leveraged existing components and or visual languages to influence design direction such as iconography and color.
- Interviews & Experiments: A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, from live user sessions to data tracking, to validate design choices. Partner teams like Driving and Navigation provided benchmarks, ensuring balanced metric rises and drops.
I just want obvious, easy access to top searches while driving or walking
Experiments
- Placement, Iconography, and color: We explored a variety of visual designs, both within and outside of the Material 1 design system.
- Transit Modes & Behaviors: Researched how different transportation modes (driving, walking, public transit) impacted search behavior and user needs, identifying issues with interactivity and search effectiveness.
- Search Types, Localization, and Verticals: Investigated user search patterns for chains and categories, emphasizing the need for more intuitive and accessible categorical searches.
Principles and Solutions
- Branded & Mobile-Friendly: Introduce interactive yet familiar shortcuts for common categories next to the search bar, while staying true to Material guidelines and not getting confused with competitors.
- Localized and Flexible: Designed for diverse demographics and multi-transit cases including writing and visual language like iconography.
- Scalable for Future Use Cases: Prepared for future expansion and integration with new features
Outcome
Boosted local queries and user satisfaction through an improved search experience. Streamlined the search process for users, reducing input and delivering more relevant results, especially for drivers. Established research and design frameworks to guide future projects in Core Search and Maps.
Conclusion
Through research and experimental design, we created a scalable, mobile-friendly solution that significantly improved the local search experience on Google Maps. Interested in learning more about this project? Feel free to reach out at alex.lakas@gmail.com
