Dust is a private messaging app with end-to-end encryption that keeps messages anonymous and secure. For everyday texting and sharing photos with friends, family, and colleagues, as well as exchanging sensitive information such as credit card details, Social Security numbers, banking information, wire transfer instructions, passwords, or medical records, Dust is the most secure private texting and messaging application. As the first product designer on the team, I focused on redesigning the mobile app to enhance the user experience by analyzing data and improving the design.
We started by reaching out to our users to learn what makes them tick - their daily routines, challenges, and what they're really looking for. These conversations revealed why people turn to our app and where they struggle with it. The insights we gathered were eye-opening and gave us a solid foundation for designing something that truly serves our users' needs.
After collecting all the data, we identified numerous issues that needed to be addressed. We organized and brainstormed which problems should be tackled first in order to launch an MVP product. With differing opinions, we used a priority matrix to facilitate discussions and organize issues based on effort and benefit.
One issue stood out: people were getting lost in our app. When we watched users try our app, they kept landing on screens they didn't mean to visit. We knew we wanted users to focus on sending messages, so we stripped away anything that didn't support this core action. We sketched out the ideal user journey, which not only showed us the ideal path but also gave us a clear plan for streamlining the entire experience.
We took our time getting every detail right - from crafting the logo to selecting the right color palette. Each feature went through multiple rounds of testing and iteration, continuously refining until we were consistently receiving positive feedback. This process allowed us to finalize key navigational issues, streamline our onboarding experience, and improve our disappearing message feature for a more intuitive experience. Through constant iteration, we ensured that every final design decisions was user-centered and impactful.
Our newly redesigned app was a success. In the first quarter, we saw a 20% increase in downloads and user retention increased by 7x. Our analysis showed that users were sending more messages at a faster pace.
