September 2: New Design

We talked a lot about managing change here at 7 cups (link). We have a big change coming down the pipeline that I wanted to share with all of you. In the next couple of weeks well releasing a new design for the desktop version of our site. We are going to observe and iterate, just like we do with all of our changes, and then well translate what we learned into releasing a new design for the apps as well.

@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn has been working closely with Mathias (our visual designer) on ways to make the site clear, simple, and easy to navigate. Theyve been working on this for over 3 months. Im very excited about this next version. It feels like we climbed up one mountain, made it to a new plateau, and are now ready to climb the next mountain.

For context, this is what the original 7 cups looked like:

You all know what the current version looks like. It was a big improvement over the old version.

Here is a screenshot of the new version (we are still working on the text/copy):

Besides a whole new look, the new design has several other components:

Much easier to navigate - the current version is like an old giant tree house where we just kept building room after room and connecting them. People would often get lost and not know how to find there way back. Another metaphor is like a poorly designed library or museum with no signs so you meander around, but dont really know how to get back.

The new version flows much better on all fronts. It feels nice and comfortable to walk around. You go from room to room and you know where you are and how to get back.

Less Distractions - our current version is has a lot of things that pull and call for your attention. Each of these things is a sort of tax on your brain. It distracts you from what you are trying to do. Weve taken these all away so the new site will feel much more calm and peaceful.

There are two pathways - many people come to our site and they feel too anxious to chat right away. They either leave or they start a chat and then leave. Now we have two options. A person can start the growth path with an exercise or they can start chatting.

Growth path more central - right now the growth path is kind of hidden and not designed too well. The new version has the growth path central on the guest/member side. Weve added a number of exercises and thought quite a bit about the different ways the person can walk down the path. Both exercises and chats move you down the path. This is what it'll look like soon:

Emphasis on community - in my pain to path post (link) I talked about the importance of our community. We added the feed and we are updating the forums in this new version to underline the importance of the community.

Also, a caveat, design by committee doesnt typically work, so I need to let you know that these designs are not something we can really modify. I dont believe wed want to as they are light years ahead of where we are now. We will continue to refine the copy and add tweaks here and there, but the visual design is set at this point.

Several of you indicated that it is helpful to know about new updates well in advance. I hope this helps! Let us know if you have questions. Looking very forward to sharing this with all of you.