Chrome Focus Window

Project Overview

Duration: Mar-April 2020 (4 weeks)
My Role: UX Design, User Research, User Testing
Team: 4 Designers
Tools: Figma, Google Docs, Premiere Pro, Keynote



This project was a design sprint sponsored by the Google Digital Wellness team. Our team aimed to create a product that could help users stay focused while working in a browser.
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PROBLEM

Trying to stay focused is difficult when your browser is filled with irrelevant tabs.

While book-marking is an option to attempt to reduce the number of tabs you open, it can be difficult to sort through and access your desired tabs when needed. On top of that, getting notifications from your laptop and phone creates another easy opportunity to get sidetracked from the task at hand.
SOLUTION

The Focus Window silences notifications & gives access to bookmarked tabs that are organized by subject according to the user.
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Start in a Fresh Browser

Focus Window starts you in a new, clean browser. Previous tabs are kept where they were.

Create Subjects to Organize Bookmarks

This way you can focus on one subject at a time, and won't have to clutter your browser with tabs from various tasks.

Select Subject to Start Focus Session

During the focus session, notifications from your phone & laptop are momentarily silenced. You can easily bookmark tabs and reference them for later.

Create Timed Sessions

For time blocking. This way you can focus on one subject at a time.

Minimize Focus Panel

To keep the browser clean & focus on the task at hand.

Demo Video
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USER RESEARCH

Interviewee's told us the #1 reason for distractions were irrelevant tabs.

Problems regarding tabs also included one forgetting they had other tabs minimized, opened in another window, or not being able to find important tabs at all within their bookmarks.
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IDEATION

We brainstormed how we could help users organize tabs to make working online more efficient.

We explored how we could possibly rearrange the Google Chrome window to allow users to have easier access to their tabs while working and possible ways to remind users of their task at hand.
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We then started ideating possible flows that could incorporate our ideas.
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PRODUCT V1

Creating a panel for users to organize their tabs.

We learned during user interviews that our target audience is often working on several projects at a time. We wanted to ensure the most smooth flow for users while working in between projects.
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We created a panel that would allow users to sort their bookmarks according to the various projects they were working on. Alongside that, users could also time block in the window.
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Timed Sessions

Create time blocks to increase the sense of being task-oriented.

Resources Wayfinding

Straight path to find the handy resources you bookmarked for your project.

Minimized Panel

To keep your browser clean.

USER TESTING

Users needed more clarity & accessibility within their bookmarks.

We had 4 college students with loaded schedules test our product to get feedback.
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CONCEPT TESTING

Timed sessions were believed to be the most effective way to remind users to get back to work.

We were curious to see what users thought would help them get back on task the quickest. The three concepts were:

1. Timer Notifications
2. Tabs moving depending on time spent on each tab
3. Tab size increasing based on time spent on each tab
SOLUTION EXPLORATION

We turned our key insights into HMW's to improve the focus window.

Our main focus was increasing visability that one is in a focus session and accessibility to bookmarks.
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REFLECTION

What I would do if I had more time.

While this product is currently only being activated through the Google Chrome Window, I am curious to know how I might be able to add to the user experience with other Google products. Would it be helpful to have Google home play study music while the user is in a focus session? Have Google Nest dim lights when a session is coming close to an end? Use Google Assistant to start and stop different sessions? These are the types of questions I would like to further explore.
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