2017 — 2018 • Profile on FB App, iOS & Android
Overview
As people moved from broadcast, permanent sharing to more close-network, ephemeral sharing, Facebook supported this shift with a Stories product. We were asked to use Profile to design methods as part of this strategic shift. I thought it’d be natural to unite the concept of memory storage and personal expression that are already Profile’s strengths with the table-stakes Stories feature of Story Highlights.
Team
Designer | PM | Content Strategist | EM | Engineers
I was the Profile designer, working in collaboration with Sharing team designers who owned the main Stories product. While the key UX was already set for FB Stories, I specifically drove the design direction for how Profile would work with the this new ephemeral sharing product.
Stories on Profile
Ephemerality on Profile
The Stories on Profile Experience we created:
Reshaped the profile picture from a square into a circle to show active Stories
Created an entrypoint to add new Stories
Supported bringing Stories Archive to iOS
And designed Story Highlights, allowing permanent, public featuring on Profiles.
In this way, Profile became not only a home to store ephemeral memories,
but also a creation hub for sharing.
Challenges
Stories management vs. profile picture management: introducing new actions (viewing/adding/editing Stories) to the Profile picture tap target was highly contentious to the Profile team. I learned how create efficient processes for staying in alignment with my product team and product leadership about what were non-negotiables and what had to be escalated working on this scale for the first time.
Stories Highlights placement vs. other profile content: adding any new content to this top section of Profile (a public space we internally called Intro Card) would naturally push down everything else. I ultimately decided it was important to adhere to our own privacy and visibility models by placing public content in the public space. What’s more, this solution would ensure consistent visibility across self view, friend view, and public view.
Story Highlights Creation
Story Highlights allow you to create collections from your existing stories and host them permanently on your profile. It relies on three things:
an existing backlog of archived Stories
a way to create and manage collections of Stories you’re interested in sharing, and
a place on Profile to display these collections permanently.
The prototype demonstrates the flow of creating a highlight through the Profile NUX.
The creator taps through the NUX on their profile.
They then select stories from their Archive to feature in their Highlight.
After selecting the media they wish to feature, they can create a custom title and cover.
Highlights are defaulted to the privacy of the creator’s existing Story settings, and they will appear on their Profile in a dedicated section to that audience.
Find more Profile work here!
Coverage
“[Story Highlights] could be useful for public figures trying to build an audience, or anyone who thinks their identity is better revealed through their commentary on the world that Stories’ creative tools offer.”
“Disappearing content lessens that impact, and with the option to either let it go or showcase it on your profile, Facebook is essentially offering the best of both worlds”
“It looks like its no more about who brought 'Stories' into our lives, but about who gave us the best possible version.”
— TECH2