Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Sophie Riwaters

Some of us like it, some of us hate it. Linkedin is officially a part of Microsoft. So does it have to do something with the new design? Or that was planned way before the dinosaurs?

1. Copycat

LinkedIn is everything but original. Now I’m not saying that you have to create something totally new every time. It’s not a new that facebook changes it’s appearance more often than most people swap pants. Linkedin, on the other hand doesn’t change often at all. But when it does it basically turns itself into a Facebook knockoff. The question remains open: Why?

According to this article published on January 19. The LinkedIn Desktop Redesign puts conversations and content in the focus.

„… to provide a LinkedIn experience that is more intuitive, faster and creates more value for you.”

Okay so let’s go through this “LinkedIn experience”. The first thing to spot is the main feed. It looks so familiar. But where have I seen such design? Also, the way you can unfollow, report, hide posts with a single click.

Where have I seen such design?

Well to be fair Facebook copied just as much as LinkedIn did. But this is no excuse since according to the The Wall Street Journal this major design update was planned way before Microsoft’s acquisition— there were no improvements in design since 2003 — and does not involve any software and service related to the king of windows.

Atleast not yet.

But hey, people are already familiar with Facebook. Smart move tho.

2. Terrible management of groups

I n before the big plastic surgery, you had a clear overview of your groups. You had the opportunity to expand your list, clean and simple. What you can do now instead is, well NOTHING. It’s all gone. You literally have to click someone who you follow and scroll down to the endless pit in order to get some details about your groups. Another weak point of the “Beverly Hills makeover”

3. Thick top menu

Now it almost feels like they call you blind behind your back. The search bar also got thicker and it’s being repositioned to the left side since the thinner longer and centered version wasn’t “intuitive” enough.

“Here are a few enhancements we think you’ll enjoy most: Streamlined navigation More intuitive search…”

While the idea is good in theory, the way they’ve executed it in practice is terrible. Intuitiveness does not necessarily mean big and robust so you can see it from 10 ft away. Especially if you make it stick to the top. A thinner menu would be the way to go if you make it stick — copy from Facebook *cough cough –It feels really weird and uncomfortable especially with wide displays that enhance it. But maybe this is just my opinion. Some like this new design of LinkedIn.

4. Accomplishments blend in

Knowing that in the earlier version you had a clear way of inspecting honors, awards, and certifications. Now you have no other choice but expanding the whole thing. The new design also made honors&awards and certification section fit into one column which means more scrolling. It feels just generic and grey.

„Yaay fun..”

5. Useless space

Every time I see a minimalistic design, but not when it comes to someone’s profile. In the new version it almost feels like when the attendant of an interview hands in an almost empty CV. The old LinkedIn also gave a nice traditional way of presenting yourself with a decent picture. CV style baby. Now when you look at profiles, it’s there is a hole in the wall that is separating you from your neighbor and he looks right at you when you peek through it. Not only ridiculous but highly unprofessional. Take a look at the comparison below.

The good times

The bad times.

6. Horroristic skills

The good times

Good times

Don’t be surprised if you can’t see this section like shown on the picture above. Now the skills section no longer makes your profile look more credible even if you do have 99+ on all of them. Totally worthless, this just ruined the only great thing about LinkedIn. All you have now is 3 listed out. They even removed the profile pictures of those who gave endorsements. This makes your profile just less interesting.

“When your connections choose to endorse your skills, it then adds their very small avatar next to those skills in the Skills and Expertise section of your profile.”

The bad times

7. Notifications

I wish to point out that they didn’t change one thing. Something that is haunting users since years. The annoying false notifications. Oh yes, that one pesky LinkedIn inbox with one unread message. Who knows it might have a hidden marketing purpose —* You need LinkedIn Premium it’s good for you* — like when you find a single fry in your Burger King paper bag.

To be fair, LinkedIn has a unique feature that Facebook is missing. The ability to see who views your profile. With the new design, not only that, but also who has seen your social posts. Now that’s interesting.

Conclusion

Now just in case you wish to skip my bragging, I would like to point out my opinion about the new design in a few words. First of all, it looks grey and boring also lost a lot of its professional aspect, in other words, it’s purpose. It seems like they are forcing people too hard to try premium since there is a Try Premium for free “CTA” in the top menu.

Please write a comment, your feedback means a lot to me! Also sharing and recommending is a big motivation. I appreciate every help! ❤

<a href="http://ift.tt/2lIYHWK">http://ift.tt/2lIYHWK</a>

Things I hate about the new Linkedin design was originally published in Prototyping: From UX to Front End on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Things I hate about the new Linkedin design

Cool stuff, every week

More Articles