2025
Refining Maps & Navigation experience
Reimagining ChatGPT sidebar experience
Overview
I use Google Maps app daily, this one of my most important apps, but I also use a local navigation app, build specifically for Poland and it specifically tailored to the local public transport system. It's not better than Google Maps, it has much less information and context, and can be used only for public transport navigation.
And strange thing was that navigation using this app was more convenient and easy, and it wasn't because it is tailored to city I live in… But because of its interface.
Problems of Google Maps UI
Google Maps are the most comprehensive and complex navigation app in the industry,
the amount technologies, data that is available in a one navigation app is just mind-blowing.
This is what makes Google Maps the most used mapping app in the world, but it's also the thing that clutters the experience of the final user.
Place details screen
The Place Details Sheet is the first deep touchpoint between a user and a potential destination. But in the current design, the most critical information: rating, work hours, distance to the place, and price, is shown in multiple lines of text without any hierarchy.
This creates visual clutter and forces users to read the screen rather than scan.
New screen structured iformation in clear form. One of the key benefits of this new design is that it provides double the useful information, for example it shows not only the distance to the place but also travel time on preferred transport.
In the redesign, the key decision-making information is packed into a single scannable row. Each attribute is visually distinct, giving users clear overview of important infromation.
While this layout draws visual inspiration from Apple Maps, it goes further in its functional depth. Apple Maps provide very limited context - work hours shows only open/closed state, no additional infromation, and distance is just a number.
But the redesign adds a second layer of contextual information to each attribute, so hours also tell closing or opening time, and distance is paired with an estimated travel time by user's dominant navigation habit, whether that's public transport, a car or a bicycle.
Localisation
I also tested this layout across different languages and device widths to ensure its responsiveness and clarity at any condition.
Other sections of Details screen were also redesigned to refine the interface and improve user experience.
Reviews & Ratings now have more detailed rating system, showing ratings by different categories. This isn’t a new thing, as when you leave a review, Google Maps allows you to rate the place across several categories, so I just made these ratings to be displayed in the main interface. Also added a more clear call to action encouraging users to leave a review.
Route choosing
Analyzing the interface starts from understanding what is the function of the interface.
And the function of this screen - Decision.
On this screen, user decides which route he/she should take, depending on situational conditions, such as distance to the stop, transport arrival time and user position.
This defines what information should be prioritized and communicated to the user.
Research
To understand what information is important to users I conducted a small qualitative research. I spectated my friends when they search routes, I asked them to comment everything they do, what they look at, what information is important for choosing the route.
We also conducted two route searches - one in an area the tester is very familiar with,
and second one in a place they’ve never been to before or visit very rarely.
Key findings
Users pay almost no attention to text that specifies the stop where the transportation arrives. This information is important to users once they already chose a route. This pattern is even more noticible when users are in a familiar location and already know where the stops are and what are the transport routes.
Users often rely on route start time & route end time (ex: 19:07 - 20:03), as it gives them clearer understanding of when they arrive. They explain this with their experience that often a route, faster by time, arrives later than a longer route and also allows .
Users pointed out that text of transport arrival time often is showed in green or red, or black, and they don't really understand what's the reason behind this.
New route cards
New route UI is simplified and intend to focus on clarity of important information and giving more direct instructions.
New screen structured information in clearer way. One of the key benefits of this new design is that it provides double the useful information, for example it shows not only the distance to the place but also travel time on preferred transport.
I also optimised this design for cars and bikes.
I made sure that this design will work well on with any language on the smallest width. I tested it with many different languages with longest configurations of words. I also tested different layout designs, unfortunately I couldnt conduct user testing to find the best variant.
Route Instructions Screen
Interface for displaying route instructions also got some major redesign
New interface also focuses on clarity and convenience. Interface was cleared from visual noise and clutter to bring focus to important information.
The most controversial decision is to remove conditions submittions feature. In Google Maps users can submitt information about how crowded is the transport, temperature, accessability features. In my research people said that they never submitted that information and that they don't really value that information about the route. And actually, during our testing we noticed that information about how busy public transport is, was never accurate to reality. So I made a decision to remove that part entirely. But I don't have more objective information from Google about how often people use that submission feature, maybe it is worth keeping.
Next important change is addition of more direct instructions. For example walking parts of the route now tell directly where the user should go and it can also provide additional details like which exit to use.
Same applies to transport instructions, current Google Maps UI just shows the number of teh transport route, but new gives more clear and understandable instruction like:
"Tram 28 Direction: Annapol". This creates more straighforward communication between interface and the user.
User testing & Conclusion
As the end point of design process, I conducted simple user testing, giving people old and new design, and asking to find some particular information about the restaurant, find the faastest route or understand the route instructions. I timed how long it took people to find necessary information in current interface of Google Maps and the Redesigned one.
Results were like this:
~ - 25% of information finding time on Place Details Screen.
~ - 50% of route choosing on Routes Screen.
~ no difference in route instructons understanding.
Hovewer, testers admitted that new Route Instructions UI is more simple and direct instructions that helped understanding the route.
I started this whole project just to understand user behavioural patterns when interacting with interfaces in more difficult conditions, like on the noisy street, bright sun that blids the screen or when people are in a rush. And innitial design concept I created was entirely based on my personal experience and my understanding of human psychology, and I wanted to test my hypotheses.