Case Study: Redesign of iNaturalist
The Importance of Familiarity in Redesigns.
Introduction
Humans are creatures of habit, and when familiar patterns change, frustration often follows. When iNaturalist, a wildlife identification app, launched a redesigned version to add features and a modern UI, it instead created a steep learning curve for long-time users. Drawing from over 50+ reviews and forum discussions, this case study examines how redesigns that overlook user habits can alienate communities and how thoughtful UI updates can restore usability and trust.
Problem
iNaturalist’s redesign added modern features but frustrated users, leading many to leave and making it harder to share wildlife.
iNaturalist's redesign, while introducing modern features, created a 20% spike in negative reviews and user complaints. Long term users were abandoning the app due to navigation confusion, threatening the platform's community-driven ecosystem where user-generated content is essential for species identification accuracy.
Key Issues
The redesign aimed to make the app intuitive, reliable, and user-focused, addressing trust issues uncovered in research.
Navigational Disruption - Breaking familiar user patterns and muscle memory built upon the older app
Visual Complexity - Unlabeled buttons and a cluttered layout create confusion, leading to an unpleasant experience for explorers.
Information Architecture – Poor content organization disrupts user workflows and makes navigation confusing.
Opportunity
Rebuild iNaturalist into a space where anyone, whether a naturalist, teacher, or student, can easily explore and share discoveries without feeling lost.
Research
To understand how iNaturalist users felt about the redesign, I analyzed app store reviews and forum discussions. This research helped identify key pain points, reveal how users were adapting to the new interface, and inform the creation of user personas that represented different user types and their onboarding challenges.
Daniel Carter - High School Environmental Science Teacher
35 years old, planning a wildlife activity for 30 students
Learned the app himself but worries his class demo will be confusing
Finds some screens unintuitive and unlabeled
Wants clearer labels in the Explore section where students browse observations
James Thompson - High School Student
Using iNaturalist for a graded class project
Used to clear layouts like Instagram, finds hidden menus confusing
Frustrated by the learning curve while trying to finish assignments
Extra navigation challenges increase stress and reduce engagement
Barry Johnson – Retired Naturalist
60 years old, long-time contributor using iNaturalist as a hobby
Struggles with relocated features after the redesign
Prefers consistent layouts and familiar navigation
Feels slowed down by changes and wants smoother updates for veteran users
Design Solutions
Design Requirements
Taking in user paint points, I’ve identified key features we needed to improve in order to create a better experience of our users.
Restore familiar navigation patterns and visual cues to reduce relearning time and make the app feel intuitive again.
Simplify the interface by adding clear labels, grouping related features, and improving visual hierarchy to reduce confusion and cognitive load.
Reorganize content and workflows to align with user expectations, making navigation smoother and tasks easier to complete.
Crafting the -
Product
Navigation Disruption
To reduce navigation friction and restore user familiarity, I reinstated the original navigation layout by returning the Projects tab to its expected position and relocating the hamburger menu to the top, aligning with common mobile patterns. I also brought back the dedicated News tab to let users access updates directly within the app without interruption.
Visual Complexity and Cognitive Overload
I reduced visual complexity and cognitive overload by adding clearer labels to buttons and features to eliminate guesswork, especially for educators guiding students. Related tools were grouped together to create logical clusters, and the visual hierarchy was refined to make primary actions more prominent. I also reintroduced the colored pin markers to strengthen visual clarity and recognition. These changes led to faster task completion and a noticeable reduction in cognitive load.
Information Architecture
To create a better experience through observations, I consolidated the workflow so users can view and create observations in one place, aligning the pages' content as “my content.” I also restored Projects to the main navigation to make community features easier to find, and rebranded Activity as Updates to create a single, clear hub for notifications and news.
Previous Iterations
I created low-fidelity wireframes to explore layout adjustments and navigation flow. The focus was on restoring familiar patterns, simplifying interactions, and ensuring core tasks remained intuitive before moving to high-fidelity design.
User Testing
Testing & Feedback
We tested the redesigned iNaturalist with three users familiar with the previous layout. Each participant was asked to complete key tasks such as recording an observation, viewing community posts, and checking notifications. The updated navigation and clearer labels made task completion smoother and gave users more confidence while navigating.
Participants found that observation cards occupied too much space, limiting how many could be viewed at once. This feedback highlighted the need for better information density and a more efficient layout.
Based on user input, we reduced the card size to display more observations on screen without cluttering the interface. Users also appreciated the simplified navigation and consistent labeling, noting that the redesign felt easier to learn and more efficient overall. These improvements directly addressed the main pain points and enhanced both usability and satisfaction.
Reflection
Key Learnings & Growth
We tested the redesigned iNaturalist with three users familiar with the previous layout as they recorded observations, viewed posts, and checked notifications. The updated navigation and clearer labeling improved usability, helping users complete tasks more efficiently and with greater confidence.
Feedback showed that observation cards were too large, limiting visibility. We reduced their size to display more at once while keeping the layout clean. Users also appreciated the simplified navigation and clearer labels, confirming the redesign effectively addressed key pain points and improved overall efficiency.