— Research and Discovery

Taking a look at existing email platforms

I started the project by focusing on the analysis of the existing email clients on the market, how they work and what you can learn from them.
I conducted a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats and Opportunities) for Gmail, Apple Mail and Outlook.

A few takeaways that I got after the analysis:

• Gmail excels in search, smart features, and AI-driven email management but struggles with UI clutter.
• Apple Mail is clean and minimal but lacks powerful organization tools.
• Outlook is feature-rich and enterprise-focused, but its UI can feel overwhelming.

After reviewing the SWOT analysis and exploring my own pain points when using the email platforms, I noticed that Apple Mail has room for improvement regarding email organization.

Insights

Flags' clarity and personalization are hidden - Users prioritize the ability to personalize the labels to organize their inbox in a more intuitive way. however, Apple Mail’s flag system uses only colors, and it is difficult to rename or categorize them, making it difficult for users to remember what each color means.

Managing emails requires too many clicks - By right clicking on the incoming email, users are presented with too many options. Common actions like archiving, setting reminders, or reporting spam require multiple steps, slowing down workflow.

Important emails get lost in the inbox - Users often lose track of time-sensitive emails because they get buried under new messages. Even though users have the option to put really important emails to a special inbox, it takes effort to remember and retrieve them.

— Ideation

How can we make improvements?

After brainstorming the pain points and explore many opportunities for improvement, I came up with three solutions.

Customizable flag labels allow users to assign personalized and meaningful categories for their emails, by  making the option to rename flag labels more visible and accessible, we can improve organization and retrieval of important emails.

Quick actions like archiving, setting reminder and report as spam should be easier to access. A quick action hover menu provides one-click access to essential actions, streamlining email management.

A drag-to-pin feature that override sorting and filtering allows users to keep up to three critical emails at the top of their inbox, ensuring they remain visible and accessible.

— Prototype

— Final Design

Relabeling flags

Pinning emails to the top of the inbox

Visibly color code smart mailbox