Currently, the chat UI looks very different to most messaging apps we are used to (Whatsapp, iMessage, Facebook Message, Instagram, Telegram, Signal, etc.), and message bubbles are not distinct enough:
This makes it a bit confusing and breaks expectations. Particularly, the user messages next to the profile icon don't look like user messages.
In other words: the current look misses an opportunity to use years of muscle memory regular users have built up with other apps.
So I propose to make the chat look more like most other apps people are used to.
Specifically:
- User's message bubbles live on the right side, assistant's message bubbles live on the left;
- Message bubbles don't extend all the way to the other side. This helps to create separation, which makes it even easier to distinguish your messages from the assistant's at a glance;
- Message text looks pretty much the same, but the bubbles are different colors.
Perhaps even adding a "profile" circle to the left of the assistant's bubbles might be helpful. Not necessarily a photo, but maybe simply a (D) for "Dicio".
I understand sometimes rich content needs to be displayed, like a weather card, for example, but I think we don't lose much by shrinking the bubble horizontally a little bit and making it left-aligned. Otherwise, at least the user's bubble should shrink.
Examples
| Whatsapp |
iMessage |
Facebook Messages |
Instagram |
Signal |
Telegram |
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Currently, the chat UI looks very different to most messaging apps we are used to (Whatsapp, iMessage, Facebook Message, Instagram, Telegram, Signal, etc.), and message bubbles are not distinct enough:
This makes it a bit confusing and breaks expectations. Particularly, the user messages next to the profile icon don't look like user messages.
In other words: the current look misses an opportunity to use years of muscle memory regular users have built up with other apps.
So I propose to make the chat look more like most other apps people are used to.
Specifically:
Perhaps even adding a "profile" circle to the left of the assistant's bubbles might be helpful. Not necessarily a photo, but maybe simply a (D) for "Dicio".
I understand sometimes rich content needs to be displayed, like a weather card, for example, but I think we don't lose much by shrinking the bubble horizontally a little bit and making it left-aligned. Otherwise, at least the user's bubble should shrink.
Examples