INFO 3450 - Design Critique: Google Calendar

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INFO 3450 Design Critique: Google Calendar

I have been using Google Calendar to manage my schedule fora long time, and it proves to be a very efficient tool for this task. As anonline service, it is a perfect substitute for the physical calendar, and Ilove its easy accessibility. However, just like many other online services,Google Calendar has its own rough spots, and I wish that by critiquing thisproduct we would have a better idea of how an online calendar can be improvedto better assist people.

The Good
Clean layout with little distraction

2. Important information is prominent

3. Quick-add function very useful

4. Intuitive interaction with the calendar
Whenever a user wants to add an event in the current week,he can just click on the corresponding time slot on the calendar, and a dialogbox will pop up for him to fill out the event information. This is very convenientfor the user, as he doesn’t need to hit the “Create” button and then enter theextra information ofdate and time, and also it is a very intuitive operation because the user isdirectly operating on the calendar, which is the most natural way of adding anevent.

The Bad

1. Can’t show all events of the day in one screen

Suggestion for redesign

2. Too many options for calendar layout

Suggestion for redesign

3. No to-do list feature

A possible reason for the lack of to-do list feature is that the designers want this product to be simple without too many functionalities. However, a to-do list to a calendar is a very natural addition, just like all paper planners have both calendar and to-do list. The combination of the two will give users a lot of convenience.

Suggestion for redesign

4. Lack of social integration

Suggestion for redesign

Problems illustrated on the interface