Case Study: Improving the Messaging Experience of the Behance Mobile App
TL;DR
Redesigned Behance's mobile messaging to make conversations visible, shareable, and status-aware with attachments, templates, search, and video calls.
Overview
- Timeline: 4 weeks
- Platform: Android (concept)
- Team: 4 designers
- Tools: Figma, Whimsical, Google Meet
- Role: UX/UI design, research synthesis, wireframes, visual design
The problem
Behance mobile messaging was limited to plain text, with low visibility, no delivery status, and no attachments. Users had to switch to other platforms to share files or meet, and missed messages due to weak notifications.
Research
We interviewed 12 participants across two groups (designers and recruiters) to understand how they use Behance messaging and where it fails.
- Hard to find the message section
- Notification indicator is easy to miss
- No attachments or copyable links
- No delivery/seen status or timestamps
- No video calls; conversations move off-platform
The solution
We redesigned the messaging experience around visibility, clarity, and action.
- Added a dedicated messages entry in the home navigation and moved the notification icon to a more visible position
- Introduced delivery, seen, and timestamp indicators inside conversations and in the inbox
- Enabled file and image attachments, plus reusable message templates
- Added inbox search with filters for unread, documents, and links
- Added a media hub to find and download shared files by date
- Proposed one-to-one video meeting integration (Zoom) within chat
Impact
The redesign keeps conversations inside Behance, reduces missed messages, and supports faster collaboration with clients and recruiters.
- Users can complete messaging, sharing, and meetings in one place
- Clear status indicators reduce uncertainty about message delivery
- Templates speed up repeat communication
Disclaimer
This is an independent, educational case study and not affiliated with Behance.