Reducing friction in everyday interactions
Discord is one of the products I use most, which also means it's where I notice the small interactions that interrupt otherwise simple tasks. Rather than redesigning the platform, I explored two targeted improvements that build on Discord's existing interface while reducing unnecessary steps.
- Role
- Product Designer
- Timeline
- 2026
- Skills
- Interaction DesignUX ResearchPrototyping
Design principles
- Preserve familiar interaction patterns. Changes should feel native to Discord rather than introducing new workflows.
- Reduce unnecessary steps. Common tasks should require the fewest interactions possible.
- Design around user intent. Interfaces should support what users are trying to accomplish, rather than making them adapt to the interface.
Focused interaction improvements
Identified two everyday friction points and redesigned them while preserving Discord's existing patterns.
Finding friends shouldn't depend on their status
The Friends page defaults to Online, making it easy to browse who's available but less effective when searching for a specific person.
I grouped Online and All into a single Social view, allowing search to return both online and offline friends while still showing each person's current status.
Search by relationship, not availability
Separated friend discovery from online status, allowing users to find people regardless of presence state.
Opening a conversation shouldn't require sending one
Opening a user's profile doesn't provide a direct way to access an existing conversation. If a DM isn't visible in the sidebar, users must send a message just to reopen the chat.
I added an Open Chat button beside the message composer, allowing users to enter a conversation without sending anything. Draft text is preserved, while the action remains separate from sending a message.
Separated opening from sending
Added a dedicated entry point for accessing conversations without requiring users to create a new message.