Will Twitter’s redesign attract new users or has that bird already flown?

Social media platform Twitter has rolled out a new look for iOS, Android, TweetDeck and Twitter Lite.

The company has refined its typography to be more consistent, added bolder headlines and introduced rounded profile photos.

‘We switched to a speech bubble, a symbol most know and love. We also made the icons lighter for more seamless interaction’
^{– GRACE KIM}

The redesign also features new icons that are designed to be more intuitive, especially if you are using Twitter for the first time.

Hatching plans to avoid empty-nest syndrome

The move comes at a time when Twitter faces an onslaught of competition from Facebook properties such as Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, but also fast movers such as Snap Inc’s Snapchat.

In the first quarter of 2017, Twitter had around 326m users. However, rival Snap is nipping at its heels, with 166m users and growing.

During a visit to Dublin in recent months, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said he is quite optimistic about the company and even said it would endure forever.

With the new design, tweets also update instantly with reply, retweet and like counts to encourage users to engage with conversations as they are happening.

There is a new side navigation menu and fewer tabs at the bottom of the iOS mobile app.

“You told us you loved this change on Android last year and we’re excited to now bring it to iOS,” explained Twitter’s Grace Kim, vice-president of user research and design.

The changes also include an optimised feature in Safari’s viewer so users can easily access accounts on websites they are already signed into.

Kim said that the icons and latest features are designed to make it easier for new users to engage.

“For example, people thought the reply icon, an arrow, meant delete or go back to a previous page,” Kim said.

“We switched to a speech bubble, a symbol most know and love. We also made the icons lighter for more seamless interaction.”