Omu

Transport | Cities | Climate | e-mobility |Transit | Road Safety |

Sports, music & in-betweens

[I @W_Asherah]

Okay. Doing a thread of all the hits from this public participation.

1. https://t.co/DVp4YqSzjd

[Physics In History @PhysInHistory]

Happy 136th Birthday to Srinivasa Ramanujan, a self-taught Indian mathematical genius. He discovered nearly 4,000 theorems and equations, unique and groundbreaking. Some of his results were so advanced that they were not proven until decades after his death.

Today, India celebrates National Mathematics Day to commemorate Ramanujan's birth anniversary.

[World Athletics @WorldAthletics]

Female Rising Star winner 👑

Faith Cherotich 🇰🇪 is your Female Rising Star of the Year 🙌

#AthleticsAwards

[World Athletics @WorldAthletics]

Male Rising Star winner 👑

Emmanuel Wanyonyi 🇰🇪 is your Male Rising Star of the Year 🙌

#AthleticsAwards

[World Athletics @WorldAthletics]

World Athlete of the Year - Women’s Track 👑

Faith Kipyegon 🇰🇪 is your World Athlete of the Year for track events 👏

#AthleticsAwards

[Elizabeth Laraki @elizlaraki]

15 years ago, I helped design Google Maps.

I still use it everyday.

Last week, the team dramatically changed the map’s visual design.

I don’t love it.

It feels colder, less accurate and less human.

But more importantly, they missed a key opportunity to simplify and scale.

–––

Google Maps has started to widely roll out updated map colors:

- All roads are now gray

- Water changed from blue to teal

- Parks and open spaces are now mint green

It seems the goal was to improve usability and make the maps more readable.

Admittedly, I do think major roads, traffic, and trails stand out more now.

But the colors of water and parks/open spaces blend together.

And to me, the palette feels colder and more computer generated.

But color choices aside…

If the goal was better usability, the team missed a big opportunity:

Google Maps should have cleaned up the crud overlaying the map.

–––

So much stuff has accumulated on top of the map.

Currently there are ~11 different elements obscuring it:

- Search box

- 8 pills overlayed in 4 rows

- A peeking card for “latest in the area”

- A bottom nav bar

(Personally, I would LOVE to see usage metrics for all these overlays.)

The map should be sacred real estate.

Only things that are highly useful to many people should obscure it.

There should be a very limited number of features that can cover the map view.

And there are multiple ways to add new features without overlaying them directly on the map.

–––

Here’s how it could look:

- Keep the search box

- Keep the bottom bar

- Remove everything else from the map

- Roll the most used features into the bottom bar

- Bury the less used features elsewhere in the app

I assume the search box and directions are top priority and should remain prominent.

My Location and map layers (satellite, traffic, etc.) could move to the bottom bar.

The explore overlays (restaurants, gas, etc.) could live in the bottom bar in “Explore” and open as cards.

The additional space in the bottom bar could be used for Saved, as a “More” option, or could be removed entirely.

There are many variations of how features could be arranged.

But the key points are:

- Dramatically simplify

- Strongly prioritize map visibility

- Bury legacy and low use features

–––

It’s normal for products to accumulate features over time.

But it’s also super important to stay vigilant and continually clean them up.

In many ways, it’s interesting to see history repeating itself.

In 2007, I was 1 of 2 designers on Google Maps.

At that time, Maps had already become a cluttered mess.

We were wedging new features into any space we could find in the UI.

The user experience was suffering and the product was growing increasingly complicated.

We had to rethink the app to be simple and scale for the future.

It seems like it’s time for Google Maps to do this again…

–––

For more on design + tips for early stage founders, follow me on X: @elizlaraki

[TCS New York City Marathon @nycmarathon]

Hellen Obiri of Kenya wins the women's open-division of the 2023 #TCSNYCMarathon at 2:27:23.

[Mwangi Kirubi @mwarv]

Man, but Rugby is such a respectable sport...

No boisterousness, superstardom or showmanship. Just talent and teamwork, capped with respect for opponents and ref decisions.

I have to agree....

It is the game we'll play in heaven.

[Omu @Omupaul]

Ice in his veins!!! Handré Pollard sends SA to the final #ENGvSA

[Rugby World Cup @rugbyworldcup]

THAT MATCH 🇿🇦

#RWC2023 | #FRAvRSA

[Kenya Rugby @OfficialKRU]

The match ends.

Kenya 7-12 South Africa FT

South Africa win the 2023 Rugby Africa Women's 7s and qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The @kenyalioness finish second and will play in a repechage tournament next year for a slot at qualification for Paris

[Kenya Rugby @OfficialKRU]

Sharon Auma scores for the Lionesses, skipping past two defenders. Grace Okulu converts

Kenya 7-5 South Africa

#RugbyAfrica7s

[Ugo Monye @ugomonye]

“You’re still the best Dad” 🥺❤️

[Omu @Omupaul]

What a game! 30 phases by each team!!! #IREvNZL

[Omu @Omupaul]

Richie Mounga! If he hasn't done it, just know he's going to do it. #IREvNZL

[Omu @Omupaul]

That's a half especially NZ going 30 phases mimicking Ireland's forward play#IREvNZL

[Omu @Omupaul]

@papakmk @M_WMaina Vipi Elf #LOTR?

[Omu @Omupaul]

Great comeback by Los Pumas #RugbyWorldCup

[US Open Tennis @usopen]

Coco Gauff went from being a kid in the stands to a US Open champion.

Anything is possible.

[SportsCenter @SportsCenter]

COCO GAUFF HAS DONE IT‼️