#HamburgerWars

#HamburgerWars

Mike Ryan@ryaninteractive

#HamburgerWarsWhat is a hamburger menu?

A slide-in menu using a three line icon.

Kindle

#HamburgerWarsWhy are people using them?

Rdio

● Space is scarce on mobile● Minimal navigation gives a clean look.● In a responsive design you can have

consistent navigation and reuse code.● It’s on a lot of apps. Users that don’t

know what it means yet will learn.

#HamburgerWarsWhat I have seen in usability tests

● Most participants did not notice or use the hamburger menu.

● Several did not know it was an icon.

● Many failed tasks when the hamburger menu was required. (see chart)

● Several participants had seen the icon before but didn’t know what to expect & several had bad experiences with it.

Six Usability Tests (December 2013 – June 2014, 138 Ps)

71/75 Failed

#HamburgerWarsHave others had similar findings?

http://www.exquisitetweets.com/collection/lukew/2919 https://twitter.com/jmspool/status/441224973047574528

#HamburgerWarsWorkarounds

#HamburgerWarsHow did we get here?

Jennifer Aldrich @jma245https://userexperiencerocks.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/hamburger-icon-is-offended/

#HamburgerWarsFacebook? (2010)

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWarsTweetie? (2009)

http://moovweb.com/blog/hamburger-menu-handy-tool-or-useless-icon/http://blog.placeit.net/history-of-the-hamburger-icon/

HAMBURGER!(Lists, not a menu)

#HamburgerWarsJay-Z - The Blueprint 3 (2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blueprint_3

HAMBURGER!

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWarsXerox PARC (1981)

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWarsEsprit Logo? (1979)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esprit_Holdings

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWarsUSAF Imaging Target? (1951)

Used to measure an imaging system's accuracy & performance.

http://www.edmundoptics.com/testing-targets/test-targets/

HAMBURGER!

HAMBURGER!

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWarsAdidas Logo? (1949)

http://reversecommuter.com/tag/addidas/

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWarsThe Triple Bar? (1800s?)

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bar

Symbol or operator used in mathematics, science & philosophy1. Logical equivalence (if and only if)

2. Modular congruence

3. Expresses identical equality of functions

4. Triple bond between atoms

5. Homotypic synonyms (for naming plants)

6. To connect objects in a commutative diagram (category theory)

p∧T ≡ p38 ≡ 14 (mod 12)HC ≡ CH

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWarsMayan Number System? (250 AD)

http://www.ancient-symbols.com/mayan_symbols.html

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWarsTaoist Cosmology? (1,000 BC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagua http://primaltrek.com/house.html

HAMBURGER!

#HamburgerWars

1. Many users don’t know what to expect. The 3-line icon doesn’t have a clear metaphor & is used inconsistently.

2. Moving your navigation under an icon has consequences:

a. Users have to memorize what is in your menu.

b. It provides poor wayfinding.

c. Its location is separated from content weakening the mental connection.

3. It encourages us to include everything from desktop in responsive designs. This can create giant and cumbersome menus on mobile.

Why shouldn’t you use a hamburger menu?

#HamburgerWarsWhat does this icon represent?

No clear metaphor.

#HamburgerWars

Feedly: Menu & All Music: Reorder Various: Scroll Instagram: List

Chrome: Options GoodReads: List Docs: Icon, Menu

& Comment LinkedIn: Search

Photos: Reorder Pintrest: Filter Amazon: Menu & List Stocks: Reorder

Inconsistent use

Three line icons are used for many things. Sometimes in the same application

#HamburgerWars

Soundcloud: Menu GDrive: Menu Gmail: Apps Menu GDocs: App Icon

Word: List GDocs: Line Width Live Nation: Comment GoodReads: Tile view

GDocs: Justify Align Android OS: Filter USAToday: Menu FlipKart: Menu

Many similar icons

There are many icons similar to the hamburger.Some are menus and some aren’t.

#HamburgerWars

Soundcloud: Menu GDrive: Menu Gmail: Apps Menu GDocs: App Icon

Word: List GDocs: Line Width Live Nation: Comment GoodReads: Tile view

GDocs: Justify Android OS: Filter USAToday: Menu FlipKart: Menu

Many similar icons

Some have silly names like the hamburger.Let’s come up with some more.

Lets talk about burgers

Bentokabob

side-o-friesSlidersClub sammich Pizza

TV DinnerCake Pops

Drive-In Burger

LayerCake

Meatball

#HamburgerWarsTesting the hamburger icon

Exis Web A/B tests

http://exisweb.net/mobile-menu-icons http://exisweb.net/mobile-menu-abtest http://exisweb.net/menu-eats-hamburger

1. February 2014 - 20K users.

2. February 2014 - 50K users.

3. March 2014 - 250K users.Won by 20%

#HamburgerWarsIts direct effect on revenue

Diamond Candles (December 2014, sample of 240K)

All variations of the icon improved revenue by more than 4%.

Pink background version with menu label improved it by 6%.

http://conversionxl.com/testing-hamburger-icon-revenue/

#HamburgerWarsWhat if I label it “menu”?

MobileTravel (April 2015, sample of 300K)

Adding “menu” increased engagement by 61%

Hamburger alone

Hamburger plus “menu”

http://www.moovweb.com/blog/hamburger-menu-handy-tool-or-useless-icon/

#HamburgerWars

“I wonder who won the game? Do

these guys have a sports section?

I don’t remember.”

Open the menu and scan down until you find sports.

“Did I download the new Felicia Day book?”

Glance up to Authors.

iBooks

Hamburger menus force you to remember what is in them. Visible navigation requires only a glance, retaining context.

Hamburger Menus: Recall Over Recognition

#HamburgerWars

“Where am I? Best sellers?”

Check the hamburger!

Wiper Blades section.

Back to menu.

Tab bar

Walmart

Wayfinding. Where am I? Where can I go?

#HamburgerWarsNavigation removed from content

Menu is integrated with content and is easy to reach.

Menu is separated from content making it easy to miss.

TwitterMyDisneyExperience

When menus are close to content and have similar coloring, they are mentally connected.

http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1927

#HamburgerWarsDoesn’t it make responsive easier?

Yes, but...

https://twitter.com/lukew/status/443763299784482816

#HamburgerWarsVertical menus are infinite.

Three and a half screen lengths on an iPhone 5.

#HamburgerWarsEffects of switching to a tab bar

Redbooth (January 2015)

Switched to a tab menu● Number of sessions doubled● Daily users increased 65%

https://redbooth.com/blog/hamburger-menu-iphone-app?utm_campaign=iOS_Dev_Weekly_Issue_181&utm_medium=email&utm_source=iOS%2BDev%2BWeekly

#HamburgerWarsEffects of switching to a top menu

Zeebox (April 2014, sample of thousands)

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/04/08/ux-designers-side-drawer-navigation-costing-half-user-engagement/

● Switching to hamburger cut engagement in half● Tab menu significantly improved weekly and daily frequency

Hamburger Tab menu

#HamburgerWarsFacebook & NBC removed it

http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/18/facebook-ios-app-update/

2010 September 2013 February 2014

July 2014

#HamburgerWarsMany apps use horizontal menus.

#HamburgerWars

1. Consider a horizontal menu for your most important tasksA tab bar is less than 10% of your total height.

2. If you are going to use a hamburger menu, label it and make it stand out.

Recommendations

#HamburgerWarsDouble Hamburger Menus?

#HamburgerWarsQuestions?

Thanks!

Mike Ryan@ryaninteractive