case stydiscord

Discord

About

Discord is a communication platform and a home for communities of any size. It is designed to support a wide range of communities brought together by shared interests and the desire to connect. The platform is built around structured spaces (servers, channels, and user roles) that form an ecosystem within each community. Members interact through text, voice, images, and video, both synchronously and asynchronously, ranging from quick chats to long collaborative sessions.

Context

This project focused on reorganizing an existing feature into a more structured, user-controlled format with a focus on the mobile experience, while working within its established architecture, visual identity, and interaction patterns.

The feature addressed a structural UX issue within the existing flow. Managing servers often relies on user memory, visual guessing, or reactive workarounds, which often leads to avoidance behavior as usage scales.

Despite its limited scope, the change impacts long-term engagement, cognitive load, and users’ sense of control.

global users

656 mil

Existing servers

>32.6 mil

Mobile traffic

39.76% (US)

Current folder organization

Sidebar Folder UI element

key questions

The goal was to identify where users experience the highest levels of frustration and friction in their everyday use of Discord.

A platform audit revealed two potential areas of focus:  servers in the sidebar (top-level navigation) and channels within individual servers (inner-level navigation).

To determine which area was causing the issues, a series of user interviews was conducted, covering both servers and channels.

Identifying the area that causing the friction

Discord audit takeaways

Users

Taking into consideration that the largest segment of Discord users consists primarily of Gen Z and Millennials, I conducted an in-depth study of users aged 22–42 who have been using the platform for two or more years. The research focused on understanding their habits, mental models, and behaviors when managing a large number of servers and channels.

The research process consisted of three stages: an initial exploratory phase to identify key friction points, followed by two iterative phases during ideation and testing. New participants were introduced at each stage, while a smaller group remained throughout the process to observe how perceptions and behaviors evolved over time.

Initial research questions 1

Initial research questions 2

Interviers summary

Affinity map

Key findings

Server organization issues are more frequent and emotional. In almost all interviews, participants described or mentioned frustrations with how Discord servers are displayed and managed in the sidebar.

Insights

Insight 01

Users rely on memory and visual cues to identify servers in the sidebar, turning navigation into a recall-based experience.

Insight 02

Users cope with complexity by avoiding it. Muting or leaving servers becomes a substitute for structural control.

Insight 03

Existing organizational tools are either undiscoverable or cognitively inaccessible (many users didn’t even know folders existed), especially on mobile.

Server organization issues are more frequent and emotional. In almost all interviews, participants described or mentioned frustrations with how Discord servers are displayed and managed in the sidebar.

Ideation

Based on the research findings, the solution focused on server-level organization. Channel-level improvements addressed surface-level friction but did not resolve the underlying issue of ownership.

The ideation process involved several rounds of sketching and brainstorming. Through user interviews, it became clear that color in Discord is a functional element that users actively rely on.

Because of this, I chose to avoid grayscale wireframes. Instead, I used Discord’s core brand colors and familiar visual language to make early testing more efficient and easier for users to interact with. Each iteration was followed by quick user testing and feedback sessions.

Discord surface-level System Map

Folder opt. 1 with an icon/emoji cover and a server count indicator

Folder opt. 2 with servers displayed and a server count indicator

Adding a “Create Folder” button using existing Design System

Messages are moved into the main navigation, freeing the top of the sidebar for a “Create Folder” action

Introducing a visible “Create Folder” button next to the existing “Add Server” action, keeping the current sidebar

Full screen Slide In List View vs. Modal List View vs. Modal Grid View

Full screen Slide In List View

Modal List View

Modal Grid View

User Test Findings

During concept testing, users often described a grid/list toggle as appealing and logical. However, follow-up questions revealed that visual layout was not the core concern.

Users prioritized speed, clarity, and visibility over visual presentation, indicating that structural improvements mattered more than layout changes.

The testing showed that the value of the solution lay in improving navigation efficiency and users’ sense of control, regardless of visual presentation.

Group 1 test session findings

Group 2 test session findings

the solution

As mobile represents a significant share of Discord usage, this mobile-first solution focuses on making server navigation clearer and more controllable on smaller screens.

Features

01. Creating a folder

A clear and visible “Create Folder” flow enables a high level of customization through color and emojis. Emojis act as visual markers, similar to map markers, helping users emotionally associate servers within a group.

Creating a folder

02. Using folder

A broader set of functions supports faster interactions, greater user control, and a more consistent overall experience.

Using busy folders

Sidebar Folder UI element

Search for Server

Sidebar folder quick actions menu

Remove a folder while keeping all servers