Facebook Unveils FB5 Redesign to Focus on Groups and Marketplace
Facebook introduces its biggest interface change in five years, shifting focus from the News Feed to community Groups and Marketplace to repair its reputation.
Facebook introduces a major redesign called FB5 at its F8 conference in an effort to reshape its cluttered and privacy-troubled reputation. Instead of simply polishing existing features, this update strips away the iconic blue color scheme to create a calmer, sparser interface that highlights what the social network wants to become. A newly updated logo featuring a bright blue bubble around a white "f" attempts to put a more uplifting spin on the bruised brand.
The redesign places Groups at the very center of the experience through a freshly tabbed interface on both the website and mobile app. With 1 billion monthly users already engaging in Groups, Facebook actively suggests new communities to join and introduces special features for specific interests like gaming and health. The company's ultimate goal is to get all 2.38 billion of its users into meaningful Groups that reflect their true identities.
Marketplace flanks this new Groups focus as another central element of the navigation bar, capitalizing on its massive latent potential. The classifieds feature, which adds real identity to a Craigslist-like experience to deter bad behavior, already boasts 800 million monthly users after just a year and a half. By bolting Marketplace directly to the main navigation of the world's most-used app, Facebook aggressively pushes this rapidly emerging use case.