A Design review with TechCrunch50 Winner "Yammer"

Congratulations Yammer on the TechCrunch50 recognition.


Yammer is a tool for making companies and organizations more productive through the exchange of short frequent answers to one simple question: "What are you working on?"


They won the big prize at the 2008 TechCrunch50 event, and as a high profile Social Networking tool, our very own Solana Crawford has provided a design review.

Nice logo, warm and friendly, web 2.0 design style. It's not surprising to see that a social networking site uses predominantly blue for its color (ex: Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, etc...) Some of blue's strongest connotations are friendship, trustworthiness and technology.

It's very clear what the user is supposed to do once he or she gets there, but Yammer fails in explaining in detail what it is that THEY do. Yammer is not obvious until the user reaches the demo video at the bottom of the landing page. Once the user signs up, everything is pretty clear, well organized and easy to navigate.


The user forum does another good job with a logo application, but landing on that page gives you a feeling of chaos until you get organized again.

Overall, Yammer's site, though dated, makes for a good experience....It's in the details. Just a few key design and UI considerations can lead Yammer's interface to 2009.

Below is the Yammer presentation from TechCrunch50. Notice the opening title screen with the TechCrunch50.