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Google Calendar Redesign

Work in Progress

Transforming scheduling from chaos to clarity — Smart AI-powered calendar for focus and productivity

RoleUX/UI Designer
Duration3 weeks
FocusIndividual Project
Impact40% faster scheduling

Project Overview

I set out to redesign Google Calendar with a focus on smarter scheduling and better focus management. My goal was to reduce the time people spend coordinating meetings, help them protect their focus hours, and make the experience more inclusive for all users.

The vision was to transform Google Calendar from a passive tool into an active productivity partner that anticipates needs and streamlines workflows.

Key Objectives

Reduce scheduling coordination time by 40%
Protect and prioritize focus time blocks
Enhance accessibility and inclusive design
Create seamless cross-platform experience

Design Focus

AI-powered scheduling with human-centered design principles

The Problem

The Timezone Puzzle: When "3 o'clock" Means 3 Different Times

Scheduling with friends or teammates across time zones turns into a mental math nightmare. When you say "Let's meet at 3 PM," that's 8 PM for your friend in Nigeria and 12:30 AM for your colleague in India.

The Problem in Action

Imagine: You want to schedule a game night with two friends

🇨🇦 You (Canada)
3:00 PM - Perfect afternoon time
🇳🇬 Friend (Nigeria)
8:00 PM - Getting late, dinner time
🇮🇳 Friend (India)
12:30 AM - Already asleep!

Result: Endless back-and-forth messages, mental timezone math, and frustrated friends

Current Google Calendar Interface

Google Calendar main interface showing weekly view

Present UI of the Google Calendar - Main weekly view interface

Google Calendar event creation dialog with time zone options

Event creation dialog showing time zone complexity

The Timezone Coordination Nightmare

Here's what happens when you try to schedule that game night with your friends across time zones:

❌Current Flow: 8+ Back-and-Forth Messages

1.
Send initial message
"Hey, game night Saturday at 3 PM?"
2.
Friend from Nigeria responds
"That's 8 PM for me, bit late..."
3.
Friend from India responds
"12:30 AM? I'll be sleeping 😴"
4.
You do mental math
"Let me think... what about 11 AM my time?"
5.
More confusion
"Wait, what time is that for me again?"
🕐 15+ minutes of confusion, frustration, and mental math

✅Smart Helper Solution: 1 Simple Action

1.
Tell your smart helper
"Find a time for game night with Sarah and Raj"
2.
AI analyzes all schedules
Considers work hours, sleep times, and preferences
3.
Perfect suggestion appears
"Best time: Saturday 10 AM (Canada) = 3 PM (Nigeria) = 7:30 PM (India)"
4.
One-click invite sent
Everyone sees their local time, no confusion
🚀 30 seconds total, zero mental math, happy friends

🟥 Pain Points Along the Way

Multiple Context Switches

Calendar ↔ Gmail/Chat back-and-forth disrupts workflow

Manual Overlap Checks

No AI assistance for finding optimal meeting times

Time Zone Math

Error-prone mental calculations across multiple zones

Cognitive Load

Tracking who responded, who declined, what alternatives work

The Visual Problem

❌ Before: Timezone Confusion

"Let's meet at 3 o'clock"
But what does this actually mean?
🇨🇦Canada
3:00 PM
Perfect!
🇳🇬Nigeria
8:00 PM
Getting late...
🇮🇳India
12:30 AM
Sleeping! 😴

✅ After: Smart Time Finding

AI finds the perfect overlap
Everyone's awake and available!
🇨🇦Canada
10:00 AM
Saturday morning ✓
🇳🇬Nigeria
3:00 PM
Perfect afternoon ✓
🇮🇳India
7:30 PM
Evening free time ✓

Why This Matters

When you say "3 o'clock" to friends across time zones, it means 3 completely different times
People waste 15+ minutes doing mental timezone math and sending confused messages back and forth
A smart scheduling helper could find the perfect overlap in 30 seconds instead of 15 minutes
This simple improvement would make global collaboration feel effortless instead of exhausting

Research & Discovery

Research Method

I interviewed 6 users including a remote team lead, a freelancer, and students to learn about their pain points. I also audited competitors like Outlook, Cron, and Motion to identify opportunities.

User Interviews

6 participants across different roles and contexts

Competitive Analysis

Outlook, Cron, Motion, and other calendar apps

Key Insights

✓

People want to spend fewer clicks scheduling meetings

✓

Focus time is undervalued and often interrupted

✓

Teams need visibility into schedules without clutter

User Personas & Journeys

Sarah

Remote Manager

Challenge:Cross-time-zone scheduling
Goal:Schedule meetings in under a minute
Need:Clear visibility of team availability

"I need to quickly find meeting slots that work across 3 time zones."

Marcus

Freelancer

Challenge:Protecting deep work hours
Goal:2 extra hours/week of focus time
Need:Automatic focus time protection

"I need my calendar to help me preserve blocks for creative work."

Alex

Student

Challenge:Complex navigation and reminders
Goal:Simple, accessible scheduling
Need:Voice commands and shortcuts

"I need better accessibility features and clearer navigation."

Ideation & Design Solutions

The Smart Helper Solution

Instead of forcing users to do mental timezone math, I designed an AI-powered scheduling assistant that makes global coordination feel as simple as texting a friend down the street.

🧠

Smart Timezone Helper

AI that instantly finds the perfect meeting time across any number of time zones

🎯

One-Click Scheduling

Tell your calendar who to meet with, and it handles all the timezone math for you

🌍

Global Time View

See everyone's local time at a glance—no more mental calculations

💬

Smart Invites

Invitations automatically show each person's local time—no confusion

🌍

Global Schedule Helper

Your AI assistant for effortless timezone coordination

30sec
Instead of 15min
Zero
Mental math required
1-click
Perfect time found
Happy
Global friends

Interactive Prototype & Testing

Prototype Development

I built an interactive prototype in Figma that compared the old Google Calendar flow vs. my redesigned flow. This allowed me to test how much faster and clearer scheduling could become.

Key Flow Comparisons

AI scheduling vs. manual slot finding
Focus Mode activation and protection
Team availability visualization

Usability Testing Results

✓

AI scheduling saved users multiple steps

✓

Focus Mode made protecting deep work easier

!

Users wanted AI to explain why certain times were suggested

Testing Insights

What Worked

  • • Users found AI suggestions intuitive and helpful
  • • Focus Mode was immediately understood and valued
  • • Team view reduced coordination overhead significantly

Areas for Improvement

  • • Need more transparency in AI decision-making
  • • Some accessibility features needed refinement
  • • Cross-platform consistency required attention

Impact & Outcomes

Scheduling Efficiency

40% faster scheduling with AI suggestions

Reduced coordination time significantly

Streamlined cross-timezone meetings

Focus Protection

2 extra hours/week of focus time

Reduced meeting interruptions

Better work-life balance

Accessibility

25% reduction in navigation steps

Enhanced screen reader support

Voice command integration

Projected Impact

40%

Faster scheduling with AI suggestions

2hrs

Extra focus time preserved per week

25%

Fewer navigation steps for accessibility users

Reflection & Learnings

🤖 Balancing AI & Trust

Through this project, I learned how important it is to balance automation with user trust. Users appreciate AI assistance but want transparency in decision-making.

♿ Accessibility from the Start

I saw the value of designing with accessibility in mind from the beginning rather than retrofitting features later.

🎯 User-Centered Iteration

Early user testing revealed insights that significantly improved the final design, especially around AI explanation and transparency.

🔮 Future Integration

The next step would be exploring deeper integrations with Gmail and Docs to make scheduling even more seamless.

Key Takeaway

Great calendar design isn't just about organizing time—it's about respecting and optimizing how people think, work, and collaborate. The most powerful features are often the most invisible ones.

Conclusion

This Google Calendar redesign demonstrates how thoughtful UX design can transform everyday tools into intelligent productivity partners. By prioritizing user needs and leveraging AI thoughtfully, we can create experiences that not only save time but actively protect what matters most—focus and meaningful work.

The success of this project reinforced my belief that the best technology feels invisible—it anticipates needs, removes friction, and empowers users to focus on what truly matters.

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