aNI sORTING ui
UX/UI Design Intern | Internship Task
Ani is a social media app for anime fans to share posts, engage with communities, and connect over shared interests. My task as a UX/UI intern was to research and design optimal feed-sorting options that improve usability and keep engagement high.
Problem
Ani’s growing user base wanted easier ways to organize and explore content. The challenge was to design a sorting system that:
Feels familiar
Surfaces relevant content
Remains simple and intuitive
Market Research
Default: Prioritizes user interaction (likes, comments, DMs).
Latest/Earliest: Helps users browse followers chronologically.
Chronological browsing is predictable, but default algorithm favors engagement.
TikTok
Relevance: Ranks posts by search relevance.
Likes/Popularity: Surfaces most popular content.
Unwatched: Ensures fresh discovery.
Strong at relevance + popularity; filters like “Unwatched” keep discovery fresh.
Twitter/X
Top: Algorithmic mix (interest, location, virality).
Latest: Chronological browsing.
Mix of algorithmic “Top” vs. chronological “Latest,” but users report missing posts.
Key Insights
What Works
Relevance sorting shows the most useful results.
Popularity highlights trending content.
Chronological sorting is simple and predictable.
Filters like “Unwatched” keep feeds fresh.
What doesn’t
Engagement-heavy sorting hides new or niche posts.
Algorithmic feeds feel random and is easy to miss things.
Too many filters can overwhelm users.
Alphabetical/location sorting doesn’t add much value for anime content.
To balance power with simplicity, I narrowed Ani’s sorting to five clear categories:
Relevance: Keyword-based ranking for most accurate results.
Most Popular: Highlights trending content through likes/comments/shares.
Recent: Chronological browsing for the latest posts.
Seen: Lets users revisit content they’ve already viewed.
Unseen: Surfaces fresh, undiscovered posts.
This set covers all core user needs while staying focused and intuitive.
User flow
I mapped how sorting integrates into Ani’s existing search and feed experience to minimize friction.
Low Fidelity wireframes
I explored different modal entry points to evaluate which interaction felt smoother and less intrusive.
Final Designs
Clean, branded UI consistent with Ani’s style.
Clear sorting states via color and iconography.
Smooth interaction pattern that doesn’t interrupt content browsing
Reflection
Through this project I learned how to:
Translate competitive insights into actionable design criteria.
Balance familiar interaction patterns with brand identity.
Test and compare interaction models for usability.
Future opportunities:
Surface popular search terms under the bar for easier discovery.
Explore personalized sorting defaults.