Minimized functional collapsed state for navigation redesign (dependent on feedback)
Details
In #378544 (closed), we are introducing a hidden state for the new navigation sidebar. Although there are benefits to this direction, there are also concerns that this "chromeless" version would harm the experience for users who typically use GitLab with the sidebar in a collapsed state.
This issue is would iterate towards a collapsed state that is similar to today, where a user would maintain a minimized version of the sidebar when it is collapsed. This can provide some additional affordances such as context within the product, as well as offers slightly quicker navigation to certain items as it wouldn't be reliant on hovering to reveal a menu first. However, this does place a greater reliance on iconography, as a user would need to hover over each item to understand what they are (in the case the icon is not recognized).
We will be evaluating #378544 (closed) in the navigation redesign beta, and depending on that feedback as well as any additional metrics we identify, we will make the decision on whether to move towards this direction.