PROJECT OVERVIEW

As part of my UX/UI certification, we were given the task of designing a low fidelity prototype of a mobile flash card app.

TOOLS

Figma
Miro
Marvel
Milanote
Google Suite

DURATION

1 month

MY ROLE

UX / UI Designer

THE PROBLEM

With so many flashcard apps already on the market, how could a new app distinguish itself?

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

I started by researching the flashcard apps people used most. I found Quizlet, the aptly-named 'Flash Cards,' and Anki. I performed a SWOT analysis and used Nielsen's Usability Heuristics to evaluate these apps, and came away with strengths to emulate and weaknesses to avoid.

Takeaway: Current flashcard apps have a lot of helpful features, but could benefit from visual branding and simplification.

USER RESEARCH

What are users' behaviors and motivations when memorizing?

I conducted a screening survey, and interviewed 4 participants who indicated that they've used apps to memorize terms. I asked them about their memorization habits: What, When, Where, and How they've memorized terms in the past, as well as what they've found helpful and unhelpful. 

The most prominent theme in these interviews was the importance of using various study methods: image pairing, writing out definitions, completing tests and quizzes, so I knew I needed to make these a priority.

USER PERSONA 

Who am I designing for?

To give my target audience a face and a name, I compiled my interview data and created my user persona, Tanya. 

TASK FLOWS

Once I had my user's needs, goals, and motivations in mind, I created user task flows for the core functions of the app. 

Adding A Card

USABILITY TESTING

Can users successfully create an account and complete the basic functions of the app?

After creating low fidelity wireframes for the screens in each task, I set up 6 remote, moderated tests with 6 different participants to test Memori's usability.

Quotes

“ I like the feature of “review missed,” that’s probably what I would do so I could see what I got wrong and go over those. ”

" Under progress, I’d like to see all my folders and be able to see which cards I keep missing and which I get right. " 

Revisions

REFLECTION & NEXT STEPS

Since this case study was a low fidelity prototype, the next steps would be to develop it into a high fidelity prototype. I would create mood boards and conduct AB testing for the visual design, create a design system, and utilize this to produce a high fidelity version on Figma. Once that was complete, I would do another round of testing for final revisions. 

As my first case study, this project taught me a lot about design. I learned that originality is not the goal of an app - usefulness is. When I first started this project, I just wanted to create an app that was as unique as possible. As I conducted interviews and talked with real users, I realized they were mostly satisfied with the apps they already used. This was very disappointing for me, and if I were launching an actual app I probably would have pivoted at this point. But because this was a student project assigned to me, I pushed myself to see how I could take the useful aspects of other apps, and make them even better. It wasn't as exhilirating as coming up with an entirely new idea, but it was satisfying to see the little ways I could make someone's experience just a bit easier and more enjoyable.