UX Case Study
A vocabulary learning app for people on the go
This project was my introduction to UX design during my course with CareerFoundry. The goal was to become familiar with key processes and stages required when designing user experiences.
I conducted thorough user research and testing to create my own design brief, conceptualize and then iterate low fidelity wireframes for my vocabulary learning application - 'Tell me!'.
There are many reasons people decide to learn new vocabulary; sometimes for school or work, learning a new language, or sometimes just for fun.
Regardless of the reason, we are always picking up new words and definitions, constantly growing our vocabularies. Humans are curious creatures by nature and programmed to learn.
With the power of technology, nowadays we are constantly optimizing how we learn and making it easier to access information at our convenience.
There are so many resources out there to help us on our individual journeys towards our goals. Some people prefer books, other prefer videos, some prefer structured lessons, others go for immersive experiences. There are so many methods and approaches to learning new vocabulary that we are spoiled for choice.
The project started with a single question: how might we design a mobile app that empowers people to learn new vocabulary?
That's it. Seems simple right? But the main purpose of this project was to learn the processes behind designing user experiences, and in order to do that we need to fully understand the problem at hand.
The project walks through each of my design processes in detail; starting from creating a project brief, to revising my initial wireframes.
Using thorough research and analysis, I carved out my own design criteria and brief to create a clear path to explore. I then conceptualized my findings to create a user persona and stories that reflect real people before wireframing my solutions on paper. I tested my designs with users to gain feedback and optimize accordingly.
First I needed to get a wide scope of the area; vocabulary apps. The goal was to compare three vocabulary apps that operate using flashcards.
The overall experience and interfaces of the apps were analysed in detail and evaluated to help build a solid understanding of their overall functionality and any USPs.
Screen layouts and features were annotated, and an extensive pros and cons list was drawn up for each application.
Upon completing this analysis I now had a clearer understanding on what features may be expected by users on vocabulary apps and how they operate and influence user experiences.
With a good view of the product market I could now decide on my niche.
I decided to target busy students who are trying to learn a foreign language in their free time.
With this audience in mind I began recruiting participants for user interviews which would provide me with qualitative insight into their mindsets and behaviors. The aim was to understand who we are designing for.
In order to keep this research phase running smoothly and professionally, I composed a brief interview script to introduce myself to the participants and defined the questions I was looking to answer.
I made sure to word the questions carefully, as to not lead or influence the participants opinion and provide them with as much freedom and comfort to convey their thoughts openly.
I conducted interviews with 4 participants that fitted my target demographic: students who use apps to learn foreign languages in their free time.
During the interviews I recorded detailed notes, paying close attention to participants' verbal and non-verbal cues in the hopes to gain as much insight as possible.
I then analysed the qualitative data by sifting out key insights and categorizing them into one of three categories; doing, thinking, or feeling.
This way I was able to understand users behaviors and actions more deeply and create actionable insights further down the line.
I combined all of the insights from the user research that informed behaviour, desires, and requirements of our target audience to create Maya - our user persona.
Creating a user persona helps designers to personify the problem at remember to look at the issue through a human lens; this is essential when following a user-centered design process.
From Maya's point of view, I created user stories that explain what she is looking for in an app and why.
Similar to user stories, job stories present scenarios and context that the persona may encounter which helps add more nuance to the desired features.
Maya needs a way to stay motivated to learn foreign vocabulary regularly through a range of fun and interactive exercises because she has a very busy schedule and tends to forget her new vocabulary if not consistent with it.
We will know this to be true when we see Maya using the app regularly in her free time and is able to apply her vocabulary knowledge in her daily life.
With the problem statement and user persona, Maya, in mind, I now started to map out the architecture of the app through user flows.
User flows visualize the steps users take to complete tasks or activities in the app. Drawing them out provides a clear map for the journey and thus helps to optimize the information architecture and plan the necessary screens.
Now with the main user flows mapped out I began drawing out wireframes for each screen using pen and paper.
Using the Marvel app, I created a clickable prototype of the wireframes so that I could test the functionality with users.
The feedback from the testing sessions was analysed in detail before being summarized in a table as shown below.
Users want...
With these insights in mind, I now made revisions to the wireframes to ensure a smooth and helpful user experience.
This project ended here with the revised low fidelity prototype. My primary focus was to gain experience with the fundamental practices of the UX design process which I did.
I learnt the standard procedures behind research, conceptualization, wireframing, testing, and iteration. I now want to deepen my understanding and apply these skills to carry a project from initial conception all the way up to final mockups and hand-off.
There is a lot more to learn about UX design let alone UI, but I am keen to get started.
Now with the revised paper wireframes I could start looking to create mid and high fidelity screens to develop the app further. I would continue to test with users at each stage to ensure that the app is intuitive and well-received with users.
Out of curiosity I created a few high fidelity mockups for some of the revised wireframes using Figma.
It quickly became clear to me that the further development of 'Tell Me' would require a deeper understanding of both UX and UI practices, nevertheless, I still enjoyed experimenting with Figma, layouts and colour schemes to produce these mockups.
I look forward to continuing to develop my interface and visual design skills in the future so I can perhaps revisit this project for an update.
