Overview
As a UX Design student at CareerFoundry, my first project was to design an app for learning new vocabulary. I was the sole designer on this project. I conducted competitive analysis and user research, created a proto-persona, and designed user flows before hand sketching my low-fidelity wireframes and uploading them to Marvel to create a clickable prototype.
User Research
I conducted user research interviews and surveys to help determine what people need out of a vocabulary learning app.
Research Goals
- Discovering how users typically learn new vocabulary
- Learning more about when and how often participants study vocabulary
- Identifying what features users look for in a vocabulary learning app
Research Insights
- People most often study new vocabulary while in school or studying for standardized tests
- Some participants make their own flashcards, while others prefer to study pre-existing ones
- Users need various study method options in order to successfully learn new words
- Participants want a competitive aspect while studying, to help keep them motivated
Proto-Persona
I compiled information gathered from user surveys and interview to create one proto-persona, Anna.
Problem Statement
Anna needs a way to stay motivated and effectively learn new vocabulary during quick study sessions, because she wants to take the GRE while still working full-time. We will know this to be true when she is able to succeed in practice exams.
Hypothesis Statement
We believe that by creating a vocabulary app that has a competitive component, offers multiple ways to study each word, and contains a rating system while searching other user’s study material for Anna, we will help her achieve a great score on her GRE.
Design Iterations
After conducting usability testing, I updated my designs.
Onboarding Iterations
Issue:
Usability test participants were confused by all of the onboarding information on one page.
Solution:
- Onboarding separated into multiple pages
Homepage Iterations
Issue:
Users didn't understand what "Decks" were.
Solution:
Renamed Decks as Folders
Flashcard Iterations
Issue:
Participants were confused by the numbers on flashcards.
Solutions:
- Numbers were removed from front of flashcard
- Rating numbers only at bottom on flipped card
- Onboarding for how to use the rating system added
Conclusion
This project taught me that people all learn differently and therefore need flexibility on how to study new vocabulary. Continuing on this project, I will next create a mid-fidelity prototype and add pages for the remaining study methods and Word Bank. I then will conduct additional usability testing on the new prototype, before moving onto a high-fidelity prototype.
