Project Overview
Moleskine Smart Notebooks combine analog and smart technology to empower creativity. Users can transfer notes and sketches from paper to digital format through the notebooks. We Create a safe and inspiring space for users to engage!​
Role
Researcher, designer
Group Size
Time
Methodology
3
Aug 2024
Journey Map, User interviews, Usability Tests, Competitive Analysis
Business Needs
Problem Statement
1. Increase user stickiness
2. ​A community for users to find like-minded individuals
​​3. Strengthen the brand concept
​​4. Increase customer loyalty to turn users into ambassadors
1. Users hesitate to share their work due to self-consciousness and lack of creative confidence.
2. This limits opportunities for collaboration and learning.
3It prevents them from receiving valuable feedback and encouragement.
Our Solutions
Create a more inviting and less intimidating platform environment, thereby encouraging users to share their creativity.
​
1. Choose Communities Based on Interests
​2. Anonymous Posting
​​3. Clarify Labels and Purposes
Take a look at our update
Community Feeds
Interest-Based Personalization
Onboarding
Note Publishing
Design Thinking Process
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day5
Day6
Day7
Day8
Day9
Day10
Day11
Day12
Day13
Day14
Day15
Day16
Discover
Define
Ideate
Design
Test & Iterate
Discover Phase
Stakeholder Interview
I have performed a total of 5 User interviews. From those, I've gathered some insights about users' sharing habits about their note-taking, creative work, and social media.
"I will share if I’m job hunting, otherwise I’d feel self-conscious about sharing my work."
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"I want to publish things when there is a very targeted audience, and they understand my work."
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“I won’t share my work unless it’s perfect.”
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"I like following people’s work and perhaps commenting on it. If I like it and it is for sale, I'll’ even buy it."
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‘If there's some kind of subject I'm really interested in, I really want to see other people's work."
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User Journey Map
I began by mapping out the creative process many of our interviewees describe by assigning satisfaction levels to each stage.
Inspiration
Visit multiple sites
Gather ideas
Feel overwhelmed
Creation
Start sketching
Refines artwork
Get the work done
Sharing
Feedback
Hesitate to share
Receive comments
Perfectionism kicks in
Can't be understanded
Reluctantly decides to share
Feel demotivating
When it came to creating our feature prioritization matrix, "Inspiration," "Sharing," and "Feedback" were the parts of the process that were the most feasible to improve for our two-week sprint.
Define Phase
User Persona
In the defining phase, I noted the user's frustrations and created a persona - Oliver.
Age
Gender
Location
Occupation
33
Male
Bay Area, CA
Data Analyst
Oliver Mason
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"I wish I can did it more consistently. The amount of apps can be overwhelming. It would be nice to be able to share in more than one app."
Story
Oliver is a creative from the Bay Area who organizes his ideas using both notebooks and digital tools. He varies his note-taking methods based on his projects and seeks inspiration from others on social media. However, he lacks confidence in sharing his work, often hesitating due to his desire for perfection and fear of negative feedback.
Frustrations
-
Feels self-conscious, so don’t want to share their work
-
Not able to select to whom they want to share their work with
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Unable to share their work to multiple platforms at the same time.
Goals
-
To receive feedback from like-minded creators
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To find a place where they can organize all of their creations​
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To join communities that inspire them to create
Storyboard
After having our persona Oliver, I start brainstormed on how he gonna use our app
Feature Prioritory
After user interviews and competitive analysis, I narrowed down to a few possible features that can bring maximized positive effects.
Industry Insights
Ever since 2020, there has been an increase in small communities within the social media landscape. Small communities have become more popular with time as they offer more meaningful connections, authentic conversations, and a sense of belonging.
Must Have
Should Have
-
​Templates
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Collaboration feature
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Profile
-
Community
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User connections
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Label based interests
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Content sharing
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Anonymous publishing
Could Have
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Gamification (challenges, point systems, streaks)
Won’t have
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​"For Now"
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Live-streaming
Brands are taking advantage of Influencers who help create a community to build customer loyalty, and Social Media Platforms are adapting to accommodate smaller, more selected groups.
Ideate Phase
User Flow
I mapped out the steps for Oliver, a returning user who just updated the app. He wants to publish one of his works and also browse through posts that are selected based on his interests (tagged as labels).
Sketch
Design Phase
Typography & Color
Before bring up the lo-fi to mi-fi prototype, I created a design system.
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#AFAFAF
#EAEAEA
#FF7B00
#3CB6E0
Inter
light
regular
old
Final Design - Homepage
Users are greeted by name for a personalized experience.
Various interest tags allow users to customize their feeds and community recommendations.
Displays curated community recommendations based on selected interests.
Community Selection
Note Viewing
Interest-Based Personalization
Final Design - Onbaording
Onboarding Screens
Explains that this is where they can find notes and drawings shared by others, inspiring creativity and engagement.
Emphasizes that this section enables interaction with like-minded individuals and fosters collaboration.
Highlights the publishing area and suggests starting their first post by selecting a note page.
Final Design - Publish Note
Note Publishing
Users can customize their publishing settings, such as visibility (All, Followers only, Private).
Tagging interests ensures the note reaches relevant communities.
Final Design - Explore Feed
Explore Notes
Users can browse published notes from others in their selected interest categories.
Categories are displayed as filters at the top (e.g., Math, Journaling, Travel).
Tagging interests ensures the note reaches relevant communities.
Next Steps
Due to the time reason, we selected to fix the main problem for the target audience. But for building a better communities, there still a lot of thing can be done. Here is some recommendated next steps for business.
Incorporate templates to enhance the creation part of the process
A entry for communities
Provide levels or streaks to encourage users to keep visiting the app and posting
A study by Badgeville found that gamification can increase user engagement by up to 30%.
What did I learn?
This is my first UX design group project. I comprehended the importance of clear and frequent communication to ensure everyone is aligned, understands their responsibilities, and feels heard throughout the project. I also gained experience leading my team , delegating tasks effectively, and motivating team members.