Problem
It can be difficult to keep track of jargon when studying a new discipline, or trying to remember complex terms or ideas.
How might we design a way for students to methodically categorize, reference, and study new vocabulary and concepts so they can move forward confidently in their field?
Solution
Create an engaging and vibrant interface which utilizes effective and scientifically backed techniques to help users retain information.
competitive analysis — insights
After analyzing these major e-learning apps carefully, I thought to myself…
I need to create a merge of the best parts of these apps: the vibrant and engaging UI (like Duolingo) with the same seriousness and study focused UX (like Quizlet and Chegg).
white paper research — understanding cognitive psychology
Why do people forget?
Forgetting is a part of life. We all do it and shouldn’t feel bad about it. Forgetting is the loss or change of information that was previously stored in short-term or long-term memory. Yukoi Terada explains in this article that “We often think of memories as books in a library, filed away and accessed when needed. But they’re actually more like spiderwebs, strands of recollection distributed across millions of connected neurons. When we learn something new—when a teacher delivers a fresh lesson to a student, for example—the material is encoded across these neural networks, converting the experience into a memory.
Psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, who pioneered landmark research in the field of retention and learning, discovered in his experiments that without any reinforcements or connections to prior knowledge, information is quickly forgotten, roughly:
56 percent in one hour, 66 percent after a day, and 75 percent after six days.
Shaheen Lakhan, MD, PhD, FAAN has determined that there are four reasons for forgetting information:
Decay — retrieval failure due to memory traces that isn’t brought to consciousness and used
Interference — memories that compete and interfere with other memories or circumstances
Motivated forgetting — actively working to intentionally repress and forget memories that do not serve us or interest us
Failure to store — information that didn’t make its way into long-term memory or was not practiced in your sensory (working) memory
User Interviews
I interviewed 6 individuals from the ages of 14-47 who are either full time students or non-students that are studying for something.
Goals:
📖 Identifying pain points while studying vocabulary
📑 Different methods of studying vocabulary
🤳🏽 Understanding how people retain information
I asked questions about:
📝 Their learning style
🖥️ The resources they use to study vocabulary/in general
👀 What they look for or would like to see more of in a vocabulary app
📚 How they cope during finals and what helps them get through studying sessions
Key insights:
More than half of the participants learning style are a combination of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. All participants would enjoy a feature allowing you to customize the flashcard extensively to better retain the information long-term. 4 participants think that studying would be more enjoyable if their was positive reinforcement within an app to help motivate and encourage them to keep studying.
Information architecture — sitemap
Design — Key moments
ideation
testing & improvements — use cases
All iterations have been made using feedback from my target audience, mentors, and other designers during peer review sessions.
I tested 6 participants: 1 in eighth grade, 2 attending university, 2 in high school, & 1 non-student.
Interested in exploring Braindex? Here’s the prototype.
Testing & improvements — logo design
Final Screens
Conclusion + lessons learned
Telling a story is important. After reviewing hundreds of case studies from other junior designers, I noticed a pattern: It’s safer to just show artifacts and follow a design process. Admittedly, I’ve done this in my past case studies, but I’ve realized the important in story telling and how much more it can impact the tone of the case study.
The design process isn’t linear. I originally conducted research and testing for Braindex at the beginning of my UX Immersion Course with CareerFoundry. I revisited this concept and realized how non-linear the design process is: I went back to the drawing board multiple times for certain screens and conducted multiple usability tests with the same group of participants throughout the process.
Researching > my mental models and cognitive biases. Circling back to my logo design choices, I originally came up with the idea for the purple/pink color because I thought it looks aesthetically pleasing. With the second complimentary color logo, I picked that one through research and checking contrast, which resulted in way more constructive results and feedback.