Overview
- ContextPersonal Project
- RolesResearcher | UX/UI Design | Branding | Illustration
- NotesPen + paper, Figma, Procreate
80 Hours
Problem
Design a platform that affords users the ability to collect and consolidate content from various outlets and easily organize it according to personal preferences.
I read about multiple news pieces each day. However reading and being able to recall what I have read are different matters. I wanted to design an application that reduces recall failures and encourages people to read more than the average 15 minutes. Ilgoyo lets users collect content while promoting balanced, intentional reading habits.
Solution
An application that delights users with light-hearted illustrations and promotes healthy digital consumption habits while meeting personal needs.
Building an intimate customer experience while shopping small online.
- Solution
- ClientEupnea Home
- My FocusResearch
Wireframes
Visual Design
Testing
- NotesSketch, Figma, + Invision
Ongoing project
In September 2019, I was approached by eupnea to build an e-commerce site that would cater towards their customers and grow a wider client base. eupnea is a small business that designs, creates, and sells meditation and wellness products. As a small-batch company, their product line is limited and they aim to be open and transparent with their customers.
Research & Empathy
To answer this question, I needed to know what current short-form content platforms were on the market and how users interacted with them.
User Types & Motivations
Average Readers
Habitual Readers
Power Readers
Daily Readers
According to Pew Research Center average readership is first and foremost taking place on mobile devices because it is more easily accessible and can be done in bite size pieces. The remaining 40% is made up of desktop computers, newspapers, television, and radio. [1]
Current Industry
I identified three major types of reading applications that focused on short-form content:
- Content creators - e.g. New York Times and personal blogs
- Content aggregates - e.g. Apple News and Pocket
- Content creator-aggregates - e.g. Medium
Takeaways
Across all platform types, I identified two opportunities that give Ilgoyo a competitive stance:
- Referencing content and having personal notes attached to articles
- As of yet, there is no one working to promote good reading habits like long-form applications (e.g. Apple Books).
I synthesized user feedback from one-on-one interviews using the above empathy map and then compared this data with my exploratory research. I gleaned 3 primary user needs.
User Needs
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Synthesis
As a web clipper application, the user experience is dependent on the user’s current reading patterns. The type of reader they are and their interaction(s) with both digital devices and content outlets. This led me to create a user journey that placed Ilgoyo in contrast with existing tools and explored what it would mean for Ilgoyo to convert customers.
While developing this journey, it became evident that Ilgoyo's value proposition lay its holistic approach to good reading habits.
Unlike competitors, Ilgoyo treats reading as a daily ritual and uses metrics to motivate readers to intentionally consume content, not blindly.
Ideation
After working through a few sketches and notes to solve general structural challenges, I digitized my wireframes in Figma. My early concerns were about utility and legibility as Ilgoyo.
However, my biggest challenge was understanding what metrics actually motivate individuals. I conducted short interviews to gauge user reactions to different types of tracking and visualization. Interviewees were prompted to evaluate the following two designs:
In the process, I realized that I needed to be careful to avoid the pitfall of digital fatigue. Users like the idea of seeing their progress but want do not want another app set on optimizing personal habits.
- Users had a preference for simpler, “at-a-glance” data.
- Longevity views were fine in small doses, but not as a default.
- Progress bars were preferred to larger circular progress charts.
To address these preferences, I modified the metric visuals to promote a less burdensome snapshot of performance.
Daily Reading
Goal
Daily Reading
Tracker
Opt-in
Challenges
Brand & Identity
Ilgoyo was designed to celebrate why people read: discovery and pleasure. A personal place to enjoy learning new things while challenging yourself to find more time to read.
Using this message as a guiding principle I created a brand identity that was positive, light-hearted, and intentional.
By balancing a bright palette with a robust font, I hoped to establish a place between intentionality and positivity; print material and digital content; discovery and pleasure.
Traditionally, print sources usually employed a memorable wordmark. I opted to continue this trend but wanted to refresh the traditional form of a wordmark. I made it lower case, gave it some texture and color, and placed it in front of simple line drawings.
I also created a brand mascot that would delight users and provide relief from the text-heavy content. I went through various iterations to find a print-inspired drawing style that would be a playful counterpart to the textual elements.
Visual Design
Onboarding
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Design Elements Tour
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Testing
Takeaways
- Challenges are a fun and even useful feature, but the flow needs to be fine-tuned.
- Users loved the illustrations and felt it was a nice balance to text heavy content.
- Changes were recommended regarding the text hierarchy and some copy edits.
Remarks
As a personally designed challenge, Ilgoyo was both a frustrating and rewarding project. Illustrations took an unexpectedly long amount of time to create a cohesive aesthetic that could would match the brand and be scaled out across the application. At the same time, I feel really good about having challenged myself to do something new.