Scribbler

case study

Bozana Radenkovic

My role

This was a solo project. I did user research, interviews, surveys. I created wireframes, prototypes, did user testing, I worked on branding and visual design.

The Idea

I always wished I had a place to write down ideas or quotes immediately when they crossed my mind. The easiest way was to type it in a cell phone, but all apps I found were too complicated and full of distractions.

I usually give up and go back to pen and paper or computer.

Research

I researched to see what writing tools people usually use. I posted a survey on Instagram; it was the cheapest and fastest method. I asked followers if they prefer typing, handwriting, or both methods. Then I interviewed several participants.

As an editor of the online magazine, I was privileged to have many followers who are writers.

There were more than 100 replies. 88% of replied that they prefer both pen and paper, and computer. 4% use only pen and paper. Most of the participants replied that they use a computer at least once a month for writing.

Cell phones were the less used tool.

Insight

The feedback received made it clear that most writing apps have complicated markdown editors, dictionaries that pop up, notifications, and lots of unused features and cluttered interfaces, making them annoying. That's why people usually give up and go back to paper or computer. They also said that cell phones are more suitable for short writings, like poetry.

Goal

My goal was to create a writing app with an absolute minimal interface that is very easy to use.

Digital wireframes

Low-fidelity prototype

After I determined the key screens I created a low-fidelity prototype to test the app.

Usability study

The main findings uncovered by the usability study included:

People had difficulty adding the story to the collection
People found the text hard to read
People wanted easy access to the latest text

Refining the design

Based on the insights from the usability studies, I applied design changes like working on legibility and redesigning the collections.

Final screens

Feedback

Users were excited to try the app again. One quote from peer feedback was that it's super easy to navigate. They liked the overall experience and especially loved the visual design.

Bottom line

A successful app cannot only be nice looking. More important is to make it user-centric, simple, and easy to navigate and let people interact according to their personal preferences.