Lingo Up
Lingo Up is a flashcard-based English vocabulary learning app that helps language learners learn and retain vocabulary to achieve their goals. Users can efficiently learn and review new words and create their own study sets.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Background
Lingo Up is my first design project, a service I created independently for a UX design course at CareerFoundry.
Goal
To provide an app that helps potential users continue to learn words efficiently in order to achieve their goals. Also, my personal goal is to practice using the design process and to create my first design portfolio piece.
My Role
UX Design
Tools Used
Pen and Paper, Figma, Marvel, Whimsical
Duration
One month
1. DISCOVER
Competitive Analysis
As a first step, I analyzed three vocabulary learning apps to understand how competitors are solving user pain points in the markets I am working on.
Duolingo
Duolingo is an educational app to learn vocabulary in a fun and effective way.
- Game-like lessons and fun characters motivate to keep learning.
- All UI designs are visually appealing and clearly indicate what the user should do.
- Users can try the service before creating an account. This helps users to see if the app meets their requirements.
- No flexibility in changing the language level after the initial setting, even if it is too easy or difficult.
Quizlet
Quizlet is fast onboarding and easy to start the service.
- Intuitively manipulate the flashcards by tapping and swiping.
- Users can add and customize their own study sets. Perfect for users who want to learn efficiently in their own way.
- Too many ads that may distract the user's concentration. In particular, the ad banners on top of the buttons were so close to the buttons that I accidentally clicked on them.
TOEFL Flashcards
TOEFL Flashcards is a simple and easy-to-use vocabulary learning app. It focuses on users who preparing for TOEFL.
- o onboarding instructions, but it's simple enough that it' not confusing to use.
- Compared to other apps such as Duolingo and Quizlet, this app has fewer options and a smaller variety of materials. Users might get bored with it.
- Suitable for specific users who only need a minimum of features to learn vocabulary.
User Research
This time, I interviewed three people who had used language learning apps to gain a deeper understanding of the users.
Interview Objectives
- To understand user behavior in language learning.
- To identify the problems users are having when learning a language.
- To determine what kind of language learning apps users find easy to use.
Main Takeaways
I categorized the notes taken during the interviews by "Doing," "Thinking," and "Feeling" and found the following.
- Interviewees memorized the vocabulary of the language they wanted to learn using an app or Google spreadsheet.
- The interviewee is fed up with having to repeat simple tasks of memorizing words to master them, and finds it difficult to stay motivated.
- Interviewees prefer to learn a new language through game-like activities, and want to add words and customize it for themselves.
2. DEFINE
Persona
I integrated the key insights from the competitive analysis and the similarities I found in the user interviews to determine the direction of my project. I decided to develop a customizable vocabulary memorization app.
I then created a proto-persona that symbolized the behaviors, needs and goals of the potential users of Lingo Up.
I then created a proto-persona that symbolized the behaviors, needs and goals of the potential users of Lingo Up.
Emily's Challenges
- As a busy designer, I feel like it's a waste of time that flashcards display words I already know when I'm trying to learn new words.
- I often come across unfamiliar words when studying for an English exam, but I don't know how to organize and memorize them.
- It's frustrating how easily I forget the new words I learned.
- There are so many words that I need to remember, and review them over and over again, which takes me a long time to fully retain them.
Problem Statement
What does
Emily need?
Emily need?
Emily needs a way to effectively and quickly memorize English vocabulary words because she has a busy schedule. We will know this to be true when Emily can improve her English skills to meet the requirements for a graduate school.
Hypothesis Statement
What can
we do?
we do?
We believe that by creating a customizable app with features to help learn and retain English vocabulary effectively for Emily, we will achieve her goal of getting a high score on the English exam.
To achieve Emily's goal, I came up with the following features.
- A feature to mark new words.
- A feature that allows users to review only the words they have marked.
- Provide a variety of ways to review.
- Periodic tests to check for retention of vocabulary.
- A feature that allows users to create their own study sets.
3. IDEATE
Task Analyses and User Flows
From the ideas I came up with to solve Emily's problem, I conducted task analyses and created a user flow for the two main features.
4. DESIGN
As a quick and effective way, I sketched out my ideas by hand and created Low-Fidelity wireframes that focused on functionality and structure. The Low-Fidelity wireframe was then developed into a clickable prototype using the online tool Marvel.
Sign Up Screens
Onboarding concisely tells users what this app can do for them. Users can link their Google, Facebook or Apple account to create a Lingo Up account. This will allow users to start using the app right away.
Flashcard Screens
Users can select the most suitable teaching materials by purpose. The flashcard-style design helps users intuitively determine how to use the app (tapping to flip). By placing a check mark on the flashcards, the words are classified as new words, and users can review only that group.
Create Study Sets Screens
When typing a word, auto-completion will be applied. It helps users to add words quickly and accurately.
Review Screens
A variety of review methods are available to help users retain vocabulary. Users can choose to review only the words they have marked.
5. TEST & ITERATE
Usability Testing
Once created the low-fidelity prototype, I conducted a usability test. By running usability testing at an early stage, I was able to reduce the amount of effort required for subsequent revisions.
I had users actually run the prototype and observe how they complete the given tasks and evaluate the usability of Lingo Up. A usability test was conducted on three participants. The test consisted of four scenarios, in which the test participants were asked to perform specific tasks using the Lingo Up features.
I had users actually run the prototype and observe how they complete the given tasks and evaluate the usability of Lingo Up. A usability test was conducted on three participants. The test consisted of four scenarios, in which the test participants were asked to perform specific tasks using the Lingo Up features.
Test Report
I compiled data from the participants' comments and observations of their behavior during the test, and rated the severity of the errors based on Jakob Nielsen's four-point scale. I then considered solutions to the prototype problems identified by their feedback.
Iterate
I made design improvements for the most serious problems in the usability test results.
Revision #1
- Added a screen to see the contents of study set.
- Displayed the target score for each study set.
Revision #2
- Made it clear how to enter new word and definition.
- Changed to allow users to add, edit, and save multiple words on one screen.
Revision #3
- Added a screen that shows the list of words users learned and checked.
Revision#4
- Added a level check test to automatically optimize the study set according to the user's current level and target score.
Hi-fidelity Prototype
I further refined the UI design and developed it into a high-fidelity prototype.
LESSON LEARNED
Competitor analysis was the part where I got new ideas. Through this analysis, I was able to get inspiration on what features and designs I would like to see in my app, and what I should avoid. Usability testing was very helpful in finding functional errors and usability issues that I didn't notice when creating the app by myself. When conducting user interviews, it was very difficult to ask good questions that would not influence the participants' answers until I found the fundamental motivations for action and needs while keeping a natural flow. This is something I want to continue practicing.
NEXT STEPS
My next step is to create a high fidelity prototype and evaluate it again to make sure that the current design I have modified is usable for the user. I will then create a design system to support the concept of this application. I would also like to add some game elements to make learning fun for the users.