My role

UX Designer - Collaborated during all design stages, focused on the research and the interaction design. During the research phase, I collaborated with the team to write the interview script, conduct interviews, and synthesize the data gained by creating an Affinity Mapping. I also supported this project by generating the usability test plan, assisting during prototyping, and conducting usability testing.

About Moleskine

Moleskine is an Italian company known for its luxury notebooks, sketchbooks, planners, and a variety of stationery. To fulfill user needs, they developed Moleskine Smart, an ecosystem of products that connect the analog to the digital.

First steps

The smart pen

The smart pen connects via Bluetooth to a mobile or tablet device, and as the user makes strokes on the smart-notebook paper, the handwriting or drawing shows up live on the screen. This technology seamlessly bridges human motor interaction with the powerful capabilities of a digital tool. The range of possibilities includes editing, organizing, and backing up creative work. To increase user satisfaction and engagement, Moleskine is looking to explore the idea of a social network.

(Image credit: moleskine.com)

Connect with the users

We conducted four user interviews to empathize with people who are into journaling or sketching. This research technique allowed us to uncover the behaviors, expectations, and frustrations people experience when using a journal or sketchbook, or simply when using social media.

"Journaling is a time for me to be as creative as I want without anybody judging me"

- quote from an user interview

Key findings:

Social media is a place of inspiration.

Social media lacks concern in addressing cyberbullies.

Journaling promotes mental well-being.

There is a lack of a judgment-free platform for creatives.

The insights about the joy of any creative activity inside a journal or sketchbook were not surprising. People who express themselves on paper can decompress, relax, and find peace of mind. Conversely, some social media features, like public amounts of likes, can result in low self-esteem, depression, and social anxiety.

Goal:

These insights led us to our objective: to design a community platform that includes what is loved about analog creativity and social media while avoiding some of its pitfalls.

How might we cultivate and encourage a positive online community?

Hypothesis:

Social interactivity toggles will allow users to choose a judgment-free experience.

We shaped the typical social media experience into one that integrates analog creativity, leverages the benefits of journaling, and empowers creators to determine the level of interaction.

The building blocks:

Daily Prompt

Analog to Digital

Interaction Settings

Diagraming the initial idea

We constructed mid-fi wireframes by combining elements of our initial individual sketches and by ideating a user flow. The user interviews revealed that users are familiar with popular social media products like Instagram and these users have posted content previously. So, we designed our user flow using what our users already know. This design rationale is known as Jakob's Law. This law states that using what users already know is best practice.

Initial user flow

Feedback time

Is it working?

We tested the usability of our product with 4 participants through an interactive mid-fi prototype. The test revealed what worked in favor of usability and what was working against it. We distilled the results into a list of suggestions addressing interface elements, features prioritization, and, most importantly, the core function of our product.

The popup caused hesitation.

"Connecting to pen"
was confusing.

A location toggle can add consistency to the UI.

How to answer the prompt later
was not intuitive.

From paper to M•Connect:
a judgment-free network

Fortunately, usability testing validated our hypothesis. Some test participants complimented the features of using a toggle to allow for comments and likes. The observations gathered from our usability testing ultimately gave us direction on how to improve our design.

We simplified how the user would complete the main goal: sharing safely to inspire.

Updated user flow

At this point we began exploring the look and feel of M.Connect.

Board showing different approaches to the visual design.

We created a high-fidelity prototype exhibiting our design changes.

The timer feature is no longer part of the daily prompt screen.

Users who enjoy journaling within a given time frame will be able to find the timer icon on the top right corner of the canvas screen.

Ease of control

Sharing location can now be controlled with a toggle, creating consistency with the rest of the social interaction settings.

Ease of control

Sharing location can now be controlled with a toggle, creating consistency with the rest of the social interaction settings.

A key differentiator: Gamification

User interviewees mentioned how they get motivated to use an app if it includes a game element. So, we explored adding gamification to answering the daily prompts. This feature provides a competitive edge against similar products, while helping attract sales of Moleskine Smart products.

Interactive prototype

Key Learnings:

Users can struggle to use a product that works differently from anything they've ever used before. An approach that could reduce user confusion might be onboarding tutorials. Anticipating this user reaction could have allowed us to develop additional parts of M.Connect–for example, the organization of digital journals. While sometimes usability test results are not what we want, often times poor results create a spotlight on exactly what needs to be worked on, unifying the team on a single goal.

Next steps if given more time:

Continue usability testing with the new prototype.

Continue building out the rest of the product.

Expand on the gamification of the app.

Consider how to engage more Moleskine users.

First steps

How might we cultivate and encourage a positive online community?

Feedback time

From paper to M•Connect:a judgment-free network

Let's chat!

From paper to M•Connect:
a judgment-free network