Mirror
I was challenged to design a feature for a new writing editor as part of a one day design sprint.
Mirror helps students streamline their research and annotation process through seamless transfer of information between textbooks/online sources and their own notes.
ROLE
Product Designer
TIMELINE
Sept 2024 (1 day)
TOOLS
Figma
FigJam
TEAM
Individual
PROBLEM
The doc where all quotes and research gets dumped
Note taking + collecting research is an unorganized and convoluted process
Students are gathering quotations, statistics and diagrams from numerous sources at the same time. Not to mention how easy it is to lose track of citations.
RESEARCH
Understanding Students
I was on a very tight timeline for this sprint, but I was able to conduct a few quick user interviews with USC students. I talked to people in writing-heavy majors as well as those who said they didn’t write too often.
Whether people are writing and note taking for a general education class, or for a final neuroscience paper, the research process is messy.
Key Insights
Research requires many tabs which can make it difficult to keep track of links and citations
Screenshots of lectures slides and diagrams quickly clutter the desktop
How might we keep info from source material organized and accessible during the research and annotation process?
SOLUTION
1
The Source Material
Open your normal web browser and read through any online articles
Open PDFs of textbooks or other assigned readings
2
The Notes
Copy over annotated text or diagrams with automatic citations
PROCESS
Mind Mapping
User Flow Map
Wireframe Sketches
TAKEAWAYS
The Importance of focused features
Time constraints and a narrow prompt forced me to think in new ways and create a more impactful feature
Future Iterations
I am continuing to explore how I can expand on Mirror beyond this design sprint
I’d love to get the prototype in front of more students in order to continue iterating