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OVERVIEW & DEFINE
Background
As a young professional and student who thrives on organizing, I find the Google Keep Desktop version could have a more efficient UI.
After doing secondary research, conducting interviews, prototyping, and iterating, I redesigned the UX to solve the efficiency and lack of feature issues in a user-friendly, empowering, and intuitive manner keeping O'Reilly's Laws of UX in mind.
Problem
Currently, the Google Keep Desktop version Google Keep is a rudimentary note-taking program because it lacks complex organizing features and rich-text editing. It has the potential to help individuals far more effectively if certain basic and accessible modifications are made.
Goal/Solution
The solution is to develop a better UI for the Google Keep Desktop version by incorporating user needs accumulated by research and implementing slight changes in the desktop version that will allow for clear, smoother and more efficient use of the site.
Role
UI Designer and UX Designer
Tools
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Competitive Market Research
Currently, Google Keep's biggest competitors are Evernote and Notion. With over 100 million users worldwide, Evernote takes the lead as the most in-demand note taking and task managing service, followed by, Notion with a total of 5 million users. Evernote makes capturing, finding and organizing notes very fast and accessibility. Similarly, Notion is popular for its customization element. Both Evernote and Notion have some amazing qualities, however, Google Keep is an integrated site that can allow the same customization and accessibility in a more synced manner.
Original
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Redesign
Interviews
To better understand the needs and desires of consumers, I conducted interviews with young professionals in the modern workplace. These conversations also assisted me in navigating these users' pain points. The age range I interviewed was between 22 - 27. Inquiries I made during the interview included the following:
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What do you like about note taking sites?
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What do you dislike about note taking sites?
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What is something you wish note taking site included?
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What is the most important element when deciding to go digital for taking notes?
Current User Pain Points
Currently, user pain points in the website include mostly accessibility and the ability to be flexible. From the main accessibility concern, I've delved into three sub-categories, that will make the user experience phenomenal.
User Persona
Olivia Westbrook, 24
"The key to a great life is staying as organized as possible. I love writing things down to solidify my plans and actions throughout the week."
Needs:
- To have a reliable website when she can store work related notes fast and easy
- Templates that allow for easy organization
Frustrations:
- The lack of having a note app that collabs with coworkers
Olivia is a young graduate who recently got a job as a UX designer at Google! She loves staying organized and having a list everywhere she goes. Olivia wanted an app that allows for less strain on her eyes and overall an "easy to click on" display. In order to keep the website design simple and effective, Olivia suggested some changes be done to the menu bar.
User Anti Persona
Antone is a working professional who works in Data Analytics. He went through college taking paper notes and now his company is getting more high tech. Antone, however, is not interested in Google Keep and wants to be able to use the app so he can take credit for other's notes using the collab feature.
Antone Mora, 27
"I am organized on paper and love to be organized in general. It helps me keep my calm."
Needs:
- An endless amount of room to write notes on without having to do to much work.
- An app that works like paper notes
Frustrations:
- Wants to be able to doodle and write on a note app but without the hassle of 'saving notes' online.
Key User Insights
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I'm designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through research was young professionals in the workplace. Users seems to want a space that allows them to have full creative freedom but in a way that allows them to have confidence.
Redesign Proposal
For this redesign, adding templates would be a game changer. In addition, more accessible "trash" and "new note" options would allow for a better user experience.
Finally, inputting an in built collaboration tool would allow for easy note sharing in between work meetings and differentiating who contributed to what part of the note. This allows us to also include and focus on assistive technologies during our redesigning process.
IDEATION
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Lo-Fidelity Wireframes
Low fidelity screens show how we can incorporate more accessible features into Google Keep. With these wireframes, we see the importance of mapping out the placement of key features and their usage for that we get as much customer satisfaction as possible Meaning, we can see how the implementation of user needs makes key differences in our design decisions and process.
These wireframes serve the purpose of taking the existing Google Keep design and altering it to fit the current needs of our user. In the wireframes above, I jotted down some ideas and implementations to the new version of Google Keep.
For example, a simple yet helpful change would be in the bottom row, this wireframe shows how Google Keep can be more collaboration friendly by adding it as a bar for easy access.
New elements in the redesign include a sense of separation between the pages. In the redesign, I've opted to keep the Google Keep icon in every section for easy access to the home page at all times. I've also made the selected button have a shadow which allows for less of a strain on the eyes and a better distinction of the page. Lastly, in this section, I've added the trash button at the bottom, again, for easy access.
DESIGN
Color Palette
Below is the existing color palette of Google Keep. The redesign will not be featuring the addition of extra colors and themes.
#FFFFFF
#FBBC05
Mockups
Earlier Google Keep designs allowed for some personability, however, I added features that allow students, professionals and really anyone to easily be able to enjoy using Google Keep. A notable feature includes allowing for users to press the circled plus at the bottom right of any page and simply create a new note. Also, I've designed for notes to have a date in the corner of the note so users know when they created/last edited that certain note.
Accessibility Considerations
To me, accessibility and inclusivity is extremely important in design and I wanted to achieve high amounts of this in my redesign. According to my studies, most people would prefer for the new designs to include indications of accessible use, especially for those with sight issues. Because of this. many assistive and visual design considerations were made.
As a part of accessibility considerations, I made the "trash" icon and "new button icon" have a 3d effect. This allowed it to be easily seen by users and allow for a better UI experience when wanted to immediately throw or add a new note in a hurry.
Notable Design
In the Google Keep redesign, a note-worthy element is the "Templates" page. This new addition consists of seven variations of templates for everyone from students to CEO's and beyond. This feature allows one to quicky pick a template and edit according to the layout provided. This had made note taking in any situation aesthetic and accessible for all.
PROTOTYPE
RETROSPECTIVE
I learned a lot during the redesign process and hope that my finding have provided a better user experience for everyone trying my prototype. Since this is a redesign, I've learned that companies go through this process several times to create a product so learning the "how's" and "why [nots]" of design is critical to do a good job.
I noticed that it provided me with a wealth of useful information that I can use in upcoming designs as well. Aside from understanding users who are similar to myself, I learned the importance of usability testing and market research. Because I am a designer, I looked at this project from a design perspective first and than a usability one. However, I quickly realized through user interviews that my solutions do not work for everyone, which is fine! As a result, I was able to widen my demographics in a way to better cater more people! Yay! I gained better insights on how to explore new methods for eliciting deeper insights from interviewees. Keeping designs simple, yet changing enough for the user to feel heard is a win for me.
What's Next?
As a designer (and a perfectionist), my work is never done.
However, I am confident that through research and multiple iterations of design work, we've reached the goal of the redesign and I am very happy about that! For the future, I will hopefully gather a more diverse set individuals and continue to build upon what I've established.
Thank you for looking through my Google Keep Desktop version redesign!
With love,
Devangi Vaid
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