AboutWorks
  1. Problem & Goals
  2. How we conducted a research
  3. Critical UX improvements
  4. Why we failed to deliver the desired customer value
  5. Design revisit: personal initiative
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4thewords 🇨🇷

Gamified writing platform redesign

Category

B2C & Gaming

Duration

Aug 2021 — Jan 2022

Many writers strive to write every day, but struggle to get it done. To help them find motivation, our client invented a game for writing. The game has a large community of writers who have been using the system every day for several years. However, the system also had some usability issues which decreased the retention of new users.

The client reached out to our agency to improve the user experience and help them attract more users. Our team consisted of me as UI/UX Designer, as well as a UX designer, and a Product manager.

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This is a result of our collaboration which (spoiler alert) I am not happy about. Our agency was cut off from the process of implementation. In the case study, I explain the reasons behind whys and highlight what we could have achieved together.

Problem

Our client needed a partner who would first understand our product and community (thousands of writers who use the site everyday to write) and then would help them redesign the entire platform so that it would be consistent, engaging and easier to use.

Goals

Level up the usability

Make the system intuitive and easy to use.

Find the balance in user experience

Connect intuitively convenient writing and fun gaming.

Satisfy a diverse community

Make the system convenient for both beginners and seasoned users.

Integrate immersive illustrations

Build the interface in a synergy with existing rich library of hand-crafted illustrations.

How we conducted a research

Stakeholder interviews

We held an initial call to discuss project details and plan our first steps. The product owners were also active users, which gave us from the start hints into their needs.

Competitors research

We studied writing apps and their patterns of gamifications, progress tracking, and motivation techniques - mechanisms that client's solution lacked.

User survey and user interviews

We created a survey to learn what users care about most and their biggest challenges. Then we interviewed several active users to deeply understand their daily writing experiences and frustrations.

Information architecture

We mapped out all the data in the system and how it connects to each other. This helped us design the right components and group information in ways that make sense to users.

User flows

After talking to platform users, we understood their behavior patterns. We used this knowledge to create a diagram showing all the tasks and actions people take in the system. This became our blueprint for building a solution that helps users reach their writing goals more easily.

Critical UX improvements

After gathering research insights, we created wireframes and built an interactive prototype module-by-module, testing each piece with real users and the client.

Streamline onboarding and navigation

The client wanted to keep more customers, but our research showed new users got lost and didn't know how to start. We designed an interactive onboarding that shows users what they can do step-by-step.

Unified dashboard

The old platform had no clear starting point, confusing new users. We created a customizable dashboard with shortcuts to main features, helping users engage with different parts of the system.

Enhanced writing experience

The core value ("turning writing into a game") was weakened by poor design and unclear visual hierarchy. Users avoided the built-in writing tool and copy-pasted text from other apps to get rewards. We redesigned file organization and made the writing process more user-friendly to keep users engaged within the platform.

Why we failed to deliver the desired customer value

Despite the client's satisfaction with our improvement over the messy original product, I felt we didn't reach our full potential due to several issues.

Wrong time estimates

Our agency underestimated the project to win it with a limited budget. We ended up with two major revisions, rushed UX work, and only had time for basic concepts of UI screens.

Lack of gaming design skills

As a UX-focused company, we lacked the gaming design experience to fully embrace a vast library of visual material to help users rather than distract them. This led to shallow gamification that didn't add real value to the product.

Lost focus on core goals

The excited client kept adding new features and ideas on top of our work. We got caught up in building up the hype with unique features instead of stopping him. As a result, we drifted a few times away from the core problems we should had solved.

Design revisit: personal initiative

Our failure as a team was following me, because I loved everything about the project, apart from the result. Hence, I took my free hours to reimagine and fulfill the design vision our team had. To balance writing goals with gamified motivation, I focused on building a dynamic, scalable, and truly engaging system.

Analyze asset performance with just 2 clicks

The platform employs motivating features where users select monsters to battle within a limited time frame and a challenging word count. I have eliminated innecessary distractions to facilitate a streamlined user experience.

Empowering writers with the effortless management of their work

Hi, stranger! My name is Eugene, but everyone at work calls me Dje Dje 😜

I have 7+ years of Product Design experience scaling complex applications, as well as building early-staged startups. Based in muy buena Barcelona, Spain.