Knowt
UI overhaul of Knowt’s Flashcard System & AI Toolkit
Product Designer
Figma
Knowt is a web application where users can study flashcards, notes, & review guides posted by other students or automatically generated using AI tools.
The platform has an avid social community of users which interact with each other through sharing, viewing, and rating the content of others.
Weak user retention – lack of features for the users to stick around
Although the users are interested in trying out the platform in the beginning but quickly they moved away since the features are limited. The flashcard is the only product for them to explore. As a result, Knowt lost a large portion of their users in the early stage of their journey.
Lack of monetization channels
Knowt has limited ways to monetize from their platform. Unlike their competitors, they want to explore native methods that the users can spend within the app or through the website seamlessly.
Knowt would like to improve on their current branding and its integration to the web app.
They wish to create a more consistent branding across their platform and merge said brand more closely with the web app.
Instant generation of study materials using AI on any subject or topic is Knowt’s primary selling point.
Their target market is highschool or college students who are studying for large standardized tests i.e: AP tests, SATs, or ACT.
Our interviews were designed to assess users’ current experiences with the platform and to set a baseline for our KPIs. We then planned the bulk of our interviews after prototyping to validate the success of our changes.
Notably, platforms like Quizlet & Notion stood out for their social sharing features, while others like Anki excelled in offering a minimal & clean feeling environment perfect for studying. We summarized our findings in our User Research Summary and presented to stakeholders.
1. Confusing Navigation
There is a need to simplify the UI for easier navigation and use of the platform. In particular the upper menu navigation was consistently reported as a problem during tests.
2. Clunky Flashcard UI
There is a need to reimagine the design of flashcards to provide a cleaner & breathable environment for users to study in.
3. App Lacks Identity
There is a need to provide a unique experience competitors cannot. Currently features offered by Knowt are too similar and or lacking in comparison to other options.
It then became necessary for our team to contextualize the problems into actionable solutions. We proposed 3 solutions we could incorporate into the designs for our first prototype.
1. Redesign Menu Navigation
Rework the most critical tasks and remove friction moving between cards, pages, and tools.
2. Reimagine Flashcard Flows
Redesign the UI surrounding and inside the flashcard to become more breathable and less busy.
3. Explore Gamification & Social Features
Test unique social or quality of life tools which could set Knowt apart from competitors.
Our team created a realistic high-fidelity prototype for testing. This allowed us to validate design decisions and gather valuable feedback before final implementation.
Prototype 1.0 proved to be extremely successful. In particular users liked the idea of creating a social group with their classmates or friends. This success gave our team the green light to design the rest of the platform accordingly.
24% INCREASE – Conversion Rate
(Measures the % of visitors who sign up for an account on the platform after visiting the site. Gives insight into how effective the platform is at converting visitors into users.)
75% INCREASE – Task Completion
(Measures the % of users who successfully complete tasks related to their crypto portfolios on the platform, such as buying assets, setting up alerts, or analyzing market data.)
~40% INCREASE – User retention Rate
(Measures the % of users who continue to use the platform over time, and would give insight into how well the platform is meeting user needs and providing value.)
Badge System
Badges are meant to celebrate a & encourage milestones of success on the platform
Community Points
These points serve as a “social proof” of the users material being trustworthy and well liked.
Rate & Share
Utilizing these features, users can reward material they enjoy which further pushes its interactions.
Keyword Tagging
Tags are used to pin down keywords which are important for search tools and filters.
Gamification and social features sought to foster a sense of community within users, encouraging collaborative learning, and incentivizing user engagement with more engagement in a cascading manner.
Recommendations
Recommendations are linked to similar materials or resources outside of Knowt which are relevant to the topic.
Filters
Filters included: Alphabetical and Numerical (chosen by user). The button opens a modal to set your own filter.
Search Tool
The search would be able to pick up keywords, or definitions/terms, highlighting them then navigating to them when clicked.
Quality of life features such as keyword search and navigational elements were added in response to user complaints of confusing navigation and lack of site functionality. Recommendations were also tested and were considered as an additional monetization method for the platform.
Ad Space was one way Knowt could monetize the platform. Users would then have the option to turn off ads using a paid premium mode which offers additional services as well as adblock. These were 2 ways we found which could monetize the platform without being too invasive to users.
In a final meeting with stakeholders we outlined 3 next steps Knowt could take to validate the final iterations of our designs. Steps 2 and 3 speak on possible experimental directions the platform could explore in the future.
The implementation of the redesigned flashcard page and accompanying feature systems received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both Knowt the company and its users.
Reflecting on the project, I would have allocated more time for prototyping and experimenting with new products features for Knowt. Additionally, I wish we had implemented more frequent usability testing throughout the design process to address pain points more directly.
Optimized by Seraphinite Accelerator
