Spello
Unleash Words, Unleash Worlds
Type
End-to-End Design
My Role
UX/UI Designer
Industries
Education
Duration
4 Weeks
Project Overview
Spello is a mobile app designed to empower users to effectively learn and master vocabulary related to new fields or languages. This 4-week project focused on establishing the essential structure and wireframes for a vocabulary retention app, emphasising simplicity and user-specific customisation over a broad feature set.
Problem Statement
Current vocabulary learning apps often overwhelm users with features and lack customisation, leading to ineffective vocabulary retention and a cumbersome learning experience. There is a crucial need for a focused mobile app like Spello, which simplifies vocabulary mastery through a highly customisable interface and intelligent use of psychological learning principles such as spaced repetition. This approach will facilitate easier integration of learning into daily routines, enhancing user engagement and improving educational outcomes.
Challenges and Opportunities
Design Challenges
Customisation and Ease of Use: Users should find it intuitive to create and personalise flashcards that seamlessly integrate into their daily routines and contexts.
Consistent Learning: The app must encourage regular interaction to foster vocabulary retention, making learning a habitual part of the user’s daily life.
Opportunities
Repetition and Memory: Leveraging psychological insights, such as Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve, Spello will implement repetition strategies to enhance memory retention. Regular interactions with the app will help solidify knowledge and turn learning into a daily habit.
Our Process
Discover
Define
Ideate
Design
Quantitative Research
Dive into our data-driven discoveries! Here’s a snapshot of key metrics from our study, capturing user engagement, feature effectiveness, and learning achievements. These insights are essential for refining our app and ensuring it remains a dynamic and valuable learning tool.
User Needs
Personalisation: Users achieve significantly higher scores and faster vocabulary acquisition through personalised learning paths, indicating a strong need for customisable content and features.
Engagement: With a high daily engagement rate, users show a preference for engaging and interactive tools, underscoring the need for features that maintain user interest and encourage regular use.
Efficiency: The average session duration of 15 minutes highlights a user need for concise, impactful learning sessions that fit easily into daily routines without requiring long time commitments.
Our Process
Customisation
Personalised Learning Option
Gamification
To boost interactivity and engagement
Efficiency
Concise learning module for a daily use
Product User Challenges
Users often struggle with the overwhelming complexity of apps that try to incorporate too many features, which can dilute the focus on effective vocabulary learning.
Many learners find it difficult to maintain consistent engagement with vocabulary apps due to a lack of interactive and enjoyable elements that captivate their interest.
The absence of personalised learning paths in many existing apps hinders users from learning at their own pace and in accordance with their unique needs.
Limited time availability poses a significant challenge for users, as they require vocabulary learning solutions that can be seamlessly integrated into their busy daily routines.
Competitor Analysis
Memrise
Memrise offers immersive language learning with a strong focus on real-world usage and local accents.
Features :
Real-Life Language Content: Uses videos of native speakers to teach practical vocabulary in context.
Spaced Repetition System: Enhances long-term retention of vocabulary through scientifically proven techniques.
Words of the Day
Words of the Day focuses on daily vocabulary enhancement through engaging, contextual presentations.
Features :
Daily Vocabulary Push: Delivers a new word each day, complete with usage examples and pronunciation.
Contextual Learning: Offers sentences and anecdotes to illustrate the practical application of each word.
User Persona
Rebecca Davies
Apple Technician
About
Maslow Pyramid
Description
Tech-savvy and curious, Rebecca seeks to expand her cultural horizons by learning Korean for travel and personal enjoyment.
A day in their life
- Commutes using public transport, often while listening to language learning podcasts.
- Manages customer support and tech repairs, squeezing in quick language lessons on breaks.
- Socialises with friends after work at a local pub or explores new Korean restaurants.
- Unwinds by watching Korean dramas to immerse herself in the language.
Pain points
- Needs an app that fits her fast-paced lifestyle and provides quick, practical lessons.
- Desires a learning experience that integrates naturally with her interest in Korean culture.
I want to merge learning with my daily life, making it as seamless as using my smartphone.
User Persona
Emily Richardson
Marketing Specialist
About
Maslow Pyramid
Description
Emily is a detail-oriented professional focused on continuous learning to enhance her career and personal growth. She values efficiency and tools that integrate seamlessly into her busy life.
A day in their life
- Starts her day early with a quick review of emails and a 15-minute meditation.
- Uses her commute to listen to podcasts and occasionally engage with a language learning app.
- Manages multiple projects at work, often taking quick learning breaks to destress.
- Ends her day with a short jog and plans her learning goals for the next day.
Pain points
- Struggles to find language learning tools that fit into her limited free time.
- Needs more engaging and contextually relevant material to stay motivated.
I need to learn on my terms, quickly and effectively.
Task Mapping
Personalisation: Users achieve significantly higher scores and faster vocabulary acquisition through personalised learning paths, indicating a strong need for customisable content and features.
Tasks
Opportunities
User flow
Scenario 1
Create a new account
Scenario 2
Adding a Flashcard
Sketches
Onboarding
Create a new flashcard
Revision
- Add a search bar
- Add Alphabetical search
- Add list view
- Add personalised collections
- Condense informations on sign-up.
- Add tutorial in homepage.
- Add tutorial on the menu.
- Add a “Save Edits” button.
Mid-Fi Wireframes
Onboarding
Create a new flashcard
Major Screens
Conclusion +
Next Steps
The Spello vocabulary app successfully addresses the need for a customisable vocabulary learning tool, enhancing user engagement and learning efficiency through a user-centered design approach.
The iterative design process and user feedback integration were crucial in refining the app.
Next steps involve continuously gathering user feedback, expanding features to include voice recognition for pronunciation practice and social learning, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards, regularly updating the vocabulary database, and implementing analytics to track user progress and engagement.
Instructional Design Considerations
To further improve the app, ensure all features and content align with clear learning goals. Incorporate interactive elements like quizzes and games to maintain user interest, and personalise learning paths based on individual user proficiency levels and preferences.
Design short, focused learning modules for better retention and provide immediate feedback and positive reinforcement to encourage continuous learning.