Bronze Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design · 2022
Reamember Mobile Application
by Tianyi Qi
- A' Design Award 2022 Bronze Winner in Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- CLIENT: Tianyi Qi
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 18,466
- Verification code FDCED2C931 · Verify this award
About Reamember Mobile Application
Reamember is a mobile application designed for language learners. The application connects reading comprehension and vocabulary building without interrupting the reading flow. On the reading tab, users find online content that matches their interests. An embedded dictionary shows the meaning of unfamiliar words during reading. Selected words are saved to a wordbook, where each entry shows details and the source article. Daily short quizzes support word learning. A community tab presents articles and learning resources shared by other users.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Reamember is a mobile application crafted to let language learners have a smooth flow while reading content with unfamiliar words and learn these words afterward. It aims to bridge reading comprehension and vocabulary building, these two aspects of language learning, in a noninterfering way and ultimately create a holistic learning experience for users.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The app is designed for iOS systems.
- Tags
- Learning, Language, Application, Reading, Browser, Wordbook
- Production Technology
- The key technical components of the app are the browser and dictionary. Besides these, the app should be able to auto-update content on the "Community" tab.
- Design Challenge
- I was struggling with the value proposition of the application, as it sits in between a browser, vocabulary building, and reading. I eventually decided to define it as a "language learning tool", to capture the holistic learning experience it provides to users.
- Project Duration
- The project started in May 2020 and finished in July 2020, in New York City.
- Operation Flow
- On the "Reading" tab, a user can easily find online content that appeals to their reading interest. An embedded dictionary allows them to check out unfamiliar words while reading. They can add these words to the wordbook and learn them later. After the words are collected from articles, they will be stored in the "Wordbook", where a user can check the details of the words and see the source. A user needs to take daily pop quizzes to "learn" words. Once a user completes 3 tests for 1 word, it will become a "learned" word. On the "Community" tab, a user can explore articles and other learning resources shared by other users.
- Research
- 5 interviews were conducted with English learners about their English reading habits, problems, and coping strategies. Key findings are:
1. Unfamiliar words is one of the bigger challenge English learners face while reading.
2. All participants commented that being too focused on unfamiliar words will break their reading flow. They might need to read one piece of content multiple times to understand.
3. If readers can get just enough information(the meaning of the word in their native language) about a word immediately, a good reading flow can be maintained. - Inspiration
- In the very first days after I came to the US, I experienced a lot of language and cultural challenges. I tried to read more news and cultural content, dominantly on my mobile phone, to cope with these 2 challenges at the same time. I couldn't get into a good reading flow because of the unfamiliar words in the text. However, when I focused too much on the unfamiliar words, I would lose the reading flow as well. This experience inspired me to design this app.
- Image Credits
- Image #1:
Photographer by Spencer Davis on Unsplash;
Photographer by Melissa McGovern on Unsplash;
Photographer by Obi - @pixel6propix on Unsplash;
Photographer Jeremy Yap on Unsplash;
Photographer Sincerely Media on Unsplash;
Photographer ELLA DON on Unsplash;
Photographer Matthias Heyde on Unsplash;
Image #2:
Photographer by Spencer Davis on Unsplash;
Photographer by Melissa McGovern on Unsplash;
Photographer by Obi - @pixel6propix on Unsplash;
Image #3:
Photographer Photo by Obi - @pixel6propix on Unsplash;
Image #5:
Photographer Jeremy Yap on Unsplash;
Photographer Sincerely Media on Unsplash;
Photographer ELLA DON on Unsplash;
Photographer Matthias Heyde on Unsplash;
Photographer by Melissa McGovern on Unsplash;
Colors of Reamember Mobile Application
Design Interview about Reamember Mobile Application
I had the idea for this design when I first came to New York City for graduate school. I needed to do a lot of reading but at that time my English was not very good, especially my vocabulary. I had a hard time understanding the reading materials because of the unfamiliar words. However, if I paused on reading to check out the meaning of the words, the reading flow would be interrupted. If I ignored the words, I would feel like missing out on opportunities of learning new words. That experience gave me the initial inspiration for this design: how might we help people who are studying another language to achieve learning goals on reading and vocabulary building in a seamless way?
The main focus of my design is to solve the pain point, or, the dilemma to be more accurate, in the English learning process. The cause of the problem is that English learners had to choose between checking out unfamiliar words or ignoring those words to achieve a nice reading flow. To solve this problem, I designed an experience where users can quickly check out the words while reading, so they won't break the flow. And those words they checked out will be stored in the vocabulary book. They can review and learn the words later, in their dedicated vocabulary learning time.
The "Reading" and "Vocabulary-building" part of the design is pretty polished. I have run multiple user testing sessions to collect feedback and iterate on the design details. However, the "Community" tab of the design is still at an early stage, with a lot of potential to be a strong add-on to the current experience. In my vision for this product, users will form a language learning community where they share learning tips and articles. Another area of improvement is to support other languages beyond just English.
It took me 3 months from the beginning to the end. I had a full-time job while I was working on the project so I could only use my spare time. I started with desk research and interviews with other English learners, which helped me understand the prevalence of the problem. I did a few rounds of brainstorming to come up with ideas to solve the problem and selected the one that I felt most strongly to develop into lo-fi wireframes. I tested wireframes with potential users to get feedback and iterate the design. I designed the visual style of the app at the very end of the project.
I designed this concept to pursue inspiration. I myself am an English learner and have been bothered by this problem for a really long time, and so do my peer English learners. I have used many English learning apps, however, most of them are specific to one area of English learning, for example, vocabulary building. As a person experiencing the language learning process, I have a view on top of these seemingly separate skills - the problems English learners are facing always exist at the intersection of multiple skills, thus the solution to these problems should be holistic. This project is my attempt to find an answer to this complex design challenge.
Beginner to intermediate English learners who want to build vocabulary. In the future, I do want to include more language options in the app.
My design sits at the intersection of two distinguished types of applications - English learning tools and browsers. Most English learning apps on the market are targeting specific English skills. My design aims to help users get better at reading and in the meantime, they can collect unfamiliar words from the article and learn them later. It is a more holistic approach to learning English, instead of building each skill separately. Browser is another tool English learners use to do reading. A lot of browsers today have integrated translation functions that can help the user find out the meaning of words immediately. However, users can't save those new words and go back to review later, which is not helpful to enhance their memory.
I am not very happy with the name of the design as many people thought it was a misspelling for "remember". But I kind of like the meaning of the name, it shows what the solution is really about - a combined, holistic experience of reading and remembering new words.
An important lesson I learned from this project is to not limit myself to existing product categories. As I mentioned earlier, my product fits in between an English learning tool and a browser. I had problems coming up with good ideas at the beginning stage of the design process because I was too focused on designing a vocabulary-building tool. I had the final idea when I was trying to combine two different ideas together, and to my surprise, it worked well! From that on, I started to focus on the specific problems users face in their life in the ideation stage, instead of designing the type of products. I know that if I follow the design process, I will eventually find the best solution, no matter what category it fits in.
This is kind of a unique design project because I am also a potential user of the product, as I was bothered by the English learning problem. This experience made me think a lot about my identity and how it relates to my job as a designer. Working in the United State as an international person whose first language is not English sometimes made me feel I am in a disadvantaged place compared to other people. However, I am able to identify problems like what Raemember is solving only because I belong to the English learner community. This connection also helped me easily find people to participate in the research and user testing sessions. Now I totally changed my perspective on my identity - it's actually an unexpected advantage for me and helps a lot with my design practice.