Reimagining Google Keep’s Productivity Offerings
DESKTOP · UX/PRODUCT DESIGN
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Keep is Google’s proprietary note-taking productivity service, and during university, it was my go-to tool for keeping track of the various projects I had on the go at any one time. However, while a loyal user, I was aware of its shortcomings when compared to other industry-leading productivity services.
This project aims to reimagine Google Keep's productivity offerings to address these limitations and provide users with a more comprehensive and efficient note-taking experience.
MY ROLE
UX Designer · UX Researcher · Product Designer · Interaction Designer
PARTICIPANTS
Solo (adapted from Google)
TIMELINE
March - April 2022
3 Weeks
THE NEW ADDITIONS
2/5
Note Nesting & Sidebar Functionality
The new freeform view and the comprehensive sidebar mean that notes and reminders can be nested into one another.
3/5
Freeform Hierarchies
With the introduction of a lateral ‘map’ view for the homepage, I allowed users to give custom visual hierarchies and alignments of notes and folders.
4/5
People Profiles
People profiles allow users to assign notes and reminders to individuals, as a place to see everything they need about a certain person.
5/5
Enhanced Security Features
Users can now apply passwords and biometric security measures to notes and reminders, giving users the peace of mind that their online data is protected and private while logged in.
functionality OF ADDITIONS
1/5
Productivity Templates
I allowed users to implement a range of new productivity templates, such as timelines and tables.
problem statement
My goal was to identify the areas for improvement in Google Keep's productivity offerings, and develop solutions to fill those gaps - thereby providing users with a more robust note-taking experience that addresses their specific needs.
jump to stage
ARCHITECTURE REVIEW
Analysing Keep’s Existing Framework
Since the project involves rethinking Google Keep's features, analyzing its existing options was a logical first step. However, I noticed a lack of note-taking options that, while understandable from a business perspective, were quite basic.
Contextualising findings against competitors
Infinite Hierarchy & Nesting
Notion doesn’t just allow users to group notes into folders and groups, it allows an infinite depth of hierarchy. Databases, lists and more can be placed anywhere in a Notion map.
DISCOVERY 2
Drag & Drop for Individual Elements
While Google Keep’s drag and drop extends as far as localised within a single note, Notion allows users to drag and drop files, notes, folders, and more into anywhere that is visible. Folders can be placed in notes, dashboards and lists.
DISCOVERY 3
Databases & Whiteboard Types
Users can hit the / key to get a list of any of the database or whiteboard type options that are available. Exampled are a table and a Kanban progress board.
DISCOVERY 1
I’d researched the market, but I still needed to understand my users. I conducted interviews on how peers of mine felt about the productivity services they use, and it certainly brought some points I didn’t expect.
competitor analysis
I compared Google Keep with its competitors to highlight the shortcomings, effectively confirming the lack of features. However, more importantly, I found a collection of features which Google Keep would benefit from having.
Deepening Research into how Notion satisfies user needs
I knew Notion was successful, but to investigate why, I used it for a week. My questions going in were; ‘How is the architecture organised to allow ease of navigation?’, and ‘How are the features made easy and intuitive to use?’. The steep learning curve is what surprised me the most.
competitor analysis
Challenging discoveries with a user survey
SYNTHESIS
Finding themes from research insights
I found three main themes from my research, which left me with actionable, problem-tackling How Might We’s.
IDEATION
Ideating on priority objectives
I ideated on the three priorities using How Might We’s, Idea Warping, and Top 10. Out of the resulting ideas, I highlighted the ones to explore further.
DEVELOPMENT
Redesigning Layout to New Sitemap
Having redesign the sitemap meant that the layout redesign was next. Doing this opened up a number of questions. I tackled all of these here.
INSERT PRODUCTIVITY FRAMEWORKS/TEMPLATES
COMPLETE REVISED SYSTEM WIREFRAME
DEVELOPMENT
Reorganising System Sitemap
The ideas I intended to implement didn’t work with Google Keep’s existing architecture - the main of which was the was the freeform map navigation. So, I set about reorganising the sitemap.
DEVELOPMENT
Determining New User Flows & Generating Wireframes
Select note & apply security
To figure out how users would utilise the new features, I made user flows by encapsulating the tasks within a single journey.
Once done, I’d developed a complete system wireframe.
Add new profile
PROTOTYpING
Feedback-based Iteration
I took the feedback on board. I made the UI more consistent with Google Keep as it exists, and quality of experience tweaks, such as the clarity of the timeline feature.
PROTOTYpING
Prototype Development & User Assessment
I recreated and applied Google’s design system to my wireframes, and carried out a user assessment with my classmates.
Two of my peers were also regular users of Google Keep, so I already had the perfect focus group. The most notable of pains were that notes on the ‘map view’ do not snap against one another, so it felt a little loose.
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