Kindle
Content Folders
+ Kindle Custom
With Kindle Content Folders you can now make sense of all your notes and highlighted text. Whether gathering research for your thesis or collecting your favorite curry recipes, Custom Content is a new feature to help you make sense of it all.
Role
UX Design, UI Design, Research, Interview Conduction, Prototype Development
Project length
7 weeks
Tools used
Figma, Figjam, Miro, Photoshop, hand sketch, procreate
Deliverables: Site map, information architecture, hi-fidelity wire frame, prototype
Even as a reading enthusiast, I was personally shocked to see how using a Kindle positively enhanced reading in almost all ways. However, some aspects were lacking, or ignored altogether.
Dedicated Kindle advocates and non-Kindle users note some obvious flaws or missing features with the popular e-reader.
The Kindle is almost useless as an academic or learning tool due to its difficult or non-existent means to reference read material.
Many styles of literature and content are not as usable or enjoyable on the Kindle, such as; cookbooks, personal growth books, and anything requiring referencing or note-taking.
Many powerful features exist within the Kindle ecosystem, but not on the Kindle itself, going unnoticed, and unused by those who wish they existed.
Allow users the ability to create customizable folders for their highlighted text. These folders can be accessed in the future from multiple locations, including a new customizable home screen that can also display tools and information the user wants.
Solving these issues not only creates satisfaction and usability for users - but expands the usefulness of the Kindle and greatly expands Kindle’s overall market and functionality.
my personal gripes and secondary research gave me a good base of pain points, but these were just my problems and assumptions. It wasn't until primary research was conducted with in-person interviews and surveys that shared and definable issues began to take shape.
Pain points expressed by Kindle users fell into an obvious rhythm; limited functionality due to lacking features - the shortcomings in these features led to limited use - limited use then led to the adoption of alternative products/mediums. Even worse, an overall inconsistent information architecture lead users to confusion or altogether dismissal of features that did exist and indeed solved some of the users' needs.
There are things I just don't use my Kindle for, like reading cookbooks, or personal finance, because I want to take notes, highlight, and be able to reference them in the future.
If I had a way to go back and reference my material I would use my Kindle for all of my school work and research, not just fiction reading.
I wish I knew those features existed, I would have been using them all along.
The Kindle (and all good UX/UI) hinges on simple, succinct, and consistent interactions with as few touch points as possible. I kept that in mind when building out each process - User tree - Task flows - Lo-fidelity wireframes - High fidelity wireframes - Iterations - Prototype - Iterations - Final product.
Developing a task flow that allowed users to create and label a folder for the collections of highlighted text and notes for future reference had one objective, stay simple, and be as short as possible.
Realizing that users needed a way to access their content, I decided to recreate the Kindle's home screen. To locate the folders created by users, they would need an interface system to access them - thus came the need for a customizable home screen and interface to access users’ content.
I found Kindle’s UI deceptively simple, but not unsophisticated. Grayscale, two differing font types, three folder patterns, two differing menu systems, and a limited two-button pattern build its' interface. Designing with limited iconography and a restrictive design pallet is both a curse and a blessing. On one end it is easy to figure out, on the other end every detail is instrumental and visible.
Testing the high-fidelity wireframes led to iteraterations on how the micro-interactions of folders functioned. After receiving feedback I built more clarity into the folders’ action by aligning the drop-down positioning of menus from an action's respective side.
Realizing that that users would need a way to access their content, I decided to recreate the Kindle's home screen. To locate the folders created by users, they would need an interface system to access them - thus came the need for a customizable home screen and interface.
Folders would need to be accessible directly from the home screen.
User testing revealed issues and confusion with how micro-interactions between settings functioned. A closer examination revealed inconsistencies that created confusion.
For clarity and consistency, menus would cascade directly from previous menus, and would be adjusted to the respective previously clicked action.
In addition to menu sequencing, a few iconographical tweaks were made to the UI, like how to add a new folder.
This project was fascinating. It reflects a subject that I find personally interesting, and necessary. Solving it, I believe, evolves the function of a Kindle from a means of entertainment, into a powerful tool. Opening its’ capabilities and bringing use to areas and subjects it could not prior
As an avid reader, and one who believes there is power in reading, I see good reason to make our reading tools as powerful as possible.
