Post-its App Redesign
Product Design
About the project
Type
Product Design
Role
Product Designer
Year
2023
Tools
Figma, Adobe Suite, Miro
Context & Background
This website project was developed as part of my academic coursework during my Master's program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.
The Challenge
As part of an academic requirement, I was assigned the 3M Post-it brand and challenged to reimagine its mobile app to drive user engagement, brand value, and monetization potential. I focused on introducing meaningful innovations that would differentiate the app within its category, while staying true to its core utility and appeal.
Constraints
The scope of the project was limited to the existing Post-it website or mobile app.
I was not allowed to alter the current user interface or design system.
All prototyping had to be done exclusively in Figma.
Current App Features
With features like virtual sticky note creation and interactive boards that replicate real-life Post-it usage, the app offers users a familiar yet digital way to organize, brainstorm, and collaborate with others.
Description
Sample Template
A sample Template exists that gives users a detailed idea of how sticky notes can be used and grouped together
Add or Delete Notes
The notes can be added inside and outside the groups and can also be deleted by long pressing each note
Edit or Delete Boards
Boards can be edited according to requirement and can be deleted by selecting them
Change Color & Fonts
The Typeface and Color of text on the sticky notes can be changed
Handwriting Recognition
The app claims to have the option of recognizing handwriting from an image and use that text as content for a single or multiple sticky notes. This feature works once in 10 tries
Export Notes
The notes can be exported in PDF or any Image Format and can be shared with others
The Innovation
Transforming the Post-it mobile app to enable real-time, visual co-planning with others. Features include
Built-in templates: Offer users a library of ready-made templates for common planning scenarios like trips, events, to-do lists, and projects. This eliminates the need to build everything from scratch, saving time and effort.
Framework for collaboration: A central hub where users
can connect and manage the planning and execution of various projects, trips, events, and to-do lists together. This fosters teamwork and ensures everyone stays on the same page.
Enhanced customization: Empower users with greater control over how they create and organize digital sticky notes and their groups.
Impact
The app prototype received a positive response! 8 out of 10 users indicated a strong likelihood of using it for planning trips, events, and other tasks. Creating sticky notes and groups proved to be a breeze for a vast majority (90%) of users, highlighting the app's user friendly design. An impressive 80% of users found it easy and smooth to create and modify existing templates, demonstrating the app's flexibility.
Process
Know Thy User
Understand Post-its App Users and the Problems they face.
Innovate
HMW Statements, Ideation and brainstorming possible solutions within given constraints.
Prototype
Create a Figma Prototype of new features and UI Design.
Test, Iterate & Re-iterate
Usability Testing with Target Customers and iterations.
User Interviews
I conducted 10 user interviews in total, speaking with both existing Post-it app users and people who like to stay organized, which is the target audience. I interviewed 5 Post-it app users and 5 individuals who consider themselves organized. To find the latter group, I used a short survey to filter for people who actively manage their tasks or routines.
Key Insights
The Approach was to understand how people plan
I began by attempting to understand how people plan stuff. From events to trips to parties, I attempted to find patterns and requirements that go with any kind of plan.
The secret sauce is collaboration with others
Most plans happen in groups. By allowing users to plan stuff with multiple other users seamlessly at one place on a mobile device, they can do so much more. This will not only help with user engagement, but also with user retention.
App needed to be more flexible for customization
The existing app had amazing core features that made it intriguing to use like creating & deleting notes, editing entire boards and the grouping of notes. But the implementation of these features needed an improvement.
Budgeting is a major part of any kind of plan
Any group plan, trip, event, birthday or any or even a group project needs an expense management system for people to effectively manage budgets.
User Persona
Name
Sarah Jones
Age
25
Location
Seattle, USA
Occupation
Data Engineer
Bio
Sarah is the go-to planner among her friends. Whether it’s a weekend getaway, a dinner party, or a team sprint, she naturally takes charge of organizing everything. Known for her attention to detail and love for structure, she enjoys using productivity tools to stay on top of both her personal and professional life.
Goals
Streamline all planning—personal, social, and work-related—in one place
Reduce time lost switching between different tools
Collaborate effortlessly with friends and teammates
Maintain a sense of clarity and control in her day-to-day
Challenges
Juggles multiple tools (Todoist, Miro, Notion, Jira) which don’t always sync
Loses momentum due to app-switching fatigue
Struggles to maintain visibility across her tasks and projects
Finds it hard to onboard friends to her preferred tools
Frequently used Tools
Miro: for visual brainstorming and trip planning
Notion: for life management and notes
Todoist: for daily to-do tracking
Jira: for tracking work tasks with her engineering team
HMW Statement
How might we empower users to effectively plan and manage projects using the Post-Its app, providing a structured framework for task organization, progress tracking, and team collaboration through Post-its?
Wireframes
Wireframes helped me quickly iterate on the solutions I brainstormed. They were key to making rapid changes over time and planning the app’s navigation system.
Final Designs
Since I wasn’t allowed to change the design system or UI language of the existing Post-its app, I built my prototype using the current design language.
Key Learnings
I attempted to allow users to manage their entire budget on this application. After spending countless hours trying different things like simulating a trip with friends to understand how expenses are managed, and taking inspiration from apps like Splitwise, I realized that I was getting sidetracked from my original agenda, which was to make planning fun and collaborative. What I was attempting to make would only create more problems than it solved. Therefore, despite having invested so much time in budgeting, I shelved the idea and just went with a budget group to jot down expenses.
User Testing
My goal was to see if the newly introduced features made sense to the users, as well as how quick and flexible these features made the tasks.
Tasks during User Testing:
The first task was to onboard the user onto the app by making them create their first board.
Their second task was to create a note in a New York Trip board of the place you would want everyone to visit
The user was tasked with inviting & messaging a friend to their board on the app.
User was asked to create and edit an expense group in the app along with an existing sticky note.
Users were asked to rate their ease and confidence at the end of every task
Test Results
12
Test Participants
99%
Success Rate
18 min
Avg. Test Session
Conclusion
What Worked
Test participants were able to complete every task with high confidence.
Participants made use of 95% of the total features designed.
When asked, users said that they would love have an app to collaborate with friends and plan out activities
What Didn't
Users remarked that they found the budgeting system useless and confusing and hence the entire idea of budgeting was discarded.
Users did not use the To-do sticky note and did not even bother checking it out.
Liked what you saw?
There’s a lot more where that came from. Browse through my other projects to see how I tackle problems, experiment with ideas, and create meaningful experiences.
