Create an Art Book: Preserving your artist journey into something tangible
5 Minute Journal
Add a Feature |
Aug - Sep 2024 |
UX Designer
The Problem
When journaling takes place across various platforms—apps, paper notes, index cards—entries can feel disconnected and disorganized, making it hard to revisit past ideas or memories.
Through research, I found that many people journal informally, using whatever medium is most convenient in the moment. But this often leads to scattered reflections and difficulty retrieving meaningful moments or stories later on.
This sparked a key question:
How might we create a more unified journaling experience where no memory gets lost?
01 Research
Deep Dive into the Journaling Space
Before starting the project, I researched the journaling space by exploring various apps. I focused on a mix of organized/planning apps, creative tactile journaling apps, and mood tracking tools, including Day One, Reflection, How We Feel, and Zinnia.
Competitive Analysis Takeaways
Potential features I could implement into my project:
Custom tags by topic
Calendar view of entries
Export as a physical book
Template customization
Understanding Journalers’ Needs through user interviews
Conversations with Users
I interviewed 5 people who journal regularly. My goal was to uncover common pain points and habits:
Journaling takes many forms—doodles, bullet points, short reflections
Traditional journaling with long emotional reflections can feel exhausting and hard to maintain consistently.
Entries are scattered across different mediums (paper, digital notes, etc.)
Users get frustrated when they can’t find old content they want to revisit
All 5 participants were interested in compiling themed content into a book
Observing how Journalers Physically Engaged with the Tasks
Hosting a Participatory Workshop
Because the idea of book creation is hands-on, I ran a participatory workshop to understand how users might physically design a book using their journal entries.
Rundown of workshop:
Invited 4 people who journal regularly to meet through Google Meet
Ask them to complete 3 tasks by showing their ideas through graphical elements and labels on a shared Google Slide document
Concluded by sharing each other’s ideas and group discussion
Workshop Task 1
Upload Photos of Notes & Drawings
I explored whether adding photos and other media to a journal app feels intuitive and how it might be experienced.
Key Findings:
Users liked the idea of uploading physical pages into the app
Valued the tactile, scrapbook-like experience
Suggested categorizing content: planning, sketches, diary entries, etc.
Wanted flexible layouts and visual previews
Workshop Task 2
Add Tag to Entries
I explored how users might organize their work.
Key Findings:
Users used tags for searchability and reflection trends
Valued sub-categories for things like moods, poetry, or major life events
Most useful for deeper, more personal entries
Workshop Task 3
Create a Printable Book
I explored how users might create their own book with existing journal entries.
Key Findings:
Most exciting part of the workshop
All participants wanted the app to visually mimic a real book
High desire for customization of designs
Book use cases included: gifts, memory keeping, personal art portfolios
Overall findings from the workshop
Personalization and creativity were highly valued
Users appreciated the ability to upload handwritten notes, express emotions, and customize entries.
Organizational tools enhanced reflection
Features like tagging and categorizing entries helped users revisit past thoughts with intention.
Flexibility and visual appeal deepened engagement
Journalers were drawn to experiences that felt emotionally resonant and visually satisfying, such as compiling printable art books.
Narrowing down on a niche audience
I decided to focus on tailoring for creative journalers, which allowed deeper exploration of emotional expression, customization, and tangible output.
Prioritizing a Niche Audience: Creative Journalers and Artists
02 Research Synthesis
Translating Insights into features of a book creation tool
Grounded in user research, the core concept centers on a flip-through book experience with customizable covers and materials. For the MVP, I prioritized the following key features for V1:
Upload digital art and photos
Tag entries and images
Customize book covers and layouts
Preview the book with a visual flip-through
Export or order physical copies
Features Roadmap prioritizing key features for V1:
Uncover needs and pain points through User Personas
Understanding the user is key to effective design. I created research-based personas to reflect real goals, behaviors, and pain points.
Main user pain points that I need to solve:
Disorganized, scattered notes and creative outputs
Limited time to create journal entries
Fear of losing precious creative memories
03 Ideation
Mapping out the user journey with a User Flow Diagram
I mapped out the user journey from creating a book, to adding entries, to editing the content. What stood out in this flow is how often users return to the book page navigation—it really anchors the whole experience.
What the user flow diagram tells me:
The UI for book creation and editing needs to feel smooth and intuitive to flip through
The design menu to be easy to find and simple to use while customizing the book
Original Flow & Insights
Originally, the user flow began by having users select journal entries first, which would then trigger the book creation process.
This flow caused confusion:
Many users didn’t realize they were in the process of creating a book or that a book creation option even existed.
User Flow Diagram Version 1 - Create an Art Book
Revised Flow
To address this, I revised the flow to begin with an explicit “Create Book” action. Once users initiate book creation, they’re then prompted to select entries and proceed with customizing the design and content. This change made the process feel more structured and intentional, improving clarity and overall user confidence.
User Flow Diagram Version 2 - Create an Art Book
04 Design
Crafting thoughtful Interfaces for book creation and editing flows
With a clear understanding of user needs, I translated insights into purposeful design solutions—focusing on usability, visual clarity, and seamless interaction.
05 Testing
Usability Testing
This usability test evaluated how easily users could navigate a journaling app prototype for documenting creative outlets like drawings and calligraphy. Participants completed tasks like creating entries, tagging and compiling them into an art book, editing its design, and previewing it. The test aimed to identify usability issues and gather feedback on task flow, interface design, and overall satisfaction through both moderated and unmoderated sessions.
Usability Test Results Summary
Task 1 – Create a Journal Entry
Most users found this task straightforward.
The entry creation flow felt intuitive and easy to navigate.
Task 2 – Start a New Book
Users were confused about the order of actions—many expected to create a book first, then add entries.
The affordance for selecting entries to include in a book was not clear enough.
Task 3 – Edit and Design Your Book
High mis-click rate when users tried to upload a photo to an existing page.
The color palette felt too strong—suggested to tone it down for clarity.
On mobile, users felt the design navigation might be easier to use if placed at the bottom; further testing needed.
Task 4 – Preview Your Book
Overall, this task was straightforward for most users.
Minimal friction observed during the preview process.
Wrapping up Usability Testing
Overall, the core features of the journaling app were well received, with users finding basic tasks like creating entries and previewing books intuitive. However, key usability issues emerged:
Confusion around task flow and interaction clarity—particularly in starting a new book and editing existing content.
Lack of affordances, disorganized navigation, and inconsistent experience with the design navigation
Overcoming roadblock: How do I make the navigation more intuitive?
Looking Outward: Additional Comparative Analysis to Spark Ideas
I hit a roadblock trying to make the navigation feel intuitive—like flipping through a physical scrapbook. To get unstuck, I looked to Canva’s interface for inspiration.
That exploration helped me simplify the UI while adding clear, visual affordances that made interactions feel more natural and guided:
Designing a single menu with contextual interactions that trigger the corresponding options.
Separating the design tools (top navigation) from the page-flipping controls (bottom), this interface feels more focused and less cluttered—allowing the journal itself to remain the central visual focus
06 Final Designs
Delivering the Final Book Creation Experience
The final screens bring together user insights, design refinements, and tested interactions—resulting in a cohesive, intuitive experience that balances function with creative expression.
Priority Revisions
Based on the test results and additional research, I mapped out the main revisions to focus on:
Clearly delineate ‘new entry’ versus ‘new book’ options
Eliminate visual clutter when creating a new entry
Shorten the book creation task all in one screen
Streamline the book design navigation experience
Future plans for 5-Minute Journal
To keep improving the 5 Minute Journal while staying true to its simple, mindfulness-first vibe, I explored a few thoughtful feature ideas. These would help support user growth, add more personalization, and encourage long-term use:
Mood & Gratitude Trends Dashboard: Visualize patterns in mood and reflections over time to help users gain deeper emotional insight.
Customizable Prompts: Let users select themes (e.g., “Productivity,” “Healing”) to tailor their journaling experience to personal goals.
Voice-to-Text & Photo Support: Allow journaling via voice notes or attaching daily photos for richer, more accessible entries.
Gentle, Purposeful Notifications: Expand reminders with encouraging quotes, breath work cues, or reflection prompts to support daily consistency.
Optional Community Sharing: Create a safe, anonymous space to share or read reflections, and join gratitude challenges for added motivation.
My Reflections
Through this feature addition case study, I deepened my understanding of user-centered design by grounding all decisions in direct user feedback. One key learning was the importance of balancing simplicity with personalization. Users loved the minimal structure of the 5 Minute Journal, but also desired more flexibility to reflect and track their well-being in ways that felt authentic to them.
A core challenge was introducing a new feature without disrupting the flow of the app’s well-loved journaling habit. I had to be mindful of the emotional tone of the product and maintain its calming, non-overwhelming aesthetic while incorporating customization.