Case study
AINKI
UI/UX Design, 2025
AINKI is a mobile app concept that uses AI to summarize content and turn it into digital flashcards or quizzes, making learning more efficient. This case study covers everything from research to the final high-fidelity prototypes.
Problem Statement
In today's information-rich era, students and professionals struggle with the overwhelming volume of available content, distilling it into learnable chunks is time-consuming and exhausting.
Project Goal
Create an MVP that lets users efficiently summarize documents into interactive index cards or quizzes, a minimalist yet powerful tool for learning and retention.
My Role
Sole UX designer, responsible for every stage from research and conceptualization to prototyping and usability testing.
01. Design Process Overview
A mix of Design Thinking and Lean UX, with rapid iterations and constant user feedback.
- Research: Competitive analysis, user interviews, and market research
- Define: Personas, user journey mapping, and feature prioritization
- Ideate: Wireframing and low-fidelity prototypes
- Test: Formative usability testing and iteration
- Deliver: High-fidelity UI mockups and final usability testing
02. Competitive Analysis & Market Research
- Streamlined usability: Reduce complex customization options.
- AI-assisted content creation: Automate summarizing content and creating quizzes/flashcards.
- Customization for study material: Flexibility without overwhelming users with choices.
- Personalized Learning: Adaptive technologies tailoring experiences to individual users
- AI and Automation: Leveraging AI for task automation to enhance focus on content retention
- Gamification: Incorporating game-like elements to boost user engagement
- Microlearning: Bite-sized, easily digestible information for on-the-go learning
03. User Research
Due to time constraints, I conducted informal interviews with a small group of potential users to shape personas and map their user journeys, surfacing happy paths, pain points, and a feature backlog.
Collaboration, PM
Would align on the roadmap & prioritize features for the MVP.
Collaboration, Engineers
Would partner early on to clarify technical feasibility (e.g., AI integration).
Technical: AI Model (NLP)
Integrate a 3rd-party LLM via API, focus UX on letting users easily edit AI output.
Technical: Data Privacy
Ensure strict GDPR compliance for sensitive user documents.
04. Prototyping & Minimal Usability Testing
Low-fidelity wireframes visualized the app's core functionality, from document upload to quiz review. A user flow diagram clarified navigation from home screen to AI-summarized flashcards to customized quizzes.
- Improve Navigation: Clear navigation within all screens
- Card and Quiz Usability: Learning flashcards and the quiz were unintuitive
- Onboarding: No visible onboarding flow for new users, out of scope for the MVP
05. Creating a Design System
A consistent design system, covering typography, color schemes, and button styles, was established early for a cohesive experience, with WCAG-compliant contrast and accessible tap targets throughout.
06. High-Fidelity Mockups & Iteration
A second round of usability testing with 4 participants and the same test script refined the high-fidelity mockups, addressing specific issues from wireframe testing.
- Redesigned card details for improved clarity and functionality.
- Updated the visual representation of learning progress.
- Introduced a document upload feature with clear user feedback.
- Implemented a favorites system for enhanced customization.
07. Final Screens
08. My Takeaways
AINKI taught me the importance of balancing creative ideas with the practical features users actually need, focusing on core functionality first and adapting from feedback. It also showed me the limits of working solo: showing the project to others revealed blind spots, like proper error handling, I hadn't considered alone.
- Start with the essentials and build from there, not every cool feature needs to be in the first version
- Get your work in front of others early and often, fresh perspectives always reveal something new