Case Study
NeuraNote
A learning system disguised as a note-taking app.
Role
UX Designer & Researcher
Duration
6 weeks
Tools
Figma, FigJam, AI-assisted workflows
Platform
Web Application
Landing Page
Overview
Most note-taking apps help you organize. NeuraNote helps you actually learn.
I designed NeuraNote around cognitive science principles (retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and concept mapping) to transform passive notes into active learning. The goal: help students build lasting understanding, not just extensive archives.
Problem Statement
How might we design a note-taking experience that helps learners capture, connect, and review ideas in a way that supports deep understanding and long-term memory rather than passive information storage?
Design Process
June 2025 to July 2025
Research
Research Goals
I started with a hypothesis: existing note-taking tools prioritize speed and organization over actual learning. I wanted to understand how students currently study, where they struggle, and what prevents knowledge from sticking, then design something that supports deep understanding and long-term retention without adding pressure.
User Surveys
Survey sample: n = 28 users
Devices Used for Note-Taking
This informed a web-first experience optimized for longer writing sessions.
Primary Note-Taking Applications
This highlighted an opportunity to design beyond organization toward learning-focused workflows.
Note-Taking Purpose
55% of users take notes primarily for school.
Key Takeaways
General-purpose tools dominate. 72% use laptops, and over half rely on Google Docs (built for documents, not learning). This revealed an opportunity to design for how students think, not just type.
School is the primary use case. 55% take notes for academics, so I focused on comprehension and retention features rather than workplace collaboration.
Capture ≠ retention. Users consistently reported that despite detailed notes, they couldn't recall information when needed. This gap became my core design challenge.
Competitive Analysis
User Research
Notion
Strengths
- • Highly flexible for structuring and organizing information
- • Supports multiple content types (text, media, databases)
Limitations
- • Overwhelming for quick note capture
- • Prioritizes structure over learning and retention
- • Requires constant manual setup to make notes meaningful
GoodNotes
Strengths
- • Natural handwriting experience for visual thinkers
- • Supports typed notes and audio recording
- • Reliable offline access
Limitations
- • Handwritten and typed notes remain siloed
- • Limited support for connecting ideas across notes
- • Not designed for reflection or long-term learning
Apple Notes
Strengths
- • Fast and frictionless for capturing thoughts
- • Works seamlessly offline
- • Simple organization with folders and tags
Limitations
- • Notes remain largely static after capture
- • Limited tools for reviewing or reinforcing knowledge
- • Minimal support for conceptual connections
Google Docs
Strengths
- • Strong collaboration and sharing
- • Familiar editing experience across devices
- • Easy import and export
Limitations
- • Designed for documents, not learning workflows
- • Friction in quick idea capture
- • Weak support for organizing and revisiting ideas over time
The pattern: existing tools excel at either capture (Apple Notes, Google Docs) or organization (Notion, GoodNotes), but none prioritize learning. Spaced repetition, concept linking, and metacognitive prompts are absent across the board.
This validated my hypothesis: there's room for a tool that bridges note-taking and understanding. I designed NeuraNote to treat notes as the starting point for deeper learning, not static archives.
Affinity Mapping
Synthesizing Research Insights
I synthesized survey and interview data through affinity mapping. Three themes emerged:
Organization: Quick access to notes and cross-subject connections without complex folder structures.
Collaboration: Easy sharing for study groups and team knowledge transfer.
Efficiency: Fast capture during lectures, effective review for retention.
Collaboration
User Behavior
Takes shared notes during study groups or review sessions to align understanding and divide work.
Needs / Goals
Wants collaborators to see how ideas are connected, not just shared text blocks.
Pain Point
Collaborative notes become cluttered and difficult to review after the session ends.
Pain Point
No clear ownership or visibility into who added or edited specific concepts.
UX Principle
Collaboration should reduce cognitive load, not add coordination overhead.
Opportunity
Shared concept maps that visually represent relationships and show contributor ownership.
Organization
User Behavior
Takes notes across multiple subjects and courses within the same app.
Needs / Goals
Wants notes grouped by conceptual meaning rather than folders or file location.
Pain Point
Hard to see relationships between topics when notes are separated by notebooks or files.
Pain Point
Over-organizing notes interrupts learning flow and attention during capture.
UX Principle
Organization should support sense-making, not just storage.
Opportunity
Auto-generated concept clusters and visual maps that organize notes based on meaning.
Efficiency / Speed
User Behavior
Takes notes quickly during lectures to keep up with fast-paced information.
Needs / Goals
Wants to capture ideas without breaking focus or attention during learning.
Pain Point
Reviewing long, unstructured notes is time-consuming and inefficient.
Pain Point
Passive rereading of notes feels ineffective for long-term retention.
UX Principle
Speed should not sacrifice learning depth or understanding.
Opportunity
One-click conversion from notes to recall-based formats like flashcards or prompts.
What This Revealed
A consistent tension emerged: users want speed during capture, but that speed costs future understanding. Notes pile up, connections get lost, reviewing becomes a chore.
The solution: intelligent organization that happens automatically. Rather than manual tagging, NeuraNote surfaces conceptual relationships on the user's behalf, turning passive archives into living knowledge maps.
Low Fidelity Designs
Early Explorations
I sketched initial concepts focusing on three journeys: note creation, concept visualization, and review for retention. Each sketch was evaluated against research findings to ensure I was solving real problems.
User Flow Explorations
Early sketches for flashcards, pins, and zoom controls.
Core Screen Layouts
Dashboard, Notes, Concept Map, Review, and Insights screens.
Key Decisions
Persistent sidebar navigation: Quick switching between notes, concept maps, review, and insights.
Concept map as core feature: Interactive node-based map that auto-generates connections.
Active recall over flashcards: Users explain concepts in their own words before seeing references.
User Flows & Core Features
Five core journeys mapped from research insights
Onboarding
Create Note
AI Features
Concept Map
Review Session
Insights
I mapped research insights to six user journeys, each designed to minimize friction while maximizing learning: capture quickly, see connections automatically, review effectively.
02
Core Features
Six integrated features that transform passive notes into active learning, from capture to mastery.
Smart Notes
Capture ideas through typing, voice recording, PDF uploads, or photo imports. Notes are automatically formatted and searchable.
AI Concept Extraction
One click extracts key concepts from your notes. AI identifies important terms, definitions, and relationships automatically.
AI Summarization
Generate concise summaries of lengthy notes. Perfect for quick review sessions or sharing key takeaways with study groups.
Concept Map
Visualize how concepts connect across all your notes. Interactive node-based maps reveal relationships you might have missed.
Review Sessions
AI generates questions from your concepts. Practice active recall, get instant feedback, and rate your confidence to optimize retention.
Learning Insights
Track your progress with AI-powered analytics. See strengths, focus areas, concept mastery levels, and personalized learning recommendations.
Each feature works independently while amplifying the others. No forced workflow, just intelligent assistance when you want it.
03
Mid-Fidelity Prototypes
I developed mid-fi wireframes to refine layout, hierarchy, and interactions before high-fidelity, testing core functionality and gathering early feedback.
Core Screens
Review Flow
Key Refinements
Consistent sidebar: Same navigation pattern across all screens.
Progressive disclosure: Review guides users from empty state to active recall with on-demand hints.
Glanceable Insights: AI coaching, strengths, and progress in one view.
04
Usability Testing
I conducted moderated tests with 6 participants to validate mid-fi prototypes and identify friction points.
6
Participants
5
Core Tasks
92%
Task Success
Key Findings
Navigation was intuitive. All participants successfully located Notes, Concept Map, and Review without guidance.
Review flow felt natural. Users appreciated the "explain in your own words" approach over simple flashcards.
Concept extraction needed clarity. 3 participants weren't sure when AI would auto-extract vs. manual tagging.
Insights page was dense. Users wanted a quicker summary before diving into detailed stats.
Iterations
Based on feedback: added clearer AI indicators, introduced a "Quick Summary" card in Insights, and refined concept extraction with explanatory tooltips.
05
Design System
I focused on simplicity: black and white foundation with customizable pastel accents. User interviews revealed that many organize information by assigning personal colors, so I designed accents to be adaptable to individual workflows.
Colors
Background
Primary
Secondary
Feature Accents
Typography
Heading
Poppins SemiBold · 30px
Heading
Display
Playfair Display Italic · 28px
Learn Deeper
Heading 2
Poppins SemiBold · 20px
Heading 2
Subheading
Poppins Medium · 18px
Subheading
Body
Poppins Regular · 14px
Body text
Body 2
Poppins Regular · 12px
Body 2
Caption
Poppins Regular · 10px
Caption
06
Reflection
Key Learnings
- Designing for cognition, not just usability
- Questioning productivity norms (no streaks, no pressure)
- Treating AI as a collaborator, not an authority
What I'd Do Differently
- Earlier prototype testing with real notes
- More diverse participant pool
- Longitudinal retention studies
Future Work
Classroom pilots, collaboration features, and measuring actual learning outcomes over time.
07
User Walkthrough
Watch a walkthrough of the final prototype, from creating notes to reviewing concepts.
Prototype built in Figma • Interactions demonstrate core user flows