Reedsy Prompts
Overview
Reedsy is a global SaaS provider that serves over one million authors with a suite of digital tools designed to enhance their writing experience. Among these tools is Reedsy Prompts, a platform initially created to improve search engine visibility through weekly writing prompts and competitions. Over time, users have begun engaging with each other using Reedsy Prompt’s basic features for social networking. I was tasked with reconceptualizing Reedsy Prompts to better serve these unforeseen community and networking use-cases.
The Team
1x Product Designer
1x Head of Design
2x Developers
My Role
Design Strategy
Product Design
Users & Audience
Primary users were aspiring authors, based in the UK and USA, aged 15-22, as well as older writers too.
Process
The Existing Landscape
Site Map: To effectively redesign Reedsy Prompts, I first needed to thoroughly understand the existing user interface. I crafted a Site Map, which reinforced the insights provided by Matt, Reedsy's Head of Design. This exercise revealed that, unlike other Reedsy tools, Prompts lacked alignment with the overarching brand identity and user interface standards, and it fell short in addressing its key social and collaborative use-cases.
Content Audit: Building on the findings from the Site Map, I executed a content audit to dive deeper into the platform's functionalities and user engagement points.
Ideation
Mood Boards: To stimulate creative ideas and establish a visual direction for the redesign of Reedsy Prompts, I compiled two distinct mood boards. The first featured analogues from similar sites, showcasing design elements that effectively meet user needs and expectations. The second mood board focused on relevant infographics that could inspire the data visualization aspects of the platform.
Style Integration: I created a summary of key elements from Reedsy’s Style Guidelines to ensure that all design concepts aligned with the brand’s established styling and interface standards.
Using Procreate, I created a series of rapid, low-fidelity mock-ups to explore various redesign options for Reedsy Prompts. These mock-ups, along with the mood boards, were presented to Matt and the broader team during multiple meetings. This collaborative review helped align our vision and set the direction for the next development phase.
To summarise and collate ideation outputs and stakeholder feedback during this iterative process I created a Weighted Feature Prioritisation Matrix. This systematically ranked and recorded potential functionalities based on stakeholder reactions, user impact and technical feasibility.
Wireframes
After reviewing the Feature Prioritization Matrix, I identified three primary interfaces to categorise Reedsy Prompt’s redesign:
Homepage: the landing page, it provides site-wide notifications and news and offers clear navigation to more specific areas of the platform.
Community Pages: these interfaces facilitate interaction among many users with a shared interest, enabling them to network, learn and form smaller Writing Crews.
Crews Pages: spaces for smaller groups of 5-15 individuals to directly support each other throughout the publishing process through a variety of tools.
I developed wireframes for each interface to clearly define their structure and to effectively communicate the proposed designs to stakeholders prior to moving into the prototyping phase.
Prototyping
Homepage
The homepage features a prominent Task Bar at the its top that engages users with their writing commitments and resources. The weighting of this feature aligns with Reedsy’s core mission to support authors throughout their publishing journey.
Below the Task Bar, is a social feed, which becomes the focal point as the user scrolls.
Community Pages
Primary Features: positioned at the top of the page, the layout emphasises essential tools that introduce the Community and support the authorship process. This placement prioritises functional elements over social interactions.
Customisation and Flexibility: below the Top Nav bar and to the far right, several customisable cards are accessible to admin users. This enables the creation of distinct, uniquely themed Communities within the platform.
Dynamic Interaction Design: As users scroll, the primary tools retract, allowing the community feed to expand, optimising viewing experience and user engagement.
Crews Page
Functionality: The Crews page is designed to support small groups of 3-15 users, known as ‘Crews,’ who collaborate closely on their authorship journey. It features a customisable dashboard interface that centralises various group tools, allowing for simultaneous viewing and manipulation of information with minimal clicks.
Customisation: The order of the dashboard contents can be moved and the Crew Information can be edited, catering to the specific needs and preferences of each crew.
Dynamic Interaction Design: Echoing the design principles of the Homepage and Community pages, the Crews page includes dynamic elements that adjust during scrolling: key tasks remain anchored at the top for continuous access, while customisable introductory elements retract, allowing the dashboard feed to expand.
Mobile versions of each interface were also designed.
Summary
Presentation and Feedback: Prototypes were presented to the Head of Design and the development team, receiving positive feedback. Particular attention was given to the Crews Page, which was identified as requiring further refinement to fully develop the task flows for each tool.
Further Development: In response to the feedback, a collaborative effort between Matt, the Head of Design, and myself led to the creation of a comprehensive document outlining the scope for user testing and subsequent phases of development.
Project Advancement: The project received formal approval, and the next stages of development have been transitioned for internal completion.