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ABOUT ME

RESUME

HOME

WORK

ABOUT ME

RESUME

Apr 2024

duration

2 days

team

2 designers

my role

Designer

skills

Product Design

Figma

UI Design

Competitive Analysis

Prototype Link

Demo Video

we write in the margins of books. why not in the margins of life?

we write in the margins of books. why not in the margins of life?

the product

A digital space where you create chapters for your life — and within those you create pages annotated with events that have occurred, big or small.

CreateSC 2025

This product was created through USC's CreateSC 2025 Designathon, over the span of two days.


PROMPT: Identify a physical experience that has not yet been effectively represented in digital form and develop a functional interface that replicates or enhances the core components of that experience in a digital environment.

This product was created through USC's CreateSC 2025 Designathon, over the span of two days.


PROMPT: Identify a physical experience that has not yet been effectively represented in digital form and develop a functional interface that replicates or enhances the core components of that experience in a digital environment.

project timeline

project timeline

  1. Define

Define problem statement and user needs

Create a vision borad and brainstorm how the tangible experience of writing in a journal could be digitized

  1. Ideate

  1. Design

Constructing user flow, wireframing, design, creating design system & components, and enhancing interactions through prototyping

Testing the prototype, refining the wireframes, and finalizing the screens.

  1. Testing

competitive analysis

competitive analysis

With a large variety of journaling apps out there, we decided to conduct a quick competitive analysis to see how we could emphasize the unique features for our InTheMargins.

so…how do we digitize the tangible experience of writing in a journal?

so…how do we digitize the tangible experience of writing in a journal?

After conducting our competitive analysis, we decided to create a unique UI design for InTheMargins, emphasizing replicating and enhancing the feel of writing in a physical journal.

features

Our goal for this app was: The user can record main life experiences on the pages, but little life events in the margins that pop out that they might forget later on.


users can:

  • write down their thoughts, freely written like journal entries

  • classify events as major or minor

  • create sticky margin notes that hold minor events with description/quotes and little joys

  • upload photos and record voice memos and moods.


Our goal for this app was: The user can record main life experiences on the pages, but little life events in the margins that pop out that they might forget later on.


users can:

  • write down their thoughts, freely written like journal entries

  • classify events as major or minor

  • create sticky margin notes that hold minor events with description/quotes and little joys

  • upload photos and record voice memos and moods.

lofis

lofis

Homepage - the user's life chapters

A journal entry

moodboard curated from pinterest

moodboard curated from pinterest

We drew our inspiration for the app's visuals from the ways that people keep real journals.

…and finally, the design. here are some ways that we made the journal feel realistic:

…and finally, the design. here are some ways that we made the journal feel realistic:

Landing page:

  • gives the feel of a physcial journal.

  • dragging on the "strap" simulates opening a physical journal.

Homepage

  • pages are "pinned" to the board and the user can drag the chapters around.

Journal page:

  • when the user opens a chapter, they can:

    • view entries

    • edit entries

    • swipe to read their margin notes

    • drag stickers around

    • flip to other entries

Peeling a sticker:

When a user creates a new entry, they can choose stickers. The concept behind this part of the app is for the user to "peel" the sticker before "pasting" it on their entry. This makes the process of decorating their journal feel more real and tangible!

some more cool things!

some more cool things!

A reminder of happy events that the user recorded, allowing them to revisit past moments.

Selecting a minor event, to recording it as a margin note where the user can

  1. add audio/video,

  2. add an image,

  3. and select whether they want to be reminded of this event later on.

why's this important?

why's this important?

InTheMargins is essentially an artifact of the user's identity.

We wanted InTheMargins to be a time capsule where users can store their memories and thoughts that they can later on revisit, and employ scrapbooking as a device to spruce up their journal entries.

so what's next?

so what's next?

  • Allow users to share chapters with loved ones

  • Track emotional trends over time

  • Allow users to associate songs with chapters

  • Allows users to set their own

And an AI agent that takes the user through a visual journey of their chapters!

Kavya Verma

Contact

kavya.verma@gmail.com

Kavya Verma

Contact

kavya.verma@gmail.com

Kavya Verma

Contact

kavya.verma@gmail.com