How can we increase user retention on Qomix?
I worked with Qomix, a Singapore-based ed-tech company that revolutionises news, analysis, information, and communication through graphic storytelling.
My brief was to re-design the mobile application to improve content discovery & user retention.
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Role
Product Designer
Interaction Designer​
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Team​
4 Developers
1 Product Designer
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Timeline
May-July 2023
3 months
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Tools
Figma, Miro, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro
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QUICK VIEW
THE PROBLEM
Launched publicly in March 2023 with 100+ diverse content pieces, Qomix initially experienced strong user acquisition and downloads. However, an alarming 80% drop-off rate with users reading just one story significantly impacted user retention and engagement. Despite good reviews, the app had trouble showing diverse content on the main screen, making it less user-friendly and requiring extra clicks to explore different content.
GLANCE AT THE RE-DESIGN
IMPACT POST RE-DESIGN
USER RESEARCH
Through 50 user interviews, we delved into Qomix mobile app user experiences, preferences, and pain points, exploring content discovery challenges, user expectations, and feedback on existing features.
How do you discover new content on Qomix?
Upon logging in, what actions or features do you usually explore?
What is the first thing you do when you log on?
3 MAJOR RESEARCH INSIGHTS
1
Users struggle with limited visibility of diverse content genres on the app.
Enhance content curation and showcase specific genres more prominently.
2
Users find the current homepage overwheming.
Add in more break sections & topic tags.
3
Users find it hard to return to articles.
Integrate functional elements to make returning to reads easier.
SCREENING COMPETITORS FOR DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES
We went through other ed-tech & content led apps/ websites to better understand how we could make the experience of browsing through different genres & forms of content better for Qomix users. Two examples stood out to us:
3 MAJOR ISSUES WITH THE EXISTING DESIGN
We went through other ed-tech & content led apps/ websites to better understand how we could make the experience of browsing through different genres & forms of content better for Qomix users. Two examples stood out to us:
PRODUCT GOALS
Make it easy to find related content.
Make it rewarding to read more content.
Make it interactive to increase engagement.
Make it obvious for users to navigate.
DESIGN IDEATION
Based on our updated product goals, we began to tackle the issues of low content visibility, lack of tags, and format-based categorisation, brainstorming revolved around increasing displayed content volume, implementing clear tags and descriptions, and transitioning to a user-centric, topic-based categorisation.
We conducted A/B testing, then went with Ideation 3 to keep the homepage engaging with horizontal scrolling & magnified articles to engage users while ensuring the interface is clean and minimalistic.
USABILITY TESTING
We conducted usability tests of our updated design with 10 Qomix users to do 45 minute Zoom calls with us. The usability testing calls had 2 main objectives:
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1
Are users able to perform tasks?
We wanted to ensure that they can complete specific tasks & recover from mistakes promptly
2
Do they like the new design changes?
We wanted to ensure that we identify any visuals which need improvement to make it more user-friendly.
Results before redesign
Results after redesign
HIGH FIDELITY DESIGN
REFLECTIONS
What worked....
Ongoing Refinement: Regular design discussions and a commitment to tweaking solutions ensured continuous improvement throughout development.
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Insights from Early Engagement: Gathering feedback early on helped shape feature development, leading to a more satisfying overall experience.
What I would improve with more time..
Streamlined Onboarding Process: I would want to refine the onboarding process to make it more intuitive and user-friendly, reducing friction for new users and improving retention rates.
Adding UI changes: Given time constraints, I would have liked to engage more closely with the design team to ensure UI updates align with user preferences and design objectives, conducting thorough reviews and providing actionable feedback iteratively.