Apple Books
Finding the Right Words
Background: Searchin’ notes? You need Search in Notes.
As someone that takes notes and refers back to them regularly, I was surprised to see that you couldn’t search your notes in Apple Books, only book text itself.
Because you can search in the actual iOS Notes app, it seemed like an inconsistency across Apple’s native apps.
Disclaimer: This is a personal project not actually associated with Apple, and I do not work for them.
Challenge
Create a section for all of a users’ notes, integrate a search feature so that they can quickly find something within those notes, and easily share them to other apps.
Outcome
100% of test participants were able to easily find where the Notebook was located, search the notes, and share the results.
Summary
I analyzed competitors to discover if any of them had a search feature for notes, as well as how notes were handled overall. From user interviews, I learned a great deal about their note-taking habits and experiences with e-readers. Thanks to the insights gained from that research, the persona I created was much easier to flesh out.
Design patterns were analyzed to have a more concrete understanding before the creation of the task & user flows. Next, wireframes were made to see how the new elements worked with Apple Books’ existing UI.
Using those wireframes, a high-fidelity prototype was created for usability testing. While there was a little confusion in sharing notes, all tasks were completed easily.
Reading the Room
I thought it was possible Apple Books was lagging behind the more well-known e-readers like Kindle and Nook. It made me eager to find out if any of them had the features I wanted to add.
Somewhat surprisingly, none of them did. Scribd came the closest with the ability to search within 1 book’s notes and share 1 note at a time.
Being able to search and share all of your notes would be an opportunity to make Apple Books unique, as well as consistent with the iOS Notes app.
Taking Notes on Note-Takers
I interviewed 4 people to better understand their note-taking habits and in what contexts they use e-readers, if at all. I wasn’t sure what to expect after seeing how varied apps were in regards to notes.
School was the primary reason they took notes.
All preferred real books over ebooks, with 3 actually writing their notes in the books themselves.
Everyone had shared notes, both digitally & handwritten.
Motivations
Everyone preferred handwriting their notes because it helped the learning process.
Other than books, notes were taken in classes and on articles as well.
Ebooks were read for their convenience.
Needs
A personalized system for their handwritten notes that involves color.
Organized notebooks/binders to make revisiting & reviewing easier.
A reliable way to share notes digitally when involved with a team/group.
Wants
Half of the participants wanted a dedicated place for all of their digital notes.
A filter for highlight colors was also mentioned since color was an important part of their notes.
Frustrations
Most have used digital notes, but found them inefficient compared to their own handwritten system.
Using other people’s notes was mentioned as being less effective because things like different handwriting and organization methods.
Some users had used styluses to take digital notes as it mimicked handwriting, but it still lacked efficiency.
Products like reMarkable or Repaper could be a bridge between digital and analog notes, but they’re currently too expensive.
The Protagonist
The things I learned from the interviews made creating a persona much easier. Not only were they incredibly enlightening, they gave me a new perspective on the project.
While taking notes in an e-reader wouldn’t replace users’ handwritten systems, it could provide convenience if they needed it. There may be situations where setting up a study area to take notes isn’t feasible, but they could still get some work done on their phones.
Taking a Page From Their Book
At first, I began thinking of task flows, but that made me realize I still had gaps in truly understanding how the new features would be integrated. I knew what I wanted to add to the app, but not exactly how it would look.
By creating a visual reference, I could more confidently create task & user flows as well as have a clearer idea for wireframe layout afterwards.
Tap Into Flows
Because convenience was the main reason e-readers were said to be used, I wanted to make sure the steps for each task were kept to the absolute minimum.
User Flow Scenario: Alice wants to review a specific topic she took notes on, but she can’t remember which book it was in. She searches all of her notes using some key phrases of what she does remember.
Wireframes
Since I had created the design pattern reference earlier, creating the wireframes went much more smoothly. In the Notes app you have to pull down on the screen to reveal the search bar, but I kept it readily visible in Apple Books so users wouldn’t have to look for it.
Lo-fi Sketches
Hi-fi Wireframes
Originally on the Filter screen, the bottom button was “Cancel,” with “Apply” being at the top right corner. After receiving feedback, the button was changed to “Apply” in order to maintain the downward flow. “Cancel” as well as “Clear Filters” were placed in the top corners.
Before
After
At first I wasn’t sure where to place the Notebook section. You could get to it from within a book, like in Nook, but there also had to be a way to get there from the home screen.
The most logical place was under “Collections,” but I wondered if that was too “buried” within the app even though it was just two taps from the home screen. Since not everyone would use the Notebook, it wouldn’t make sense to place it prominently elsewhere.
I created an icon and placed it under the “Books” collection, thinking that the proximity would help users know what it is.
Testing 1, 2, 3
Using a high-fidelity prototype I was seeking to discover:
How easily users understand Apple Books’ layout.
If they can find where the Notebook section is located.
If the search & share features match their mental models.
Testing was done with 3 participants remotely via Zoom. 2 that were interviewed at the beginning of the project were returning and 1 new participant had never used an e-reader.
They were given the following 3 tasks:
1. Find where the Notebook section is located from the Reading Now/home screen.
2. Search for something specific in the Notebook.
3. Send a copy of the search result to Google Docs.
Test Results
All participants completed the tasks easily even though 2 were Android users. Despite having some concern about where I placed the Notebook, everyone found it on their first attempt without needing to look around.
Affinity Map
While Task 3 was also completed easily, there was some confusion over what would be shared when clicking the icon on the search results screen.
Priority Revisions
The confusion around sharing was fixed by labeling the window so users know exactly what’s being shared.
Being able to select notes to share (or delete) also came up during testing. That would give users more flexibility rather than the extremes of sharing all their notes or just one.
Looking Back on Notes
If I could have done more testing, I would have liked to see:
How well the note filter worked.
If searching notes within 1 book would also go smoothly.
In what contexts would the main Search function be used regarding notes.
Learning about users’ note-taking systems was perhaps the most valuable part of the process. It affirmed the importance of actually talking to users and how the insights gained can give a clearer purpose to the project.
Adapting to an apps’ patterns was a great learning experience as well. Integrating a feature took careful consideration so that it wouldn’t turn out to be some Frankenstein’s monster. It’s a relatively simple addition, but it could be exactly what someone is looking for.
