Easyword.
From Skepticism to Success: How Easyword's Flashcard System Transformed Exam Prep
Mobile
B2C
0 to 1
Duration
3 Months
Team
Shawn Chen (PM)
Zhaohe Xiang (UI Design)
My Role
UX Design
UI Design
User Research
Product Management
Organization
Design Problem
Context
Imagine you’re a Chinese university student gearing up for the postgraduate entrance exam (PEE). The pressure is on—not just from your own ambitions but also from your family and society. Everyone your age seems to be striving for the same goal. This year, nearly five million students are competing, but only 16% will actually make it into graduate school. The stress is intense, and it only gets worse when you think about the English section of the exam, which isn’t your strongest area. You know you need to build your vocabulary, but where to start?
You look around and find countless vocabulary apps and books, but they’re all over the place. Most of them are too broad, covering everything from daily conversation to business terms, or even specialized fields. With your limited time and specific needs, you wish for something that’s tailored, focused, and designed just for the postgraduate exam. But it seems like such a tool doesn’t exist.
What can you do at this point?
Design Solution
What is Easyword?
Easyword is a specialized vocabulary app designed specifically for students preparing for the English section of PEE. Unlike other apps, Easyword targets the precise vocabulary and phrases students need to succeed, cutting out the noise and helping people study smarter, not harder.
Select a Vocabulary Book
The expert PEE English teaching team, drawing from years of experience, has developed a series of vocabulary books specifically tailored for PEE students. These books are designed to address different levels of English proficiency and specific exam preparation goals, enabling users to choose one or more that best fit their needs and help them excel in the exam.
Make a Plan
Users can customize their study plans by setting a daily word count or selecting a target completion date, as the two are interconnected. Based on our primary research, most users tend to memorize around 30 words per day. As a result, we have set 30 as the default daily target to align with this common study habit.
Quick memorizing
We utilize a flashcard system to replicate the traditional offline method of memorizing words, making it more familiar and intuitive for users. This approach helps reduce the learning curve and makes the process more effective.
The swipe feature for moving to the next word is incredibly convenient and user-friendly. We enabled swiping in all directions to accommodate both left- and right-handed users and make it easy for one-handed use—perfect for those studying on the go, like on a bus or subway, which many of our users prefer.
Our design simplifies learning: swiping a card means, “I’ve got this word, let’s move on,” eliminating the need for complex gestures like “swipe left if you don’t remember, swipe right if you do.” This lets users focus purely on learning without distractions.
We also adjusted the swipe sensitivity for different phone models, considering variations like some Android phones being too sensitive or others requiring more effort. This ensures a smooth experience for all users.
Word Information Page
The detailed information page includes a word’s pronunciation, phonetic symbol, part of speech, Chinese translations, example sentences, roots and affixes, as well as images and videos to aid in memorization.
It also features word tags:
高频词
“High-frequency words”: words that have frequently appeared in past exams.
核心词
“Core words”: words recommended by our professional teaching team based on their extensive experience.
Review Feature
We provide a range of engaging and interactive methods for users to review words. Users can always return to the classic flashcard mode for repeated memorization.
They can also use a smaller flashcard for a quick self-check, testing if they can recall the English or Chinese meaning by looking at just one side. If they forget, they can simply flip the card to see the answer.
In addition, users can take a fun, quick test by selecting the correct answer from floating bubbles, adding a playful element to their study routine.
Design Background
Why We Made It
Identifying a Rising Trend in Postgraduate Prep
While working at Offcn Edtech, one of China’s top education companies, we spotted a rising trend: products for the postgraduate entrance exam were booming, quickly becoming the second biggest category. It was an opportunity we just couldn’t pass up.
Tapping into Offcn’s Established User Base
Offcn Edtech had a huge user base from its offline courses and aimed to bring these users online. With English as a mandatory subject for the postgraduate exam, we saw an opportunity to kickstart online postgraduate education by focusing on English vocabulary.
Creating Easyword: A Strategy Beyond Profit
Offcn Edtech had a huge user base from its offline courses and aimed to bring these users online. With English as a mandatory subject for the postgraduate exam, we saw an opportunity to kickstart online postgraduate education by focusing on English vocabulary.
Research and Design Process
Market Research
Competitive Analysis
I began with a simple competitive analysis. Through this process, I aimed to identify the weaknesses and attractive features of the most popular vocabulary apps on the market, and to understand the possible reasons behind their popularity.
Momo
BaiCiZhan
GRE 3000
YiDian
User Research
Qualitative Interview
Next, I conducted interviews with 10 students who were actively preparing for their postgraduate entrance exams. These conversations provided valuable insights into their needs, habits, and challenges related to vocabulary memorization.
Interview Findings:
1
1
Participants with various English levels often use different vocabulary memorizing approaches.
1
2
Many participants prefer mobile apps over traditional vocabulary books because of the easiness of leveraging fragmented time.
1
3
Efficiency and professionalism are the highest-ranked criteria in picking the app.
1
4
The ability to customize word books is a commonly asked feature.
User Research
User Analysis
I categorized the 10 participants according to their English proficiency, vocabulary memorization habits, and different needs.
I identified three main types of target users out of four. Then, I created personas and user journey maps for each user type to better understand their experiences with memorizing vocabulary.
User Type 1
A
C
User Type 2
E
I
D
J
User Type 3
F
G
H
User Type 4
B
User Research
Qualitative Survey
Through the quantitative survey, we aim to validate that our previous findings and identified opportunities represent the common needs of many people.
How many words do people usually memorize each day?
How long do people usually spend on memorizng words each day?
Are most users accustomed to memorizing new words through quick memorizing?
Do most people memorize new words in contexts?
What information of words do people need to see?
Do most people need to have their own workbooks?
How do people review words that memorized before?
Below 30
47.12%
53.15%
Under 15min
Quick memorizing
Detailed memorizing
53.71%
20.55%
View the words and definations only
Listen to the words / read the words
Memorize words in relevant contexts
64.11%
31.78%
43.56%
65.75%
Video explanations
Statistics of commonly used words
Paragraphs in previous exams
Roots and affixes
21.37%
40.55%
28.22%
Yes
97.54%
Review the words by doing previous exam questions
Review workbooks/notes of the words
Review vocabulary books/apps
65.48%
26.3%
33.7%
Total：365
male
41%
59%
female
Design Highlight
Wireframes
I explored several methods for memorizing words, and one traditional approach that stood out was using physical word cards. These cards are popular because they facilitate quick memorization and are easily customizable to suit individual learning styles. With this in mind, virtual word cards can be designed as a digital counterpart to the physical ones, replicating their interactions with minimal effort required from users to adapt. This makes the transition from physical to digital seamless, retaining the familiar benefits while enhancing convenience.
Design Highlight
Usability Testing
We conducted usability testing with 8 participants to see if there were any usability problems and collected some feedbacks from the potential users.
Background: You are an undergraduate student with a plan to take the PEE, and you plan to prepare for the exam by using the app for memorizing English words.
Task 1
You are going to memorize some words every day. You need to make a plan according to your schedule.
Task 2
You start learning today’s new words.
Task 3
Review the words you have learned to consolidate your memory.
... ...
We asked each participant to fill out this SUS (System Usability Scale) form based on their usability testing experience.
We also used the one-click testing method to confirm if the visual layout of our app is reasonable.
During usability testing, I identified an issue with the “modify the plan” page: users were unclear that “daily words” and “estimated completion date” were linked. To address this, I changed the interaction to a scrolling mechanism for better clarity.
Before the problem was addressed.
On the “modify the plan” page, users didn’t realize that the “daily words” and “estimated completion date” were connected.
Before
After
Design Outcome
Result
After several rounds of iterations, the second-day retention increased from:
At that time, in the landscape of digital products within the Chinese education industry, achieving a next-day retention rate of 25-35% was regarded as highly impressive.
Post-reflection
What I Learned
Working on EasyWord taught me a lot about the power of persistence and how to effectively advocate for new ideas. When I first proposed using card-based vocabulary learning, the idea was met with skepticism—it wasn’t common in Chinese apps at the time. But I knew this method could work. Instead of pushing back, I listened to the concerns, explained the benefits of card interactivity, and backed it all up with data showing how effective this approach had been in other countries. I even built a prototype to help bring the idea to life. Eventually, the team got on board, and after launch, Virtual Word Cards became a hit. The real validation came when major players in the English learning space in China started incorporating similar features in their apps. This whole experience reminded me that pushing for innovation is about more than just having a great idea—it’s about listening, educating, and proving your case with evidence.
2025 ❤ Created with love by Yimeng Hou