Designing a Smarter Writing Workflow
AI-powered writing that’s clear and supports focused thinking.
Big Picture of Doenba
Doenba is an AI-powered academic productivity suite with two interconnected products:
Focusing on Doenba Edit — the First Product Nearing Launch
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
Academic Writing Is Time-Consuming and Emotionally Draining
Through research and discussions with our early users, we identified core challenges:
Writers often don’t know how to begin organizing their thoughts.
Formatting consumes significant time and causes stress.
Rewriting content is repetitive and cognitively exhausting.
OPPORTUNITY SPACE
Designing for Structure, Support, and Speed in Academic Writing
We saw an opportunity to create a writing tool that could:
Guide structure and reduce friction
Provide flexible, AI-supported editing
Help users produce professional documents faster and with more confidence
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
Turning Complex AI Capabilities Into Clear, User-Friendly Tools
To address the challenges we identified, we focused on designing core solutions that would:
Offer structure suggestions without limiting flexibility
Make rephrasing and reordering intuitive
Simplify citation and formatting through smart defaults
Reduce mental effort with clear, responsive interfaces
Smart Article Structure: Suggesting Layouts or Copying from Reference
AI Writing Assistance: Contextual AI Editing with Rephrase, Reorganize, and Suggestions
COLLABORATION & ITERATION
Startup-Speed Design in a Cross-Functional Team
Working in a resource-limited environment, we couldn’t rely on A/B testing or large datasets to validate decisions. Instead, we:
Used quick internal reviews with engineers and PMs
Iterated rapidly in Figma with real-time feedback
Ran targeted demos and collected feedback from potential users
This approach helped us move forward with clarity—even when full validation wasn't possible.
As one of two designers, I collaborated closely with a PM and four engineers. We shared concepts daily, reviewed each other’s work in Figma, and adapted quickly based on tech constraints and user feedback. Since we didn’t formally split features, I contributed to all flows—from low-fi ideas to polished UI.
REFLECTION
From Academic Stress to Academic Flow
Doenba Edit was my first product design experience in a real-world startup. It taught me how to adapt to constraints, design for real users, and communicate clearly with devs and PMs. More than just building features, we built confidence—helping users feel less stuck and more capable when writing.
This case study focused on Doenba Edit, but I continue to support the development of Doenba Read as part of a long-term vision: an academic productivity suite that thinks alongside its users.
