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Fieldnote

Fieldnote

A capture tool for researchers in the wild—fast notes, offline-first, and a review surface that stays out of the way.

Role
Founding Designer
Year
2023
Timeline
8 weeks to MVP
Team
1 designer · 2 founders · 1 engineer
Focus
Startup · Mobile · UX
Tools
Figma · ProtoPie · Notion
Landscape vista suggesting fieldwork outdoors

01 — Overview

Context

Fieldnote was a seed-stage idea: help field researchers capture observations when connectivity and attention are scarce, then review later at a desk.

02 — Problem

The challenge

Existing note apps assumed desk time and fat-finger precision. Researchers needed capture that worked with gloves, glare, and spotty signal.

02 — Goals

What success looked like

  • Capture a note in under three taps offline
  • Sync reliably when connectivity returns
  • Support a clean review mode for tagging later

03 — Research

How we learned

Rode along on two field days, interviewed five researchers, and pressure-tested competitor apps outdoors for glare and latency.

  1. Insight 01

    Capture ≠ compose

    In the field, people want a dump of observation—not a perfect document.

  2. Insight 02

    Offline is non-negotiable

    Any spinner in the capture path destroyed trust immediately.

  3. Insight 03

    Review is a different mode

    Tagging and structuring happened later; conflating both modes cluttered the field UI.

04 — Process

Approach

  1. 01

    Discover

    Field observation and competitor stress tests outdoors.

  2. 02

    Define

    Split product into Capture mode and Review mode with clear mental models.

  3. 03

    Design

    Large targets, high contrast, offline queue indicators.

  4. 04

    Pilot

    MVP with three labs; weekly feedback loops into the backlog.

05 — Solution

What we designed

A dual-mode product: an aggressively simple capture surface for the field, and a structured review workspace for tagging and export once back online.

  • 01One-thumb capture with voice + photo attach
  • 02Visible offline queue and sync status
  • 03Review board for clustering notes by site and theme

Visuals

Laptop open on a wooden table outdoors

06 — Results

Impact

MVP design unlocked seed fundraising and a pilot with three research labs, validating the capture/review split.

<3s
Median time to save a note
3
Research labs in pilot
Seed
Round supported by MVP demos

07 — Reflection

What I’d carry forward

Constraints are the brief. Designing for gloves and sunlight forced a clarity that a desk-bound persona never would have.