JG
Sum't Up
Smarter Reading for a Faster World
The Headline
Sum’t Up empowers users to engage with online content more efficiently by using AI to generate concise, customizable article summaries and enable interactive, article-specific conversations. Whether conducting research, keeping up with the news, or casually browsing, users can quickly get to the heart of the content without sacrificing understanding.
Unlike traditional summarizers, this extension goes a step further with a built-in chat feature. Users can ask follow-up questions about the article, whether to clarify a complex section or explore the author’s argument more deeply, and receive context-aware answers in real time.
The Angle
The primary goal of Sum’t Up is to help users quickly and effortlessly digest online articles through AI-generated summaries that can be customized by format, length, and tone to match individual preferences. In addition to summarization, the extension features a conversational chat tool that allows users to ask article-specific questions for deeper clarity and insight.
Overall, Sum’t Up aims to enhance the online reading experience by making it more efficient, personalized, and interactive without disrupting the natural flow of reading.
Day One: Mapping the Journey
I began the design sprint by reviewing user research from interviews with students, researchers, and professionals who regularly engage with long-form online content. Transcripts, quotes, and personas revealed a shared need for tools that save time while improving comprehension. Using these insights, I created a focused user journey map that followed one core experience: opening the extension, selecting summary preferences, generating a summary, and using the chat feature to clarify article content which established a clear, user-centered foundation for the design.
Day Two: Reading Between the Lines
Exploring the Library
Day Two focused on secondary research and competitive analysis. I conducted lightning demos to see how other tools tackle similar challenges in content summarization and user customization. By analyzing several browser extensions and AI-driven platforms, I evaluated how they handle content personalization, interface design, and user interaction. This information was used to inform Sum’t Up’s own approach.
One key influence during this phase was AI Summarizer by ReadPartner, a Chrome extension that pairs straightforward summarization with a clean, user-friendly interface. Its ability to deliver concise, digestible summaries without overwhelming users stood out and quickly became a guiding principle for Sum’t Up’s design. While it lacks extensive customization, its clarity and simplicity inspired how I approached summary presentation and reinforced the importance of a lightweight tool that supports comprehension without interrupting the reading flow.
Another valuable reference was Article Summarizer, a tool that pairs concise web content summaries with a contextual chat feature. This dual approach closely aligned with Sum’t Up’s core goals which are providing both a quick overview and the ability to ask follow-up questions for deeper understanding. Seeing how Article Summarizer combined summarization with interactive support reinforced my decision to prioritize a similar experience, ensuring users could stay engaged and informed without leaving the article.
Sketching the Core Screen
Sketching the Core Screen
After completing secondary research, I moved into rapid ideation using the Crazy 8s method, a fast-paced sketching exercise designed to generate eight unique interface ideas in eight minutes. I focused on the most critical screen in the user journey, the in-article overlay where users access both summary controls and the chat feature. This screen was central because it represents the core functionality of the extension, helping users quickly grasp content and interact with it seamlessly without disrupting the reading flow.
Once the Crazy 8s session was complete, I reviewed each concept to see which design best supported the extension’s core functionality. After evaluating options against user needs and journey goals, I chose the strongest direction and developed it into a solution sketch. This sketch acted like a mini-storyboard, capturing the key moments of the user flow: starting at the homepage, moving into the article summary, and ending with the chat feature where users can ask article-specific questions and receive answers directly from the extension.
Day Three: Framing the Storyboard
On the third day of the design sprint, I focused on building a virtual storyboard to guide prototype development on Day Four. Instead of mapping every possible interaction, the storyboard highlighted the most essential steps a user takes when engaging with Sum’t Up’s core features which includes customizing a summary and using the chat. This process clarified the user journey, revealed opportunities to improve earlier sketches, and ensured the experience remained intuitive, purposeful, and aligned with user expectations.
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Users open the extension and adjust the summary settings
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Users have the ability to adjust additional settings for their summary
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Users ask Sum't Up's AI chatbot questions related to the article
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Users receive the article's key details presented in a concise, easy-to-read paragraphed format
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Users receive the article's key details presented in a concise, easy-to-read bulleted list
Day Four: From Storyboard to Screen
One of the most challenging moments of the design sprint came on Day Four, when it was time to begin prototyping for user testing. As the sole designer, I was responsible for bringing the entire experience to life, designing each screen, refining interactions, and ensuring every detail aligned with the user journey. Balancing speed with precision was demanding, but it allowed me to transform sketches and storyboards into a fully interactive prototype ready for testing.
Since Sum’t Up is designed to help users quickly understand online content, I prioritized a clean, efficient interface that minimizes unnecessary steps. Features like summary customization and the chat function are immediately accessible, with clear button labels and all options displayed upfront. This design allows users to generate summaries or ask questions with minimal effort, get the information they need quickly, and continue browsing without interruption.
Day Five: Proofreading the Prototype
The design sprint concluded on Day Five with usability testing and iterative updates. I conducted five user interviews with participants aged twenty-five to forty, including professionals and graduate students who frequently read online for work or research.
Notable results from the tests:
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All users wanted improved clarity and distinction between sections
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Three users noted that the settings icon was too small for comfortable use
After completing the tests, I thoroughly analyzed the results and used the insights to guide updates to the existing designs.
Increased the size of the settings icon to enhance visibility and improve accessibility, ensuring users can easily locate and interact with the feature across various screen sizes
Increased the spacing between sections and added a visual divider to improve content separation and enhance overall readability
Editor's Note
This five-day design sprint was highly effective, taking me from research and journey mapping to sketching, storyboarding, prototyping, and user testing. I advanced from initial insights to high-fidelity mockups that met the goals established for the Chrome extension, while sharpening key design skills such as rapid ideation and user-centered decision making.
The sprint had its challenges and successes. Limited direct competitors required broadening the research scope, yet insights from related tools informed many design decisions. Recruiting participants for interviews was straightforward and provided valuable guidance, while exercises like Crazy 8s reinforced the value of exploring multiple concepts quickly. Overall, the experience reinforced the importance of clarity, flexibility, and thoughtful design in creating efficient, engaging, and user-friendly experiences.