definition

keeping curious minds fed

Role

Product Designer

Skill

Prototyping

Research

Prototyping

Research

Timeline

April 2 - April 7

April 2 - April 7

Tools

Figma

Jittr

There's a 5 Letter Word that Describes Wordle Enjoyers:

WOR·DLE

noun

/ˈwərdᵊl/

Wordle is a viral word-guessing game where players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word. Feedback is given with color-coded letters to show correct and incorrect guesses. The goal is to guess the word in as few tries as possible.

The Challenge

Here are some user reactions to when the wordle answer on February 16, 2022 was CAULK

Some other challenging wordle words include. . .

hover to see definitions

Wordle #646
March 2022
GUANO

Wordle #646
March 2022
GUANU

Wordle #517
November 2022
GLYPH

Wordle #659
April 2023
SNAFU

Wordle #454
September 2022
PARER

THIS is the hardest wordle to date, causing 60% of players to lose their streak

Research

Who's Playing Wordle?

Challenging Wordle Words

“Wordle has become a habit for millions, but for others it’s not appealing.... Some people enjoy puzzles and thinking challenges more than others. This type of motivation is referred to as need for cognition, and people who have a high need for cognition tend to seek out mental challenges like word games and puzzles.” 

- pbs.org

Wordle #454

PARER - a small, sharp knife or a vegetable peeler used for paring fruits and vegetables

^ THIS is the hardest wordle to date, causing 60% of players to lose their streak

This study from PBS suggests that Wordle is popular among individuals who value learning - so let's give them a definition!

Research

Who's Playing Wordle?

“Wordle has become a habit for millions, but for others it’s not appealing.... Some people enjoy puzzles and thinking challenges more than others. This type of motivation is referred to as need for cognition, and people who have a high need for cognition tend to seek out mental challenges like word games and puzzles.” 

- pbs.org

This study from PBS suggests that Wordle is popular among individuals who value learning - so let's give them a definition!

Design Decisions

Where to Put a Definition

After 13 design iterations here are the final 3

Eyes gravitate toward "congratulations"

Clear font hierarchy

Grey box makes design feel detached

Hard to see "noun" and "pronounciation"

Matching header fonts keeps branding

Clear font hierarchy

Most sleek design and alignment

Word font weight takes away from "congratulations"

Font weight takes away from "congratulations" text and cta

Hiding the definition reduces cognitive load

Adds and extra step to get definition

Design Decisions

Edge Case! What if there are multiple definitions for one word?

For words with multiple, or longer definitions, include a more button for progressive disclosure. This way we avoid overwhelming the user

Design Decisions

The Design Process

The Solution

The Final Product

Future Plans

Ideas for next time

  1. Confetti anyone? Let’s add an confetti animation to further reinforce the win!

  2. Phone vibration - for every wrong answer the phone vibrates to indicate guess is incorrect. Inspired by PlayStation controllers

Thank You for Reading My Case Study! I Now Bid You

Pro Tip: SLATE, CRANE and TRACE are actually the best starting words according to WordleBot!