Notability is a note-taking and PDF annotation tool designed for anyone who wants to take notes, allowing users to seamlessly combine handwriting, typing and document markup all within a single platform. Although this application was developed over a decade ago, newer iterations have expanded its features, supporting a variety of new use cases and adapting the every-day note-taker’s behavior. In this critique, I examine Notability’s features and how effectively a typical note-taker can complete certain tasks on the application in regards to the usability concepts outlined in Don Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things.
Task 1: Creating a New Note
Overall, creating a new note was pretty intuitive. When adding a new note to a collection, the discoverability of the action is handled well through a clearly labeled ‘New’ CTA button. The button acts as a signifier, affording users the ability to create a new note. The interaction of pressing this button also provides clear feedback. The note appears immediately in the collection and the user is brought directly to that new note. This immediate feedback provided when creating a page helps bridge the gulf of evaluation, allowing the task goal to be completed successfully.
Task 2: Choosing a Page Ruling Option
As for basic ruling of the page, the initial discoverability of different ruled options is clear when first presented to the user as a new note is opened. However, there are logical and semantic constraints when the ruling options disappear after the user picks a ruled option or begins writing, combined with the assumption users understand formatting decisions are made prior to writing. On a behavioral level, I repeatedly made the mistake of looking at the bottom of the screen after writing to change the page format, only to find that the option was no longer there.
While you can always access these ruling options through general settings under the label “template”, the overall mapping of how to access them is poorly executed and does not align with my mental model. The ‘template’ label is also a confusing signifier that does not clearly indicate that ruling options would be placed in this tab.
Solution
An effective solution in reducing mapping issues would be to place formatting options directly in the toolbar. Because the toolbar is an essential part of taking notes, this would allow users to adjust formatting at any time without navigating a complex menu, reducing the gulf of execution and making the interface more intuitive for the user’s conceptual model.
Task 3: Switching Between Handwriting, Typing, and Drawing
When using Notability, typing and handwriting are handled as separate actions in the toolbar and represented through familiar icons that draw on users’ prior experiences with paper notebooks, supporting knowledge in the head. At the same time, keeping these tools visibly available reduces reliance on memory, as users do not need to recall which tool corresponds to handwriting or typing, instead relying on knowledge in the world.
Some toolbar icons rely on cultural constraints rather than universally intuitive cues. The “T” icon for typing assumes users have familiarity with Latin letterforms and learned conventions, which may not translate across different writing systems. While it is clear to many users, its meaning depends on arbitrary mapping. In contrast, the handwriting tool uses natural mapping where the pen icon visually mirrors its real-world function, making its purpose immediately understandable regardless of cultural background.
Solution
An effective solution to reduce cultural constraints would be to change the icon based on the user’s different writing system. For example, if a user is using a Chinese writing system, based on the user’s keyboard preferences, the icon would change to represent that system. Providing the correct visual feedback or labels helps reduce errors and makes the functions more discoverable.
Conclusion
While Notability has room for improvement, its usability is effective and creates a positive overall experience. The application is simple to use and closely mimics the physical experience of taking notes. Although there are some points of frustration, such as managing formatting options or navigating potential cultural constraints, these issues can be resolved quickly once users become more familiar with Notability.