![]() ![]() The company’s approach to app development - bespoke software built specifically for each platform - had created an enormous amount of technical debt. “It was a microcosm of the issue in the larger experience,” a spokesperson for Evernote told Engadget. Evernote then took stock and realized that the same thinking could be applied to the broader apps. The redesigned note editor was rolled out first on the web. Likewise, some veterans found it tricky to locate tools that they didn’t use on a daily basis. That made it difficult for newcomers to know what was possible in the app. Previously those options were “scattered all over the formatting bar,” Fortin said. Finally, Evernote created an Insert button that contains shortcuts for tables, dividers, photos, sketches, file attachments and more. The highlighter was given some extra colors and a new checklist system made it easier to indent and reorganize items. Evernote added header types that make it easier for people to lay out complex documents. It wasn’t all about simplification, though. Similarly, the company reduced the text color tool, which previously offered multiple selection tools including a full-blown color wheel, down to 14 visually-distinct options. The redesigned editor offers six styling options - Sans Serif, Serif, Slab Serif, Monospace, Script and Handwritten - that feel consistent with Evernote’s branding and broader design language. Before, users could choose between a number of known typefaces such as Georgia, Helvetica Neue and Times New Roman. Evernote reduced the number of top-level shortcuts and enlarged their iconography slightly. The biggest shakeup was the formatting toolbar. ![]() The different versions “interpreted user’s content a little bit differently,” Nate Fortin, VP of design at Evernote told Engadget, “and resulted in an experience that we didn’t think was good enough.” To solve the problem, the company built a new editor that could be implemented with minimal changes across all five platforms. That meant the editor - the place where people actually craft notes with text, sketches, images and checklists was a little different on each platform. The company had built five distinct apps that followed the design philosophies behind Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS and the modern web. ![]() The editorĮvernote’s big redesign started with the note editor. That, in turn, could change the public’s perception of Evernote and rekindle some of the excitement that surrounded the business back in 2008. It was a monumental effort, but one that should allow the company to move faster in the future. Behind the scenes, Evernote has ripped up and rebuilt the technical infrastructure behind each app. Evernote’s web-based portal has been refreshed, too, and a similar overhaul is planned for the Android app. A few weeks later, the Windows and MacOS apps received a similar makeover. Last month, a new version of Evernote was released for iPhone and iPad. The "remember everything" company was no longer the king, but the grandfather of note-taking apps.įinally, after years of stagnation, it feels like the company is ready for a comeback. As Evernote tried to stabilize its business, a slew of fresh note-taking apps including Notion and Bear entered the market. The company had expanded needlessly, some felt, instead of improving and better monetizing its core product. The not-quite-a-startup then killed its merchandise business, raised prices and implemented a privacy policy that was quickly reversed following widespread user backlash. In 2015, the company shut down Evernote Food, changed CEO and fired 13 percent of its staff. ![]() It launched a food-specific app and offered a whole range of merchandise including desk tidies and socks. It partnered with Moleskine to produce paper notebooks which, through a combination of stickers and scanning, could be easily tagged and ported into Evernote. That popularity allowed the company to expand into new areas. “As a company, we had invented the personal productivity category,” Ian Small, CEO of Evernote told Engadget. The obvious go-to, regardless of the hardware you owned and what you were trying to store. Evernote used to be the king of note-taking apps. ![]()
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