Streamlining the Workflow: Evaluation of InShot and FastSnap as a Prototype in Optimizing Video Editing Experience of College Students
FastSnap is a mobile video editor prototype made using Figma. It is designed to offer an intuitive user experience for users who edit videos on the go.
Abstract
I present an evaluative study of two video editing applications, InShot, and the prototype FastSnap, to optimize the video editing experience for college students. Through a comparative analysis of efficiency, user satisfaction, and key features, I sought to identify which application better meets the needs of novice video editors. A sample of twenty college students participated in this study, which used a between-subjects design to evaluate effectiveness. Results showed that FastSnap, while a limited prototype, achieved comparable satisfaction to InShot and was highly commended for its simplicity and ease of use.
Problem Statement & Background
The Challenge
How might we design an intuitive mobile video editing experience for college students on-the-go that does not degrade high-quality content?
In the past, video editors were specialized professionals with access to expensive equipment and advanced technical knowledge. Today, anyone can create videos thanks to user-friendly software and personal computers.
However, popular editing programs like Adobe Premiere and DaVinci Resolve offer user interfaces that can be highly complex and intimidating for beginners. This complexity discourages people from creating videos, limiting the quantity and variety of accessible content.
In response, mobile video editors like CapCut and InShot have emerged. They provide a portable, on-the-go solution. FastSnap is a prototype video editing application designed using Figma to demonstrate an intuitive layout, aiming to reach design parity with industry standard mobile editors like InShot while maximizing ease of use.
The lack of intuitiveness, quality, and features in existing mobile video editing applications is a significant problem that leads to a disparity in digital content quality among users, restricting their skills and abilities to produce professional-looking media content and compete effectively on online platforms.
User Personas
To construct representative video editors, 10 college students with prior editing experience were interviewed. Three distinct personas were created to represent different user profiles:
Sikath Shine
"sikat siya"A student persona based on interviewees with strong communication skills and an active social media presence. Needs to create and export content for other people quickly without fighting complex menus.
Roksen Alikud
"eksena sa likod"A student persona representing behind-the-scenes creators who prefer brainstorming, editing, and planning for a team rather than being in the spotlight.
Ader Tista
"artista"A student persona representing creators who produce content mainly for personal consumption, memories, and artistic expression on their mobile device.
Design Strategy
FastSnap utilizes a clear and straightforward design strategy. The interface incorporates simple layouts, minimalistic buttons, and intuitive icons to keep elements clean.
A logical user flow is established from the 'First Time Use Screen' directly to 'Snap Projects' and the core editing timeline, ensuring novice users can easily navigate without tutorials.
For this study, I opted to focus on the mobile interface because it matches the reality of how most college students create and edit content: directly on their smartphones for quick, on-the-go editing.
Design Decisions
Design Storyboard
Typography & Colors
Methodology
- A sample of twenty college students (ages 18-23) with prior video editing experience was recruited for user testing.
- A between-subjects design was implemented: 10 participants tested the market-available InShot application, and 10 participants tested the FastSnap Figma prototype.
- The Wizard of Oz evaluation technique was employed to guide participants through specific video editing tasks (importing media, trimming, adding music, adding text, and exporting) on the FastSnap prototype.
- User satisfaction was measured using a post-test questionnaire containing a 5-point Likert scale (evaluating learnability, efficiency, error tolerance, usability, functionality, and overall impression) and open-ended feedback questions.
- Prior to statistical analysis, normality of the data distributions was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Because distributions were non-normal (p < 0.05), a non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was selected to compare medians.
Results & Discussion
The comparative study yielded rich qualitative and quantitative results indicating that the FastSnap prototype competes exceptionally well with the mature InShot application.
| Metric | FastSnap (Prototype) | InShot (Market App) |
|---|---|---|
| Learnability | 4.60 (Median: 5.00) | 4.30 (Median: 4.50) |
| Efficiency | 4.60 (Median: 5.00) | 4.20 (Median: 4.00) |
| Error Tolerance | 3.60 (Median: 4.00) | 4.10 (Median: 4.00) |
| Usability | 4.80 (Median: 5.00) | 4.20 (Median: 4.00) |
| Functionality | 4.50 (Median: 5.00) | 4.20 (Median: 4.00) |
| Overall Impression | 4.30 (Median: 4.50) | 4.00 (Median: 4.00) |
The Shapiro-Wilk normality test confirmed non-normal distributions (p-values ranging from 0.0001 to 0.0065).
The Mann-Whitney U test demonstrated no statistically significant differences in usability metrics between the two designs (p-values > 0.05), proving design parity and indicating that FastSnap's interface performs at a comparable standard to a professional app.
Qualitative feedback showed that 60% of FastSnap users praised its simplicity, minimalism, and navigation flow, while the remaining 40% found the interface highly intuitive and easy to understand.
Conclusion & Next Steps
This study highlights the critical role of user-friendliness in mobile video editing tools. Although InShot offers a comprehensive, mature feature set, FastSnap achieved comparable usability ratings.
Statistical evaluation confirmed there was no significant difference in user familiarity between the newly designed FastSnap prototype and the established InShot app. This indicates that FastSnap's layout successfully leveraged common mobile editing design conventions, allowing users to navigate the app intuitively.
Testers repeatedly praised FastSnap's clean, minimalist layout, proving that a simplified interface reduces cognitive load and enhances user satisfaction.
Future work includes addressing Figma's interactive constraints to improve error tolerance and conducting tests with larger sample sizes to gain deeper insights into user experience optimizations.
Skills & Frameworks
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