NameRead — never mispronounce a name again

Lightweight, private tools that help global workers say names correctly in Zoom meetings.

My Role

Product Designer

Timeline

7 Weeks, 2025 Summer

Focus

Product Design, UX Research, Visual and Digital Design

Feature Highlight

1. Name Setup with Pronunciation Input

Users can record or upload their name pronunciation, add phonetic spelling, and include a short description or name meaning.

2. Pre-meeting Name Preview

Attendees can preview and practice names before joining. Users can find each participant’s pronunciation info in the invitation email or calendar event.

3. Display Setting Before Meeting

Before joining, users can choose how their name appears in meetings, such as showing pronunciation, phonetic spelling, or cultural notes.

4. In-meeting Audio NameTag

During the meeting, users can hover over someone’s name tag to see phonetic spelling, name story, and play their recorded pronunciation.

5. Host-led Greetings

At the start of a meeting, the host can trigger a short greeting prompt that invites everyone to introduce their names. A gentle system message encourages participation.

Case Study - Process

Why It Matters

Mispronouncing someone's name seems small, but it creates invisible friction in global collaboration. From my research (Online surveys and interviews):

  • 83% (30/36) of participants said being mispronounced felt “awkward,” “disconnected,” or “less seen.”

  • 64% (23/36) said correcting people feels emotionally exhausting.

  • 75% said the biggest blocker is “I don’t want to ask again”

This created a point:

  • Mspronunciation is not a linguistic issue. It's a confidence + social friction issue.

Because emotional friction was clear but behavioral patterns were still unclear.

There are questions:

  • How people currently prepare for introductions?

  • How existing tools support (or fail to support) the process?

Research

Competitor Analysis

To understand the behaviors around name pronunciation, we reviewed 4 name-pronunciation tools + 4 meeting platforms and uncovered a gap.

  • Pre-meeting preparation:

    • Almost none of the tools enable private practice pre-meeting.

  • In-meeting support:

    • None of the platforms offer one-tap in-meeting audio playback.

However, functional gaps alone do not confirm desirability.

To build the right product, we needed to validate whether users wanted private practice, in-meeting support, or cultural nudges and why.

Validating the insights

From 6 deep interviews and 15 surveys, we identified emotional and behavioral patterns around mispronunciation. Emotions showed the anxiety, and behaviors revealed when support is needed. Together, they shaped 4 actionable insights.

Our Goal

These insights shaped three experience principles that guided the product direction.

User Goal

Say and hear names correctly without pressure in a quiet and quick time.

Business Goal

Increase first-time correct-pronunciation rate and perceived meeting comfort (CSAT) for first introductions.

Design Goal

Lightweight, non-intrusive interactions that fit naturally in Zoom and support inclusive communication.

Three moments: pre-meeting, first introductions, hand-offs.

How might we help people pronounce names confidently and build cultural respect in remote meetings?

Concept Direction

User Journey

We mapped three moments that repeatedly trigger hesitation/anxiety,using Karen (Kai-lun), a designer who speaks Chinese and English worked with her global teams, as a reference case — before, during, and after

Moment A — Before joining

Pain Point: No safe way to practice unfamiliar name

Opportunity: Pre-meeting preview in calendar/invite for private practice.

Moment B — First introductions

Pain Point: Public anxiety about saying names wrong

Opportunity: One-tap playback next to each name.

Moment C — Hand-offs / new speakers

Pain Point: New names appear; context switches.

Opportunity: Host-led prompt (“say everyone’s name”) to reset tone.

User Stories

Karen’s journey also reflects two sides of the same moment: the one introducing herself, and the one introducing others.

As a participant,

Needs a private, low-pressure way to learn names before joining.

Acceptance:

  • Preview available directly from calendar invite

  • Hear the audio once and introduce others confidently

“As a host,

Needs a lightweight way to set an inclusive tone without slowing the agenda.

Acceptance:

  • Optional “say everyone’s name” opening prompt

  • Guests can access audio playback without disrupting the meeting flow

Framing the Opportunity

To make the experience feasible and inclusive, we scoped the solution with three constraints:

1.Must not interrupt meetings

  • No public audio

  • Low-pressure, private interactions

2. Must work within Zoom’s existing layout

  • Information must stay close to the participant window or profile

  • Avoid rebuilding navigation or meeting structure

3. Must require minimal engineering

  • No AI pronunciation engine

  • No heavy profiles or additional flows

Information Architecture

As first, I built IA to visually represent a overview embedded into existing behaviors — Profile → Invite → Pre-join → In-meeting:

  • Name Input (Zoom Website)

  • Invite/Calendar (Meeting Email)

  • Pre-join (Display Setting)

  • In-meeting (NameTag and Greetings)

Why

It ensures that pronunciation support appears naturally under Zoom system.

Initial Feature Prioritization

Then, I built lo-fi prototypes to represent our ideas and gave a quick understanding of user flows and how users can navigate between different interfaces.

Tier 1- Name Foundations

1. Name Setup with Pronunciation Input

Users can type phonetic spelling or record their name in the Zoom account profile. This ensures every participant controls how their name is heard and represented.

Why: Without recorded names, no pronunciation feature can exist.

2. Pre-meeting Name Preview

Meeting invites include a “Name Pack” — a preview of all participants’ phonetics and recorded audios. It helps build confidence in a low-pressure, personal setting.

Why: This feature directly reduces the core friction that users fear of getting it wrong.

3. Display Setting Before Meeting

Before entering a meeting, users can choose whether to show pronunciation, phonetic hints, or name story. It gives users privacy and comfort before stepping into public interaction.

Why: Adoption fails without user-controlled privacy.

Tier 2- Real-time support

4. In-Meeting Audio NameTag

Users can see a small name tag with a playback button, phonetic line, and personal story. This enables accurate, respectful pronunciation during conversations.

Why: Improves accuracy but not required for core confidence-building.

5. Host-led Greetings

Hosts can turn on a “Greet” mode, encouraging participants to introduce themselves. It encourages empathy, inclusion, and genuine engagement at the start.

Why: Encourages behavior, but does not unblock the primary user need.

Tier 3- Removed Feature（Learnings from Testing）

6. Post-meeting Medal System

Initially designed as a recognition mechanism (“small moments of respect leave a big mark”). However, usability testing showed:

  • 6/7 participants preferred removing it

  • “It makes me anxious if I don’t get one.”

Decision: Removed the feature to keep the experience inclusive and low-pressure.

  • Empathy > gamification

Why This Interaction

Tested 7 participants using Figma and Userberry lo-fi wireframes — unmoderated tests (n=3) and moderated tests (n=4).

Users found the concept “powerful and respectful,” they all love the Name Tag design and Pre-meeting function — small and private.

But 57% felt UI was cluttered and should be more user-friendly.

Average satisfaction: 7.9 / 10.

  • Leveraged Display Setting Before Meetings

    “I’m unsure how it looks to others.”

Change: Moved Display Setting to the same layer as “Background” tools and added visual previews of NameTag styles.

Result: Task success ↑ (8/8 2nd Test)

Change: Relocated the button next to the username and simplified the layout.

Result: Led an A/B test, 6/7 participants preferred; Task time ↓ 21% ( n=8 2nd Test)

  • Placement: Next to The Name

    Button too small and far from the name.

Change: Click was slow and hidden. Hover made pronunciation instant, lightweight, and non-interruptive.

Result: Faster, easier (8/8 2nd Test)

  • Click-to-Reveal → Hover Card

    “I didn’t know this feature existed.”

  • Redesigned Pronunciation Box for Low-Pressure Interaction

    The original “Correct Pronunciation Score” felt stressful

Change: Removed scoring, kept self-record, and made the info box scrollable instead of full.

Result: Respect ↑ +1 / 5 (7/8 2nd Test)

Hifi Mockups

Pre-meeting Name Preview

In-meeting Audio NameTag

Host-led Greetings

Result with Final Test

After the Round 1 Usability-Testing with 7 participants (n=3 In-person & n=4 Useberry) and the Round 2-Usability test with 8 participants (n=4 In-person & n=4 Useberry)

Outcome Highlights

  • 97% overall task completion, average satisfaction 7.9/10 → 8.6/10 ⬆️

  • Time to locate the playback button ↓ 21%

  • 87.5% users said the app made meetings “more respectful and comfortable”

  • 8/8 participants preferred the low-pressure, private Pre-meeting Name Preview

Impact

For users

  • More confident introductions

  • Reduced anxiety in multicultural team settings

  • Clearer, warmer collaboration moments

For Zoom

  • Enhances inclusion without adding complexity

  • Strengthens Zoom’s brand in global communication and DEI leadership

“Mispronouncing names isn’t just about language. It’s about identity, respect, and belonging.”

- Participant, Professor at Columbia University

Future

This concept can extend to Zoom Rooms, webinars, and cross-organization meetings, enabling respectful communication across all collaboration settings.

Reflection

Designing NameRead reminded me that inclusion is built through details. The simple act of saying a name correctly can reshape how people feel seen at work.

I believe NameRead can raise social awareness while helping people solve the problem.