LaTeX Like Durian: A Designer’s Try
#design #editor #product_designer
Published on April 18, 2025
I'm Juwon Lee, a product designer at Murple, where I focus on creating meaningful user experiences.
I’m passionate about solving real-world problems through design and building products that simplify everyday challenges.
Juwon. Lee
Product Designer
Intro
Have you ever heard of a fruit called durian?
As a child, I was scared off by its strong smell and never dared to try it. Recently, our CEO brought back some durian-flavored snacks from a business trip to China. At first, I hesitated—haunted by that childhood memory. But after hearing my teammates say how good it was, I finally gave it a try... and to my surprise, it was sweet and tasty!That moment reminded me:
You never truly know until you experience it yourself.
Murple was like that for me.
I had never written a research paper using LaTeX before. Yet, I found myself designing a product that helps others write academic papers with LaTeX. With no prior knowledge of LaTeX commands or syntax, I asked myself—how can I enjoy and understand this product better?
That’s when I decided to create a paper on a topic I genuinely enjoyed: our team's lunch spots!I named it "Murfy’s Lunch", and compiled our favorite lunch menus, complete with photos and fun descriptions. I drafted the paper and invited teammates as collaborators, allowing us to edit together in real-time. Even without any prior experience in writing a research paper, I found the process enjoyable and surprisingly intuitive.
Through this journey, I was able to understand Murple from the perspective of a first-time user.I identified areas that needed improvement, and began thinking about what truly matters to our users. I realized that to be a better designer, I needed to experience the product like a real user with genuine curiosity and empathy.
At Murple, our design team is constantly looking for ways to improve the product by immersing ourselves in the user experience. From internal testing and feature trials to user interviews and feedback sessions, every step helps us grow as a team—and helps Murple grow as a tool for writing better research papers.
Empathizing Like a User, Designing Like a Pro
The Murple Design Team’s Journey to Make Academic Writing Easier.
This highlights how the design team experiences the product from the user's perspective and continuously works to improve the writing experience for all.
P.S. Special thanks to our marketer Damkyoung for giving me the chance to write this first post as a team member.
Stay tuned for more stories from the Murple Design Team!
