Reading has many incredible benefits, but only 32% of 16-24-year-olds regularly read, making them the age group who read the least. There’s a variety of reasons for this, but social media is a key contributor, eating up free time and shortening attention spans.
I experimented in various ways with the experience of reading:
Adding gamification and social features to reading
Experimenting with print
I then dived deeper into the issue, specifically what makes social media feel so easy and addictive. I aimed to leverage these strategies to make reading feel the same.
I also created user personas based on real statistics to have a better understanding of my audience.
Route 1 was a subscription service that sends users a small, portable printed publication filled with short reading content tailored to their interests.
Route 2 was an AR treasure hunt where users follow clues to find the next part of a specially written story in their local area.
Route 3 was a social reading app where users could scroll through recommended short fiction and non-fiction based on an algorithm and comment, similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels. They could also join bookclubs with their friends and read books together, read on the app, and leave comments for their friends to see. There is also a social media blocker feature that prevents users going on social media once they have reached there daily limit, and directs them to scrolling through reading content instead.
I chose to move Route 3 because it aligns with users’ existing behaviours rather than asking users to adopt entirely new ones.
When developing this, I first experimented with a web version, before settling on an app.
Mapping the user flow
Starting to design the app
I aimed to make the visual identity feel cool and appealing to young people. I also wanted it to be clear, so it didn’t feel too busy with the interactive text and wasn’t distracting.
