Project Overview

Bookmark is an all-in-one book tracking app that redefines the reading experience.

Along with features like rating, reviewing, and tracking books, it offers a unique way to curate fan art collections and connect through book clubs!

By combining community and creativity, Bookmark creates a deeper, more engaging space for readers, making it the go-to app for book lovers everywhere.

Duration
80 hours/ 2 weeks

Role
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher

Tools
Figma
Microsoft Word
Sketching tools (iPad, iPencil)

Table of Contents

Learn more

The Why Behind Bookmark

As an avid reader, I often felt frustrated by existing book-tracking apps that missed out on features that truly mattered to me. I found myself constantly navigating away from the home screen to check my reading progress or find personalized book recommendations, and I relied on Pinterest to save fan art, wishing it could be stored with my books in one place.

These missing elements left me wondering if other readers shared my experience. Bookmark was born from this desire to create an app that felt like home for readers—a place where fan art boards live right alongside book lists, where essential reading progress and recommendations are front and center, and where the reading community can come together without needing multiple platforms.

PROJECT GOAL

To develop an all-in-one app that redefines the book-tracking experience by integrating fan art collection, community engagement, and book-related news into a single platform. Bookmark aims to become the ultimate destination for readers, especially adult fantasy fans, offering a unique blend of features that foster creativity, connection, and a deeper love for books.

PROBLEM

Existing book-tracking apps lack integrated features for fan art collection and community engagement, especially for adult fantasy readers.

SOLUTION

Bookmark is an all-in-one app that combines book tracking, fan art boards, and community features, creating the ultimate platform for readers to connect, share, and celebrate their love for books.

FANART

Bookmark allows you to easily discover and save fan art for your current reads—no need to leave the app.

COMMUNITY

Join book clubs, discuss chapters, and connect with readers through integrated chats and reviews.

ALL-IN-ONE PLATFORM

A single place for tracking progress, discovering fan art, and interacting with your reading community.

Click Me

Research

Market research, Competitive Analysis, Survey, User Interview, Empathy Map, User Persona

Before designing Bookmark, I needed to understand what readers truly wanted in a book-tracking app. Through market research, competitor analysis, surveys, and user interviews, I identified gaps in existing apps and uncovered user frustrations. This research shaped the core features of Bookmark, ensuring it would be an all-in-one platform tailored to book lovers.

These were my findings…

Market Reasearch

The book-tracking app market has seen steady growth, driven by the increasing popularity of digital reading platforms and online book communities. Readers today seek more than just tracking tools; they want personalized recommendations, social engagement, and multimedia content.

Key Trends

Personalized Experiences

Users seek customization options, including adjustable fonts, themes, and personalized recommendations.

Community Engagement

Integration of social features, such as book clubs and discussion forums, creates a sense of community among readers.

Multimedia Integration

Incorporating audiobooks, podcasts, and fan art enhances user engagement.

Competitive Analysis

I analyzed key competitors in the book-tracking and reading community space to understand where Bookmark fits into the market. While platforms like Goodreads, Fable, and StoryGraph focus on tracking and reviews, they lack features tailored to fan art collectors and immersive community-driven engagement. Additionally, apps like Audible and Pinterest, while not book-tracking platforms, offer exceptional UX and UI engagement strategies that influence how users interact with content.

The table below highlights the key features of these platforms and how Bookmark differentiates itself.

Surveys

I conducted a survey targeting book lovers, fantasy readers, and digital reading enthusiasts. The goal was to gather insights into how users engage with their books, what features they value most, and what frustrations they experience with current platforms.

Key Survey Objectives

Identify the most commonly used book-tracking apps and why users prefer them.

Understand how important community engagement and fan art are in the reading experience.

Discover what frustrations and missing features users face in existing book-tracking apps.

Explore preferences for multimedia content (e.g., audiobooks, book trailers, visual inspiration).

Survery Results

User Interviews

To gain deeper insights into user needs and pain points, I conducted one-on-one interviews with a diverse group of readers. These interviews provided qualitative data that complemented the survey findings, helping me better understand user behaviors, frustrations, and expectations for a book-tracking app.

User Interview Questions

General Reading Habits

1. How do you currently track the books you’ve read or want to read?

2. What features do you like or dislike about your current book-tracking app(s)?

Fan Art & Visual Engagement

3. Do you save fan art for books you read? If so, how do you organize it?

4. Would you be interested in a book-tracking app that integrates fan art? Why or why not?

Community & Social Features

5. Do you participate in online book clubs or discussions? Why or why not?

6. What would make book clubs or discussions more engaging for you?

Customization & User Experience

7. How important is personalization (themes, organization, layout) in a book-tracking app?

8. If you could change one thing about book-tracking apps today, what would it be?

Interview Results & Key Insights

Summary of findings…

Both the survey and interviews revealed the same core issues—users struggle with disorganized book tracking, lack of fan art integration, and weak community features. They want a more visual, customizable app and a better way to connect with other readers.

Empathy Map

Below is the empathy map I created based on survey responses and one-on-one interviews. This helped me visualize their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and pain points when using book-tracking apps. By stepping into their shoes, I identified key frustrations—like the lack of fan art integration and disorganized book tracking—along with their desire for a more visually engaging, customizable, and community-driven experience.

Meet Our Personas!

Lets Recap…

Through research, I identified three main user types:

Each has different priorities, from fan art integration to structured book clubs and simple tracking.

A few common pain points stood out:

Existing book apps feel cluttered

Book club discussions are hard to follow

There’s no seamless way to organize fan art

Another key issue was the lack of theme customization, which made me realize that most book-tracking apps aren’t as accessible as they should be.
I want Bookmark to change that by integrating customization and accessibility, creating a personalized experience for all its users.