Role: End-to-end UI/UX designer
Researching, research synthesis, wire framing, usability testing
Tools:
Timeline: April - May 2025 (~3 weeks)
Background
Problem
Idea
Apple Books allows users to make purchases, read e-books, and listen to audiobooks.
Apple Books has no community or interaction with other users within the app.
A feature that allows users to create a profile to share their what they're reading with others, share their ratings and reviews, and follow other users and their favorite authors.
Researching
User Interviews
I conducted five interviews with participants in order to get a deeper understanding of the user’s needs with detailed, qualitative information.
Essential Questions
How often do you read e-books?
Any feature you enjoy that that app/website has?
Do you use multiple websites/apps for reading, cataloguing, sharing?
Affinity Map
Key Insights
Page customization, book progress trackers, reading goal trackers/reading streak, homepages with books displayed visually
Every interviewee shares about their books with others, whether via in person or online
4/5 interviewees mentioned that reviews and ratings of books factor in whether or not they decide to read a certain book
Every interviewee found recommendations from both people & stores offline and online. Amazon and Goodreads were popular mentions.
Competitor Analysis
Kindle - Direct
Google Play - Direct
Libby - Direct
Goodreads - Indirect
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Key Insights
Reading insights, reading progress, author pages and exploration are core features in competitor apps.
Defining
During this process, I used a linear approach, and iterated on wireframes.
Essential POV & HMW's
I’d like to explore ways to help readers who enjoy being part of a book community to be able to find and follow others with similar interests because Apple Books competitors have strong communities with recommendations, public shelves/lists, ratings, and reviews that encourage app/website usage and generate more interest in reading.
How might we allow users to manage what account they interact with?
How might we allow the user to control what information is public and what information is private?
User Persona
Name
Cat Alvarez
Bio
Cat Alvarez is a college student who enjoys reading as a hobby. She is very familiar with technology, since she uses it during her classes. She currently uses Apple Books since she owns an iPhone and is familiar with other Apple services. She often buys books on the app to read. However, leaves a rating and review for a book she’s finished, she is never able to interact with other readers who have also left ratings and reviews. If someone enjoyed a book she also enjoyed, Cat also won’t be able to see what other books they’ve read. Recommendations are limited to the app’s algorithm, and not open to readers to share with each other.
Quote
“I love being a part of a community of readers where we can share our interests. I like being able to have somewhere I can discover new books and discuss what I’ve read with others.”
Needs and Goals
Frustrations and Pain Points
The ability to display books she wants to read, is currently reading, and has read in the past, and also statistics like her reading goals or reading streak
A way to follow and share with other readers on the app, and view what they read and what they’ve rated
A way to follow her favorite authors and receive updates about new books
An app that is consistent with other apps she is already familiar with
Not having a community on the app
Having to use another service to share her reading catalogue, goals, and book collections
Having to rely on the app’s algorithm or another service to get recommendations
User Flow
Designing
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Wireframes (Version One)
My favorite part of the design process was creating the hi-fi wireframes in the style of Apple. I found it an interesting challenge to replicate a very detailed style while adding in my own features.
Testing
Evaluating the usability and usefulness of the wireframes. How effective is the design at helping the user achieve their goals?
Plan
Goal
Tasks
Success metrics
Evaluate the usability and usefulness of the wireframes. How effective is the design at helping the user achieve their goals?
Create a profile
Follow another user
Follow an author and enable notifications
Time on task
Task success
Number of errors
Additional comments
Mid-Fidelity Testing Results
4 Testers (all moderated)
User Feedback
All managed to complete every task
Some disconnect between screens, confusing order of screens, or confusing wording
Need to clarify returning vs. new users
Need to clarify account vs. profile
High-Fidelity Testing Results
6 Testers (all unmoderated)
Testing software: Maze
Time on task
Task success
Number of errors
Task 1 avg.: 54.5s
Task 2 avg.: 39.6s
Task 3 avg.: 20.6s
Task 1: 66.7% success rate
Task 2: 100% success rate
Task 3: 100% success rate
Task 1: 33% of users ended on the wrong screen, 61% misclick rate
Task 2: 0% of users ended on the wrong screen, 50% misclick rate
Task 3: 0% of users ended on the wrong screen, 55% misclick rate
User Feedback
Overall: The look matches Apple’s design system
Task 1: Instruction prompt was confusing but actual flow was easy
Task 2: Flow was easy
Task 3: Include text to indicate the author’s name is the author, want to explore other books and find other authors to follow
Key Insights
The first task was the most confusing, including the instructions and the flow order itself.
More context needed to be clarified for new and existing features.
Added text indicating that the text refers to the author
Before
After
Removed chevron next to “Genres” since this section doesn't need to expand
Before
After
Added similar authors section since from Maze indicated wanting to explore more books and authors in this flow
Before
After
Changed author follower section, adjusted the look and added the author’s name for more clarification
Before
After
Hight-Fidelity Wireframes (Version Two)
Closing
Challenges
The main challenge was finding the right testers. Some testers I chose early on weren’t as familiar with how Apple’s apps look or work, and some confusion during testing came from that disconnect. This caused some time delay where I fell behind trying to find testers. During later interviews and later testing, I gave an overview of Apple Books to clarify how the app worked.
I also spent a little too much time on the mid-fidelity wireframes and testing those wireframes, which also set my schedule behind.
Growth
This project has given me experience working with an already existing product and adding on to it. I also gained experience in learning how to work with an existing design system, and learned the new challenges that come with trying to find appropriate testers familiar with that well established design system.
Next Steps
In future iterations, additional features could include:
Adding a messaging feature to message other users
Create pages for discussion boards for books or specific chapters
I really enjoyed designing the high fidelity wireframes. I liked figuring out how to make my screens look like an Apple product and making the pages seem realistic. The topic of the project was also very interesting to me since I enjoy reading as a hobby.
