lector

Giving new life to reading in the digital world

final product Mobile application
year 2024
duration 6 months
areas
  • User Experience (UX) Research;
  • Digital Product Design;
  • Interface Design (UI);
  • Digital business strategy.

Context

A Readers Home

A side project that I am carrying out with Fabio San Juan, lector is a platform for those who believe that understanding the world begins with reading.

Our proposal is to offer a space for the active reading of books and texts, where readers can discover, save, comment on and interconnect the best of their reading.

Reading page for the day's excerpt

Research

Incubated

In early 2024, we were selected for the InHabit program of the Bridge for Billions.

At the time, we decided to explore the focus on reading, with the hypothesis that overcoming digital dependency is achieved through smarter use, not by abandoning devices.

Following C Todd, we started with Market Research, moved on to User Research and planned a Data Analysis.
problem
distraction

The dilemma of our time

While book sales in the US have grown in recent years, reading is on the decline.

An app that promotes quality reading could be a concrete answer to this dilemma.

Research Gallup indicates that, on average, reading habits have been falling in the USA, while book sales have been increasing, according to data from NPD Bookscan.

The process of signing a cycle, from the explanatory summary to the first text.

Value proposition

Our analysis of the competition revealed many initiatives aimed at recovering concentration in reading, but few that address shared and inspiring reading.

With this in mind, we created a prototype that regularly offers short, high-quality excerpts, promoting enriching interactions between users in both educational and informal contexts.

Method

We began by identifying the essential characteristics of Lector users, regardless of demographic profile. We then mapped out how these characteristics influence the market niche, selecting three segments to make up the business model.

Teachers

They would be the bridge in the process of forming new readers.

Students

Potential readers, numbed by the use of new technologies but thirsty for new knowledge.

LLL readers

Life-Long-Learning is the term used in the education vertical for all training activity outside the school program.

Interviews

With the prototype in hand, we conducted interviews that combined an evaluation of the interface with an exploration of reading habits, while also asking how much and for what users would be willing to pay.

Strategic insights

From the results we decided to define the characteristics of a Minimum Viable Product, with features and characteristics based on a few topics:

Gratuity

The adoption of a cultural product usually happens first in a free range, so we would start without charging a subscription.

Partnerships

The promotion of the product as well as its uptake could be successful if key players in the reading world (writers, influencers) used the lector to indicate their readings.

Sharing the discovery

Enhancing the possibility of sharing excerpts and saving common comments would breathe life into the app and increase its use.


Development

Adulthood

The persona that emerged from the research is a reader tired of being treated like a child. The development focused on the minimalism of the interface and the rejection of dopamine-based rewards, looking for an alternative to the infinite scroll.

person
reader

Santa scarcity

Facilitate access to the text, but reduce the tension of too much information with a moderate scarcity that encourages constancy: read little at a time, but read the best and, above all, read every day.

The simplicity sought in navigation aims to give the user agility, cutting out everything that is superfluous.

relation
conversation
We have divided the reading cycles into two groups: our cycles and those of the guests. Both stimulate the reader's interest and generate new explorations.

The strength of the model

Although writers and intellectuals avoid reading lists, research has confirmed that reading is learned by imitating models.

However, this imitation must be creative and based on great conversation, as Mortimer Adler claimed.


Results

The reader's heritage

The excess of information in the digital age generates distress and forgetfulness. Thus, one of the most valued features has been the ability to save favorite passages.

Next steps

Currently in development, the app is expected to be launched soon. Among the next steps are:

1.

Reading club

Use the cycles as a base for book clubs, giving users the chance to create groups, monitor and lead readings.

2.

Integration with physical books

Create intelligent bookmarks that allow readers to scan and save excerpts from physical books.

3.

Self-publishing platform

Transforming the reading cycles into modern pamphlets, introducing a new model of self-publishing.