Hello, we are READy for your reading experience today
READy is a brand new reading platform that curates a collection of short essays or stories from a variety of genres. Users can start reading by simply tapping the “Start now” button to generate a series of short stories, and can swipe through stories based on their preferences. In READy, users are able to access multidisciplinary knowledge within a limited amount of time.
What happened?
Our solution
If only there was an easy way to access short-form reading such as essays and short stories that a reader can start reading or select based on their time availability, then many readers would be able to enjoy reading when they have time available.
READy is an innovative platform that features short-time, short-length reading experiences, which enables users to enjoy reading in a limited time period within their hustle and bustle lifestyle.
Many adults enjoy reading but often have limited time to do so and do not enjoy long-form reading in interrupted time frames.
Duration
⏱
Role
👨💻
Tool
✏️
Two months
January - March 2023
Designer
Researcher
Data analyst
Figma
Adobe Creative Suite
Spark AR
Mission
To provide the young generation with an interactive and innovative reading platform with well-curated content so that they can start reading and acquire knowledge from reading when they have time available.
To create a digital reading atmosphere where users grow a reading habit, and share stories or sentences in social media to attract more potential users.
Vision
Now, let's see how I get there.
Background research
Adults, especially the youth, understand the significance of reading.
According to research by International Literacy Association, over 95% younger generation agree that reading is important.
International Literacy Association
The younger generation read less today.
People aged between 15 to 44 read for an average of 10min or less per day, based on the report by Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
In 2020, 23% of Adult Americans didn’t read a book.
Pew Research Center
<10 min/day
Severe Decrease of Attention Span.
The average human attention span is only 8.25 seconds.
The average human attention span decreased by almost 25% from 2000.
Full-time employers read less than unemployed people.
People with full-time jobs read significantly less than the ones who are not employed. There is too much to care about other than reading books.
WordsRated
Interview & insights
To gather insights into people's reading habits and concerns, we conducted interviews with 27 individuals in the New York Tri-State Area. Based on the interview data and findings, I created the following information charts to provide a better understanding of the results.
Interview type
🗣
Sample size
✍️
Age distribution
👨👩👧👦
In-person interview
27 people
16-40 years old
New York Tri-State Area
Region
🗽
Only 10 interviewees claimed to read every day, and most of the materials are those required by the school.
Many claim that they used to read the short content via social media, and counted that into the frequency.
Most participants read for only 0 to 2.5 hours, despite claiming to read frequently, and e-book reading time was concentrated in the 1.5 to 4 hours range, which was higher than the total reading time.
The E-book is the mainstream reading medium among the younger generation, even though many claim to prefer the traditional alternative.
The interviewees' attention span of reading is around 10-15 minutes.
Problems and concerns for current reading apps
Persona & target user
Based on background research and interview data, we have summarized and created a user persona.
User scenario
Journey map
User flow
First-time user flow
User flow after registration
Low-fi prototype
Moodboard & UI kit
Now, let's explore our final solution
Key features
Swap like Tinder
Easy access through one click, one swipe,
and we let you know a milestone after every 5 stories reading.
Set a time, go
An option to read based on time availability, and to make the most use of limited time.
Rewards time
Providing motivational rewards and real-time achievement tracking empower positive habit forming.
Personalized archive
Save and manage your favorite content anytime.
Share with friends in any style you like.
Prototype
1. Preference setting and begin reading.
2. Enable the menu with one click. Better designs improve your experience.
3. Copy, mark, and share. Every touched moment counts.
4. Always trail before registration. Account registration and free trial notification.
5. Reading archive. We build your personal reading archive.
6. Bookmarks. Review your favourites, also, share them!
What's more...
Content feed algorithm
We have focused on developing content feed algorithms and conducting marketing strategies to make READy an outstanding user-centered product.
Dislike feed
User clicks the button to dislike a story, to reduce similar content in the feed.
The backend receives the action and deletes related contents in the feed data.
When reporting, backend data is shared with the admin to trigger investigation.
Increasing feed length
Upon user registration, initialize the story feed with short stories that are 3-4 minutes in length.
Gradually introduce longer stories (<15min) into the feed.
Flexible control of the estimated reading time based on user data.
Marketing strategy
People always complain about the telecommunication signal on New York City subway train, so our major propaganda spot would be in the subway stations. We come up with 3 ways to encourage people to download READy:
① Scan QR code
② Tap the digital devices
③ AR experience: scan Snap code
