CASE STUDY
Year in
Books
Reimagining Goodreads' yearly recap as a shareable, story-driven experience
01
About
This idea came about because I wanted to create something fun and engaging on Goodreads—a way to see your yearly reading stats, similar to Spotify Wrapped or Apple Music. While Goodreads is a widely used platform, it can feel a bit outdated, so this “Year in Books” feature is designed to bring a more dynamic, modern experience.
At its core, this project is about reimagining how readers connect with their own habits, giving them a moment to reflect, feel accomplished, and get excited about reading again, instead of just passively tracking books.
My role
Timeline
75 hours
Product designer, creator
Tools
Figma, Figjam, Adobe Illustrator, Maze, Zoom
02
Overview
Goodreads users track their reading, but users rarely feel a connection to their end of year wrapped
01
Outdated Experience
The interface feels dated compared to modern reading apps, lacking visual appeal and engagement
02
Passive Data Display
The storytelling feels not exciting and difficult to feel a connection to
03
Low Shareability
No built-in features to share reading accomplishments with friends or social media
This feature transforms how Goodreads users experience their yearly reading stats—turning passive data into an engaging, shareable story inspired by Spotify Wrapped.
PROBLEM
Goodreads’ Year in Books feels generic and forgettable. Unlike Spotify Wrapped, it lacks emotional resonance and shareability
MY ROLE
End-to-end product designer: research, persona development, UI, UX design, prototyping, and usability testing
PROCESS
Competitive audit - user interviews - personas - information architecture - high fidelity designs - prototype - testing
IMPACT
98% task completion rate in usability testing. Users described the experience as ‘engaging,’ ‘fun,’ and ‘worth sharing’
03
Research
I interviewed 8 users to understand their reading habits and relationship with Goodreads. Some were avid readers, others sometimes readers, and a couple are just getting into reading.
67%
expressed some level of frustration with Goodreads
33%
knew about the current wrapped version but want it improved
83%
Want visual storytelling over raw numbers
83%
want deeper, more personalized insights (genres, habits, stats)
User Personas
Creating user personas to better present user’ goals, frustrations, and motivations
68
Married, with two young kids
Los Angeles, CA
Bachelor’s Degree
Administrative Assistant
AGE
OCCUPATION
FAMILY STATUS
LOCATION
EDUCATION
Maggie loves reading as a social activity. She relies heavily on her book club and close circle for recommendations and enjoys discussing books with others. She hasn’t adopted reading apps yet but is open to trying one if it feels engaging and meaningful. She keeps a list of books she has read and what she wants to read. She loves looking back at the books she read in the past year, especially trying to beat her record of read books since last year.
Maggie Laird
Bio
Goals and Motivations
Tech and Software
I love getting book recommendations from people I trust. I just wish there was an easy way to keep track of everything and look back on what I’ve read
Challenges and Pain Points
Discover books through trusted sources
Feel connected to a reading community
Reflect on her reading habits in a fun way (each book feels personal and she wishes to look back at each one)
Isn’t the most tech-savvy but can do her best
Is nervous to try new things when it comes to tech
Favorite Genres to Read
Doesn’t always understand apps but she wants to try because her book club friends keep sharing recommendations and comments with each other over the book apps
Often relies on memory or paper lists to track books which isn’t always reliable
Looking for a fun way to connect with others about books, as well as to track her books and to be reminded of them
27
Single
Philadelphia, PA
Bachelor’s Degree
Marketing Coordinator
AGE
OCCUPATION
FAMILY STATUS
LOCATION
EDUCATION
Brooke has always loved reading ever since she was a kid. She tries to read a few times each week, often reading multiple books at a time. She enjoys audiobooks while at work and at the gym. She also enjoys discovering books through online apps. She uses book apps, including Goodreads and Audible, but often looks for recommendations in other places as well.
Brooke Davis
Bio
Goals and Motivations
Tech and Software
I love sharing my Spotify Wrapped every year. I wish my reading app gave me something just as fun to post
Challenges and Pain Points
Discover books that match her interests
Share reading habits with others
Have a more engaging and modern reading experience on Goodreads and book apps
She wants Goodreads to have a better “Wrapped” at the end of the year like Spotify. She always posts her Spotify Wrapped on social media but doesn’t like the Goodreads wrapped enough to want to post
Very tech-savvy - uses Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, Audible
More of a Mac user than PC user
Listens to audiobooks on her iPhone, as well as tracks and finds recommendations online
Goodreads feels outdated and not very visually appealing . She really only uses it to keep track of the book she reads
Current recap features are too basic and surface level
Wants to find a better book app or get a better Goodreads option so she is still connecting with books and her friends together
Favorite Genres
User Flow
Yes
No
Yes
No
Key
Mapping the user flow allowed me to identify key decision points, reduce cognitive load through progressive disclosure, and validate the experience before moving into wireframes. This process ensured every screen had a clear purpose, resulting in a seamless user journey that supports both usability and product engagement.
04
Design System
A warm, readable system built for celebration
Every token in the design system serves a specific purpose: the warm neutral base creates a paper-book feeling, while the green accent provides moments of delight without overwhelming the reading content.
Why this palette?
I limited the color palette to a cream neutral & single green accent to keep book covers and personal stats as the visual stars. The warm neutrals also evoke the tactile pleasure of physical books — reinforcing the emotional tone of the feature.
Cream White
#FFFFFF
Card backgrounds, overlays
Warm Tan
#E8E4CE
Page backgrounds, subtle surfaces
Reading Brown
#6D4621
Secondary actions, warmth
Ink Black
#000000
Primary text, strong headings
Display — Tondu
110px / Black
Year in Books
Hero titles
H1 — Young Serif
70px / Black
Your Top Genres
Section titles
H2 — Poppins SemiBold
54px / SemiBold
Project Hail Mary
Book titles, major data points
Body — Poppins Medium
21px / Medium
top book · favorite author
Labels, secondary text, captions
Micro — Poppins Regular
20px / Regular
A year of stories and discoveries
Contextual descriptions, subtitles
The Sneaky Spoilers Type
5:12
You say you’d never spoil
a book… but you’ve definitely read the last page
“just to check.”
5:12
1
2
3
4
5
Project Hail Mary
Your Top
Rated Books
Andy Weir
Normal People
Sally Rooney
The Martian
Andy Weir
Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver
The Great Alone
Kristin Hannah
A year of stories, discoveries,
and literary adventures
Your 2026
Year in Books
5:12
Pain Points
Users have limited opportunities to share and celebrate their reading habits, as Goodreads does not provide a compelling, social, or shareable experience comparable to modern platforms like Spotify Wrapped
Users need a more personalized, engaging, and shareable way to reflect on and discover books, as current Goodreads features lack interactivity, meaningful insights, and social connectivity
Competitive Analysis
I analyzed the existing competition by evaluating their unique features, strategies, and app design to help guide the research in the direction of the most suitable solutions for potential users
All platforms offer similar core features: book tracking, recommendations, and community-based discovery
Smaller user bases, inconsistent UX, or lack of emotional engagement
Key weakness of Goodreads:
→ Outdated interface and lack of engaging, interactive data visualization
Core insight:
→ Users want more than tracking—they want a fun, shareable, and reflective experience
Affinity Mapping
Turning raw data and feedback into insights that drive user-centered design and smarter features
05
Low Fidelity
High Fidelity
5:12
top book
Project Hail Mary
favorite author
Kristin Hannah
2026
Project Hail Mary
The Great Alone
Demon Copperhead
The Martian
Normal People
Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Fantasy
Thriller
16
top books
top genres
books read
11,452
pages read
Creating
a story
Narrative-driven, celebratory,
UI-forward
A year of stories, discoveries,
and literary adventures
Your 2026
Year in Books
5:12
Go to Prototype
06
Usability Testing
100% of users successfully navigated the feature without assistance after initial instruction. The experience was consistently described as intuitive, engaging, and easy to use.
What worked
Strong visual and emotional appeal
Engaging and shareable content
Clear navigation and flow
Opportunities for improvement
Visual hierarchy refinement
Ideas for adding a progress indicator
Interest in a year-to-year comparison
When the experience feels
playful and personal, users don’t just review their reading—
they celebrate it
⏱
What I'd do with more time
Build a more comprehensive accessibility audit — particularly for users with visual impairments. The warm, low-contrast color scheme was intentional but needs more careful contrast testing at smaller text sizes.
⚡
Biggest design challenge
Balancing emotional warmth with information density. Every screen needed to feel celebratory AND communicate meaningful stats — finding the right proportion took multiple rounds of iteration.
✦
What this project taught me
Users don't share data. They share identity. The feature succeeded because we designed for self-expression, not analytics. Product design at its best creates a mirror — not a spreadsheet.
Accessibility Considerations
Color contrast
AA compliant
All text meets WCAG 2.1 AA minimum 4.5:1 on primary backgrounds
Tap targets
≥ 44×44pt
All interactive elements meet iOS HIG minimum touch target size
Dynamic type
Supported
Text scales with iOS Dynamic Type up to XXXL without layout break
Screen reader
Annotated
All screen elements have semantic labels for VoiceOver compatibility
My Work
About Me
Resume
