WELCOME TO
BOOKWORM
TYPE
Self-initiated
Role
UX Design
UI Design
Research
PLATFORM
Mobile Application
DESIGN TOOLS
Figma, Protopie, Paper
Designing a Platform to Help Readers
Buy, Sell, and Share Books Seamlessly.
One day, I opened my drawer and found a pile of forgotten books. They deserved better than to collect dust, they deserved new readers. That's when the idea for Bookworm was born, a platform to connect books with those who’d cherish them.
a platform to connect books with
those who’d cherish them
“
”
Many readers accumulate books they no longer need, yet struggle to find a seamless way to share, sell, or donate them. Existing platforms often lack intuitive user experiences, reliable delivery options, and a strong sense of community, making book-sharing inconvenient and underutilized.
Problem Statement
These days, many book lovers end up with a ton of books that just sit on their shelves after they’ve read them. In fact, the World Culture Score Index says that 72% of readers have books they don’t really use or share anymore. It’s a bummer because there’s a big opportunity for book-sharing solutions, with so many great reads just waiting for new fans!
Overview
Bookworm is all about making it super easy for readers to sell, rent, or donate their books. We’re building a fun community that loves books and cares about sustainability, so everyone can connect, share, and help stories find a new home.
Goals
Seamless Book-Sharing
User can easily Sell, Rent or Donate their books.
Community Driven Platform
Encourages interaction between readers.
Sustainability Focus
Reduces book waste and promotes recycling.
At Bookworm, we keep things user-friendly by using a laid-back, step-by-step design process that makes sure everyone has a smooth and fun experience.
Design Process
Discover
Define
Ideate
Design
Test
Problem Statement &
Key User Needs
Goals
Qualitative &
Quantitative research
Competitors Analysis
User Personas
Brainstorming Ideas
Low-fidelity wireframes
Customer Journey
High-fidelity wireframes
Prototyping
Usability Testing
User Feedback
I've been diving into the world of book-sharing and took a good look at what’s out there. I checked out some of the big players like Goodreads, LibraryThing, Little Free Library, BookMooch, and StreetLib to see how they stack up.
Competitors
Key Differentiators of Bookworm from Competitors
All-in-One Book Exchange
Buy, sell, rent, and donate books seamlessly
Smart & Personalized Recommendations
AI-powered recommendations connect users with the right books and exchange partners.
Intuitive & Visually Engaging Experience
A visually engaging, neumorphic design inspired by old book pages for a unique user experience.
Built-in Community & Trust
Book clubs, discussion forums, and verified user reviews foster engagement and credibility.
Sustainability-Driven Approach
Encourages book reuse with eco-tracking features to promote a greener reading culture.
Hassle-Free Transactions
Secure payments, real-time tracking for smooth book exchanges.
Lack of Dedicated Platforms
Readers expressed frustration over limited options for sharing, selling, or donating books conveniently. While some platforms exist, they often have complex interfaces or limited user engagement.
Environmental Concerns
Many readers expressed a desire to reduce waste by passing on their books but lacked accessible solutions to connect with potential readers.
Desire for Personal Interaction
Some users preferred meaningful book exchanges rather than simple transactions, seeking platforms that enable community building alongside book-sharing.
Uncertain Pricing & Buyer Search
Users struggle to determine fair prices for used books and face challenges finding interested buyers, especially for niche genres or older editions.
Through interviews and user research, several key pain points emerged:
I talked to some book lovers to find out what challenges they deal with, what they enjoy, and what gets them excited, all to make sharing books super easy.
User Interviews
I had some great chats with potential users through interviews and surveys to get a sense of their biggest challenges and what they’re looking for. Here are a few key questions we tossed around and the cool insights we picked up.
Can you describe how you typically manage books once you’ve finished reading them?
What motivates you to keep or give away your read books?
Have you ever tried selling or donating your books? If yes, what challenges did you face in the process?
Are there specific platforms you’ve used for book exchanges or sales? What was your experience like?
What difficulties have you faced while pricing or negotiating the value of your used books?
Have you ever struggled to find buyers or recipients for your books? If so, what was the biggest challenge?
How important is sustainability to you when it comes to managing your book collection?
Would you prefer a platform that actively promotes eco-friendly practices like book recycling or donations?
Would you be interested in connecting with readers who share similar interests during book exchanges?
How would you describe your ideal book-sharing experience that combines convenience with meaningful connections?
Qualitative Research
How do you usually acquire books?
Have you ever struggled to sell or donate your old books?
How important is an integrated delivery service for book exchanges?
Would you prefer a community-driven book-sharing platform?
What would motivate you to use Bookworm?
Quantitative Research Findings
We ran a survey to get a better grip on how people share books, what bugs them, and what they really like. The results backed up our earlier research, making sure our design choices are based on solid data. Here are the main points, laid out for easy understanding.
In order to enhance the book-sharing experience, I conducted user interviews to gain insights into the challenges, behaviours, and motivations of those who own books.
User Personas
This empathy map helps us get a better understanding of Ravi’s feelings, actions, and struggles, giving us some handy insights to guide our design choices.
Empathy Map
The Customer Journey Map shows Ravi’s experience with Bookworm, starting from when he first discovered it to becoming a regular user. It points out the important moments, his thoughts and feelings and the challenges he encounters, all while showing how the platform makes sharing books easier for him and tackles his issues.
Customer Journey Map
The user flow breaks down how to list a book for sale or donation in a super easy way. It shows the key choices, actions, and interactions, highlighting how users navigate through the app. By streamlining this process, the design focuses on making things clear, efficient and engaging for users.
User Flow
We ran a card sorting exercise to make navigation super easy and intuitive. This helped us group features in a way that matches what users expect, so finding books and making transactions is a breeze. The insights we got really shaped the app’s layout, making everything feel more natural and user-friendly.
Card Sorting
Information Architecture makes it super easy to navigate and find what you need. With everything organized in a way that just makes sense, Bookworm helps you browse, buy, sell, and rent books without any hassle, giving you a smooth and enjoyable experience.
Information Architecture
I started the visual design by collecting some references, doing research and finding inspiration to capture the brand’s vibe. Since Bookworm is all about loving second hand books, I wanted the visuals to evoke nostalgia, warmth, and a hint of luxury. I chose earthy colours, soft textures, and smooth neumorphic elements to really boost the cosy feeling, making the platform super inviting and user-friendly.
Crafting the Visual Identity
I created a fun space to play around with colours, fonts, styles, and different layouts for the main screens. It was all about trying things out, mixing and matching, going back to the drawing board, tweaking styles, and checking out fresh ideas to craft a cohesive and immersive visual experience for Bookworm.
HEX : 7A4A1E
HEX : A36328
HEX : CFBEAA
HEX : E55D16
Bookworm's colour scheme offers cosy, earthy vibes like old paper. The soft beige background (HEX: CFBEAA) resembles well-loved pages, while deep brown typography (HEX: 7A4A1E) ensures readability. A vibrant burnt orange (HEX: E55D16) adds warmth and highlights key actions, enhancing the overall experience.
Colour Scheme
The Bookworm logo really captures what the name is all about. The circles, each with a letter from "Bookworm," connect to create a smooth, flowing line that looks like a worm from above. This design shows how books move from one reader to another, highlighting the platform’s goal of sharing and discovering great reads. The fun, wavy shape of the logo gives it a playful vibe, making it easy to remember and super engaging.
Brand Attributes
Nostalgia
Community
Accessibility
Logo
Headings use Times New Roman for a traditional feel, paired with Arial for readability. The hierarchy is clear through varied weights and sizes, ensuring a balanced interface that enhances the reading experience while evoking the warmth of book collections.
Typography
Heading 1
Times New Roman Bold 30
Heading 2
Times New Roman 18
Heading 3
Times New Roman Regular 18
Times New Roman
Let’s find your Book
App Overview
Walkthrough
Walkthrough screens help users get what the app is all about. We’ve made them short and sweet but still super effective!
Onboarding
You can sign up here to get into the app and register, making sure your actions really matter!
Home
The home screen has a bunch of cool features. You can easily search for your books and pick categories to find where they’re hiding. There are lots of sections to check out, so feel free to explore!
About Book
When you pick a book, you'll land on its detailed page. Here, you can check out everything you need to know about it. You can like, share, or buy the book right from there. Plus, if you want to save it for later, you can toss it in your cart!
Scan
This feature is super handy! You just scan the barcode of the book you want to sell or check out, and boom! It pulls up all the important info like the price, author, and more.
Profile
Welcome to your profile! Here you can check out your past buys and payment stuff. Don’t hesitate to invite your friends to hang out with you here. You can also tweak your settings if you want. Oh, and make sure to update your profile pic, log out when you’re finished, and take a look at the help options if you need anything!
Cart & Favourites
Your saved books are all in one spot. You can check them out and buy them whenever you want. Plus, all the stuff you like is in your favourites list, so it's super easy to come back and grab your top picks!
Payment
When you buy a book, you've got a bunch of payment options to choose from. It's super convenient and really safe for your data. You can make payments with just a quick tap, no hassle at all. Plus, you can save your card or UPI info for next time!
To validate the Bookworm experience, participants were given tasks that aligned with key user needs, such as listing a book for sale, searching for a book to rent, and donating a book. Additionally, we focused on a crucial business goal, ensuring a seamless checkout process.
Refining the Experience: Usability Testing & Key Insights
After conducting usability tests, I synthesized insights using an affinity diagram, which uncovered key patterns:
Navigation preferences
60% of participants preferred using the search bar over category browsing, while 40% relied on filters and recommendations. Both methods hold value and should be optimized.
Listing a book was not intuitive for all
3 of 8 participants struggled to find the “Add a Book” option, indicating a need for clearer CTAs.
Trust concerns
Some users hesitated at checkout due to a lack of book condition descriptions, highlighting the importance of building transparency.
Bookworm started as a simple idea to give pre-loved books a new home, but through research, iteration, and user feedback, it evolved into a seamless platform that makes book sharing more accessible and engaging. Usability testing helped refine key interactions, ensuring that users could effortlessly buy, sell, rent, and donate books.
The impact of this project lies in creating a sustainable reading ecosystem
reducing book waste
making literature more affordable
fostering a community-driven experience.
Conclusion & Impact
The key learnings from this project reinforced the importance of intuitive navigation, clear CTA's and a user-centric design approach, all of which can be applied to future product challenges.
What’s next?
From these insights, the next iteration’s focus was clear: enhancing call-to-action visibility, improving trust signals, and refining mobile usability to create a frictionless and engaging experience.
Curious about this project?
Just shoot me an email if you want to chat more about Bookworm. I’d love to share some cool insights! Have an awesome day!
next projects
Unifo Pvt. Ltd
SaaS Enterprise - Under NDA
Finlink: Financial Management platform for SME's
UX design, Desktop - SAAS
NewHut : Residence providing app for feasible tenancy
UX Design