For my thesis project, I aimed to address the challenges faced by the ebook industry. The digital publishing landscape has stagnated, offering readers far fewer capabilities compared to physical books. My goal was to develop a product that restores the same level of freedom and versatility that physical books provide, while ensuring that writers and publishers are fairly compensated.
The question I wanted to ask was:
“How can an ebook application incorporate the sharing and swapping of ePUBs for readers while taking the interest of the publishers into account?"
Target audience:
Digital and physical readersReaders of all agesReaders looking to socialize with others on a specified platformThe ability to read more books they like/love without breaking bank
My research was mostly about the publishing world and how the music world could help the publish world forward. In my product biography You can see all my research and how my product solved the problem.
During this project, we underwent multiple versions and iterations, which proved crucial in refining our ideas and solutions. Creating numerous wireframes greatly aided in clarifying my vision and identifying effective approaches. This iterative process has become a vital step in my own methodology, a valuable lesson learned through this experience. I'm proud to have completed my studies with this project, achieving a score of 8.
The Problem:
- People can’t exchange or sell their ebooks like physical books.
- Can’t lend out ebooks without sending them the full book file.
- No real ownership
The Solution:
- Book swapping, you look for a book and get matched with someone that would like a book in your library to read. You each get 2 weeks to read it.
The books you lent disappear from your library and return when the time is up
- Forming bookclubs online and being able to see how far other members are and they can add commentary along the way that you all can see.
- Selling ebooks secondhand, you can sell books you don’t wanna keep anymore to make room in your library and get some money back. A small percentage goes to the writer/publishers.
Some of the features include the ability to trade ebooks with others online, donate directly to writers, recycle old ebooks, join an online book club, and lend books within the book club.
During my time at Happybase, I worked on a wide range of creative tasks including video editing, basic animation, illustration, and graphic design. I was also responsible for rearranging and refining content to improve user experience and visual clarity.
One of the most valuable aspects of this role was the freedom to explore and grow. I had the opportunity to expand my skill set, experiment with new tools, and push my creativity further. The supportive environment at Happybase encouraged me to take initiative, refine my design process, and develop a deeper understanding of visual communication.
For Yucap I did the complete UI side of the project and helped the UX Designer realise their ideas. Yucap is a website where employees at a company can evaluate what they what they want to achieve and add deadlines to those achievements to stimulate them witht he use of the Dantefactor. It is currently an ongoing project so some of the content is not there yet.
The image above is a dashboard design I made for Happybase. Funnily enough I also work at Happybase as a Digital Designer and Video Editor. I was asked to make their dashboard since I’m already familiar with their branding and style. The image on the left is a design I made for Amplix's for a dashboard to keep track of feedback from customers from recreational facilities. Both are ongoing projects.
One of my first assignments at IGNE was to make a new branding for their company Amulet. It’s a company that makes tech solutions for in healthcare. I wanted to add more natural and organic colours and shapes to give a feeling of being more at peace than the previous bright reds and oranges.
