Yes, this is my real voice.
Timeline: 16 Weeks
Roles: Brand Designer, Product Designer, Marketing Designer
The Brief
I love books. I hate books. I love to hate books, and I hate to love books.
I’ve been interfacing with the traditional publishing industry since undergrad in a multitude of roles - though primarily as a writer and illustrator - and through it, have learned the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all. So, when given the opportunity to take a whole semester to develop a brand and product around a problem space I was passionate about, I knew it was going to be about books in one way or another.
Perhaps the greatest problem space I recognize on the consumer side of the books industry is discovery. The advent of social media brought with it the atomization of book marketing: writers are expected to be their own advertising team while still maintaining their creative output, and readers are increasingly led into silos of popular works and leaving hidden gems behind as word of mouth competes with virality.
I don’t believe I’ve solved all issues plaguing book publicity with this product pitch, but I believe that marketing books isn’t the Gordian Knot it’s characterized as. It’s simply a matter of prioritizing the reader, and treating them like a complex individual whose tastes can be challenged, instead of a demographic with only select interests.
Building the Brand
Surprisingly enough, this is a brand design that came together relatively quickly. I had a vision of what I wanted Bookmarkd to look like form early on in the process, and really let my instincts lead me in the actual implementation. I wanted the brand to evoke the bespoke nature that the market sector it belongs to demands, while also bringing in some desperately needed liveliness. This process resulted in the creation of a 28-page brand book that lead the visual aesthetic of the subsequent prototype and other related materials.
Select Pages from Brand Book
Product Design and Prototyping
Pitching a platform means building a platform. Imagine that!
The Bookmarkd platform itself was modeled with competitor and complimentary services like Goodreads, Libby, and Audible in mind. I studied what works and doesn’t from both a design and usability perspective, and then started wireframing a functional prototype.
From there, I kept iterating and developing the prototype for usability of concept, until I felt comfortable to “turn the branding on”, and apply Bookmarkd’s aesthetic to the prototype. Since the Discovery and Library tabs of the “app” would be the most prominent and used features, I prioritized modeling how those functions would work, to best sell the vision of the final product.
Early wireframes of the Bookmarkd interface in Figma.
Product demonstrations of the Bookmarkd platform prototype.
Other Materials
I like making merchandise and marketing materials. Behold!
Takeaways
More than anything else, this project taught me how to self-direct a full project for an extended period of time. Building Bookmarkd was a marathon, but it’s a marathon whose results I’m particularly proud of.
Bookmarkd is both a product concept meant to tackle a problem plaguing the modern iteration of one of the oldest forms of entertainment, and a wholehearted expression of myself as a designer. I’m grateful to have had this opportunity to present my design sense and strategic mind together so holistically, and I hope the work speaks to that.
Simply put: I love this concept, and I wish it existed. If you’re a reader, I hope you feel the same way!
