We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Anqi Liu about their original and creative Mobile Application design work. Anqi Liu is an award-winning communication designer, that makes our world a better place with their original mobile application works.
Anqi Liu ("AL") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Meteor Lodge Mobile Application. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
AL : Reading APP’s main users are people who want to not only read books from indie writers but also share feedback with other readers and writers. They are also those who want to not only publish their book on a platform but also listen to the voices from readers directly.
AL : The Reading Application provides a dedicated space for passionate indie writers to publish their work, for curious readers to find indie writers, and for users, including writers and readers, to exchange their insights. Many indie writers currently want to publish their work, but there is no suitable platform for them and standard publishing usually involves a complicated process. Readers also got tired of having to find indie writers' books from different websites. In our Application, indie writers can publish books much quicker than the traditional way. Readers also don’t need to search for a book or writer across different websites.
AL : Research shows that "readers are changing their habits: one in four people in the US reads E-books while one in five readers now listens to audio." Audio Books have become a powerful trend and reading tool in the modern book industry. The platform provides audiobook and traditional book-reading services as well as communication opportunities. Readers could buy a monthly subscription to unlock all the books on the platform or they could just purchase one book. The indie writer will get paid for purchases. APP communication among users is always free... This business model requires a considerable amount of technical support and indie writer participation at the beginning to attract other readers. However, when users start to use it, the application becomes part of their habit.
AL : It took us about 6 months to prepare this project
AL : We found out there were some Challenges in current reading platforms: 1. There is no significant platform for Indie writers to easily publish their books. 2. No platform provides an adequately vast selection of indie writer's books. 3. Writers and readers need a platform to communicate with each other. We decided to solve those issue and provide better reading and writing experience
AL : Products create a connection between readers and independent writers. The platform provides a large number of books by indie writers for readers who expect to see more niche worksand the user saves time in scouring through websites and social media. The product offers indie writers a platform for quickly publishing their works;riters don't need to worry about an overly cumbersome publishing process. At the same time, the Reading APP also provides a platform for users to communicate. Readers can discover like-minded friends, and writers can hear the latest feedback from readers. The product innovatively integrates the functions of reading and communication, closely connecting readers and authors.
AL : Products create a connection between readers and independent writers. The platform provides a large number of books by indie writers for readers who expect to see more niche worksand the user saves time in scouring through websites and social media. The product offers indie writers a platform for quickly publishing their works;riters don't need to worry about an overly cumbersome publishing process. At the same time, the Reading APP also provides a platform for users to communicate. Readers can discover like-minded friends, and writers can hear the latest feedback from readers. The product innovatively integrates the functions of reading and communication, closely connecting readers and authors.
AL : Research shows that "readers are changing their habits: one in four people in the US reads E-books while one in five readers now listens to audio." Audio Books have become a powerful trend and reading tool in the modern book industry. The platform provides audiobook and traditional book-reading services as well as communication opportunities. Readers could buy a monthly subscription to unlock all the books on the platform or they could just purchase one book. The indie writer will get paid for purchases. APP communication among users is always free... This business model requires a considerable amount of technical support and indie writer participation at the beginning to attract other readers. However, when users start to use it, the application becomes part of their habit.
AL : Richan Li is the animator and illustrator of this project. She provided her excellent skills to build this fancy visual design for our App.
AL : 1. Our primary research method was interviewing users who like reading or listening to audiobooks. 2. Our secondary research method used quantitative and qualitative data from https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/ and US statista website: https://www.statista.com/topics/3928/reading-habits-in-the-us/. 3. Reading APP’s design process included various phases of UX Design Sprints: Understand (find the problem: interview user, search data, create stakeholder map), ideate (understand the problem and brainstorm with persona, storyboard, and user journey map), decide (define the final pain point), prototype, and test (usability test with interviewer).
