Goodreads is one of the most widely used book-tracking platforms, yet many readers complain that it’s outdated, cluttered, and limiting. Still, they continue to use it. Competing apps offer more modern UI and improved features, but struggle to attract and retain users. This project explored the question: if better tools exist, why don’t readers switch, and where does meaningful improvement actually matter?
Through a survey, interviews, and an analysis of reviews, we explored how readers use and think about book-tracking tools. Two behaviors consistently shaped how readers interacted with them: managing collections and evaluating books. We tested a series of prototypes that introduced more flexibility in these areas, looking to see whether giving readers more control and nuance would better reflect how they think about and express their reading.
Users responded positively to the increased flexibility in how they could rate, organize, and reflect on books. However, it also introduced new challenges with clarity and navigation, suggesting a trade-off between expressiveness and simplicity. From a wider lens, the project demonstrated that improving the user experience alone is rarely enough to get users to switch platforms. Familiarity, personal history, social connections, and larger platform advantages influence users’ platform loyalty.
February - July 2023
WHERE
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Master’s Thesis Project
MY ROLE
UX Designer with one other HCI student