Amazon Kindle - Social Features

Amazon’s Kindle As A Natural Home For Book Clubs

We noticed that readers were turning to social media for book discussions but often left these platforms unsatisfied due to a lack of meaningful conversations. This lead us to explore how social features, including book clubs, might function on Amazon’s Kindle.



The proposed design introduces book clubs and social messaging, to help users connect with existing friends and family, or make new friends, specifically over books and shared interests. We aimed to preserve Kindle’s distraction-free environment by hiding notifications during reading, allowing users to immerse fully in their books and engage with their community when they’re ready.

Type

Product / UX Design

Role

Team Leader, UX/UI Research & Design

Team

Kavier Lo, Vince Fierro  (UX Designers)

Tools

Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop

View early stage Prototype >

Intro

“How can Kindle become the preferred method of not only reading, but sharing progress and reflections while connecting with others?”

Color E-Ink Technology

We discovered that Amazon have been working on E-Ink color displays for some time and that their direct competitors are currently launching color screens to the market.

Therefore, we thought it would be interesting to consider how Kindle might incorporate color as part of a UI redesign.

The Problem

User’s need a way to connect with others over shared interests so that they can feel less isolated in their reading preferences, make new friends, and further their interests.

Desire Paths

Social Media

Readers are increasingly using Instagram and TikTok to search for book related content and communities, but find that these platforms prioritize influencers instead of a shared community around books.

Goodreads

Goodreads is widely disliked and outdated - the website hasn't had a major update in seven years. Despite the widespread disapproval, Goodreads has retained users as it contains reading metrics, achievement awards and through 'shelves', which contain user's history and their reading lists.

The Challenges

Kindle's Lack of Distractions

Reader's love the Kindle because it's distraction free and allows them to concentrate on reading.

Social Hesitation & Book Clubs

Readers have been hesitant to join book clubs because they fear others won't share their interests or match their levels of social commitment.

Opportunities

Redesigned Library

We saw an opportunity to provide users with a more personalized library page that would act as a new home page. This would prominently display their current book, with other books in progress or on their reading lists on a row below.

Below this, a row of smart recommendations would allow users to find books specifically related to their interests.

The user's full library would be displayed at the bottom of the page with their 'shelves', a search bar and filters.

The Kindle store page, previously the user's default page, is now a secondary page accessed via the search icon.

Reinforce Reading Habits

Inspired by Strava, Spotify and Duolingo we considered how social and personal incentives such as user metrics, achievement awards, and ‘daily streaks’ might encourage readers to strengthen their reading habits.

Book Clubs & Direct Messaging:
Creating & Sustaining Friendships Around Shared Interests

We aimed to support all the different kinds of communities surrounding books: both local and global, in-person and virtual.

We also wanted to explore how new connections could be established, between strangers with common interests, and how existing relationships could be strengthened.

Updated Settings Tray

Focus Mode

‍To preserve Kindle’s reading experience, we designed a ‘Focus Mode’ to hide messages, notifications, and other distractions.

Black & White

We included a ‘Black & White' mode for users who might prefer a traditional Kindle experience.

Solution

Kindle users can now easily connect with friends and family. In addition, users can find others interested in similar topics, tap into the latest discussions on niche subjects, and explore community based knowledge.

Alleviating pre-existing concerns, readers can search for book clubs that fit their commitment levels.

Design Process

Detail Ahead!