BOOKZYFA
ROLE:
From research to concept, design, and testing, handling the end-to-end product design process
SECTOR:
Education, E-commerce
COLABORATORS:
Solo designer + an Engineer
DATE & DURATION:
2023
2+ month
Our goal?
To design an app that transforms passive listening into an interactive, educational path to fluency.
Designing for How Language Is Actually Used
Textbooks can teach you the rules, but they rarely prepare you for the moment someone speaks to you in a fast, native accent. That’s where real progress begins: in the messy, unpredictable rhythm of real-world language.
Bookzyfa, Iran’s largest foreign audiobook store, taps into that space by offering a rich collection of audiobooks across six languages and various skill levels. With native narrators and authentic content, users can go beyond memorizing grammar and truly train their ears, build complex sentences, and strengthen both their speaking and writing.
Our challenge? To design an app that doesn’t just play audio, but actively supports language learners with an experience that is intuitive, interactive, and educational. The goal was to turn passive listening into an engaging path to fluency.
Context & Challenge
Many non-beginner language learners face challenges that go beyond basic vocabulary and grammar. While structured lessons help with fundamentals, they often fall short in real-world application. Common struggles include:
Struggle #1
Understanding native speech: Fast-paced conversations, accents, and connected speech can be difficult to follow.
Struggle #2
Forming complex sentences: Knowing words isn’t enough; learners need to construct thoughts naturally.
Struggle #3
Applying grammar intuitively: Many learners struggle to use grammar fluidly in writing and speaking.
Struggle #4
Switching to different apps: People often need to switch between apps to find a meaning, search for idioms, and hear different pronunciations.
Opportunity
Bookzyfa already offers a vast collection of audiobooks to enhance language learning, but listening alone isn’t always enough. To make the most of these resources, learners need:
Interactive tools to define new words and understand context effortlessly.
Seamless navigation to follow along with transcripts and translations.
Practice features to improve pronunciation and reinforce learning.
The challenge was to design an audiobook app that transforms passive listening into an engaging, interactive learning experience, making language acquisition more effective and enjoyable.
Competitive Analysis
Filling the Gap: Where Other Apps Fall Short in Audiobook-Based Learning
Since there were no direct competitors in the Iranian market that aligned with Bookzyfa’s business goals, I expanded our research globally to find similar applications. While some platforms supported language learning through audio-visual content, none fully matched the vision of real-world, up-to-date audiobooks with professional narrators to aid learners in their journey.
Here’s what we found:
Lingopie and Yabla help learners improve comprehension through TV shows and videos, offering interactive subtitles and vocabulary tools. However, they focus on visual content rather than audiobooks, making them unsuitable for our goal.
Beelinguapp provides a more relevant solution by offering side-by-side text and audio, allowing learners to follow along while listening. However, it primarily features simplified or curated stories, lacking professionally narrated, up-to-date books, which are already a key feature of Bookzyfa’s existing library.
WorkAudioBook and LingQ offer tools for audiobook-based learning, but they rely heavily on user-imported content rather than providing a structured, high-quality audiobook catalog.
Bookzyfa’s approach stands out by offering:
Key Differentiation
Authentic, professionally narrated audiobooks instead of simplified stories or AI-generated speech.
Real-world, up-to-date books that reflect modern language use, unlike curated or classic-only selections.
Integrated learning tools (transcripts, translations, and interactive features) tailored for serious learners who need a structured yet immersive experience.
Approach
600+ survey participants
At the time of the request, the website already had 3,000+ users. To better understand their needs, we sent out a survey email with a gift card code as an incentive. The goal was to gather insights on the features users wanted and identify potential interview candidates for deeper discussions. I received around 600 completed surveys, and 22 participants agreed to an interview.
Goals
The survey was designed to answer five key questions that would guide the development of the audiobook app:
What are the biggest challenges non-beginner learners face when using audiobooks for language learning?
Do users need transcripts, translations, or other interactive tools to improve comprehension, or is passive listening enough?
How do learners currently handle unknown words and difficult sentences while listening?
Which features would have the greatest impact on engagement and learning effectiveness?
What limitations or frustrations do users experience with existing audiobook platforms, and how can we address them?
Findings from interviews and surveys
After analyzing the 600+ survey responses, I had a clearer picture of what users wanted from an audiobook-based language learning experience. However, given the company's financial and technical constraints, we couldn’t implement every requested feature. To refine our focus, we conducted interviews with 8 selected participants to gain deeper insights into their learning habits, frustrations, and real-world usage of audiobooks.
Goals of the Interviews
The interviews aimed to:
Identify the most critical pain points that hinder language learning through audiobooks.
Refine and prioritize features that would have the biggest impact on engagement and comprehension.
Ensure that our final decisions aligned with actual user needs, rather than assumptions.
ALIREZA:
“I can understand a lot when reading, but when I only listen, I get lost in long sentences. If I could see the transcript while listening, it would help me connect the words and phrases better.”
farnaz:
“Sometimes I recognize words, but I can’t figure out their exact meaning in context."
Bahador:
“I replay certain parts over and over because I don’t fully catch what’s being said. A transcript would make it easier to follow along, especially when speakers talk fast.”
ELHAM:
“When I read and listen at the same time, I remember things much better."
Key feature #1
The transcript of the audio was needed to help learners follow along more easily, especially when encountering new words or complex sentences.
key feature #2
Interactive learning support was essential for instant access to definitions and translations without disrupting the listening experience.
Nice to have
While some participants were interested in AI-based pronunciation feedback and personalized audiobook recommendations, these features were seen as “nice-to-have” rather than immediate necessities. Given our budget and development constraints, we made the decision to prioritize transcripts and interactive learning support, as these had the most direct impact on understanding and retention.
Understanding the Learner’s Journey
Based on survey and interview insights, I identified the key target group: non-beginner learners who need their second language for both professional and everyday use. This led to the creation of Sara, whose challenges in comprehension and real-world application helped shape the app’s core features.
Name: Sara
Age: 26
Background:
Sara is a determined and ambitious Iranian student preparing to move abroad for her Master’s in Business. With a strong academic background and a drive for self-improvement, she understands English well but lacks confidence in real-world communication. She enjoys reading business and leadership books but often finds it difficult to keep up with fast-paced native speech in conversations and audiobooks.
Goals:
Improve listening comprehension to understand both casual and professional English.
Build confidence in speaking and writing by learning how complex sentences are structured.
Use business-related audiobooks to enhance her knowledge while improving her language skills.
Adapt to different accents and real-world conversations before moving abroad.
Pain Points:
Struggles with fast-paced speech, making it difficult to follow along.
Loses context easily when encountering unfamiliar words or complex phrases.
Pausing to look up definitions disrupts the flow, making learning inefficient.
Difficulties applying new vocabulary and grammar naturally in conversations.
Needs:
Transcripts to follow along and reinforce comprehension.
Instant access to definitions and translations without interrupting listening.
A seamless, interactive experience that supports both passive and active learning.
Tools that allow repetition and practice to solidify understanding.
Structuring the Experience
To ensure a seamless user experience, I conducted card sorting exercises during the interviews. Participants were asked to categorize related features based on their expectations.
Refining the Identity: Crafting a Functional and Accessible Style Guide
Colors:
Bookzyfa already had an established blue brand color, which was recognizable and aligned with its identity. Instead of introducing a new color scheme, I focused on enhancing accessibility and contrast by adding shades and tints of the existing blue. This approach ensured better readability, improved UI hierarchy, and a more inclusive experience for all users while maintaining the brand’s visual consistency.
Typography:
For the project, we selected Inter as the primary typeface. Its modern, clean, and highly legible design provides a seamless reading experience, ensuring both elegance and functionality. The type scale was carefully chosen to maintain clarity across different text sizes, enhancing readability for both content-heavy sections and interactive elements within the app.
Wireframing for Clarity: Enhancing Discovery & Navigation
During the wireframing stage, our key question was: How can we create a better experience for users to find what they’re looking for especially on the home screen? As one of the most important screens, the home needed to be intuitive, engaging, and efficient in guiding users toward their desired content.
Initially the home screen meant to serve as the explore page as well; meaning user's were supposed to use the search button to find the designated filters and categories. But after testing with users, I found out most users struggled to to explore this way and they preferred a separate explore page.
One major challenge was that users needed a clear way to see recommendations while also being able to search for a specific title effortlessly. To address this, we introduced a dedicated “Explore” screen, which provided:
Advanced search functionality for quick access to specific audiobooks.
Filters and categories to help users refine their selections by genre, difficulty level, and relevance.
A structured layout for recommendations, ensuring that suggestions felt relevant rather than overwhelming.
Flow
Bringing It All Together
Home Screen:
Includes app's suggestions and new, top audiobooks
Explore Screen:
Shows books based on categories. It also includes a search box to look for any book or genre.
Advanced Search:
Clicking on filters would bring a filter panel.
Filter Panel:
By using these filters, user can adjust the explore screen's results based on language, Level, and category.
Bringing It All Together
Recommendations:
Home screen offers audiobook recommendations based on user's previous readings and interests.
Reader:
By clicking on the "read" button, user can open up the text while the audiobook is being played, to follow along easily.
In-app dictionary:
Long press click on a word would trigger the dictionary where user can understand the meaning without leaving the app, as well as, adding the new word to their lists if needed.
Lessons from the Journey
Asking the Right Questions
For me, it has always been crucial to design surveys and interviews without bias. Instead of shaping questions to confirm a specific hypothesis, I focused on uncovering real user needs and struggles. This approach allowed me to understand not just what users wanted, but why they needed it, leading to more impactful design decisions or a whole new approach.
Thinking Beyond Limits
This project reinforced the importance of thinking outside the box and exploring new possibilities rather than being confined by existing solutions. Instead of simply refining what was available, we reimagined how learners engage with audiobooks to create a more effective experience. And instead of being limited to current audiobook and e-readers, we can go beyond and think something in between.
Embracing User Testing & Iteration
One of the biggest takeaways was the value of continuous testing and iteration. It became clear that getting too attached to an initial design can slow progress. Real-world feedback often challenges assumptions, and by staying flexible, we were able to make meaningful improvements based on actual user behavior.
What if
No limitation
With no constraints, I would have added AI-driven recommendations based on past books, user's level, and the vocabulary category the user has most trouble with.
Retention
The existing website is a normal e-commerce website, providing users with audiobooks and podcasts, without any tools to help their learning journey. It would have been nice to see the user retention before and after the app design; to see how much the tools provided for the users have impacted their engagement. And how much of a return was made by their app investment.
