Miolo

Book Tracking App · UX/UI Design · Mobile

UX Research UI Design Mobile AI Features Prototype Ready

Role

Co-Designer

Collaboration

Lana Dandara

Platform

iOS & Android

Status

Prototype Ready

Miolo — shelf, filter, and book detail screens

The problem

Book lovers in Brazil have nowhere that truly feels like theirs. Goodreads is cluttered and Amazon-driven. Skoob is functional but buggy. StoryGraph is clean but cold. People were stitching together their reading lives across TikTok, Notion, and Instagram just to track books and find their next read.

My role

I co-designed this project with Lana Dandara across the full process — from survey design and research synthesis through competitor analysis, persona definition, and a fully interactive Figma prototype.

Process

01 — Research

Survey with readers

We ran a survey shared across TikTok and social media. The data revealed this wasn't a feature problem: it was an emotional one. The highest-intensity pain points were about forgetting: forgetting what a book made them feel, losing that connection over time.

User Research · 26 respondents

Pain points & intensity

Survey distributed via TikTok and social media. Pain points ranked by frequency and emotional weight.

Forgetting book details & emotions “I can't remember why I loved it.”
High
92%
Poor personalised recommendations “Recommend based on me, not lists.”
High
85%
Cluttered, unfriendly interfaces “Skoob is too much manual effort.”
High
77%
No centralised note system “My notes are scattered everywhere.”
Med-High
65%
Difficulty logging reflections regularly “I forget to log after finishing.”
Med-High
58%
Lack of reading stats & insights “I want a Spotify Wrapped for books.”
Medium
46%
Social & emotional disconnection “I want to share with people like me.”
Medium
38%

Source: Miolo reader survey · 26 respondents · distributed via TikTok & social media · 2024

02 — Personas

3 reader profiles, 1 primary target

We mapped three personas — Casual, Habitual, and Avid Reader — and designed primarily for Luisa, 25–35, who reads 1–2 books a month and wants tools that feel personal rather than clinical.

03 — Benchmark

5 competitors across 14 dimensions

We analysed Goodreads, StoryGraph, Skoob, LibraryThing, and Fable. The opportunity was clear: no one was doing private-first journaling, warm UX, and emotionally intelligent recommendations at the same time.

Feature strength comparison

Rated across Review & Notes, Discovery & Recs, UI/UX Design, Content Warnings, Personalization, Progress Tracking, and Social Features.

Radar chart — feature strength by competitor

Products

GoodreadsBroad social graph, thin everywhere else. The incumbent shape.
StoryGraphOwns content warnings and personalization; weakest on social.
SkoobCommunity-led, regionally strong, light on discovery.
LibraryThingCataloguing depth in review and notes; dated interface.
FableNear-full coverage, only content warnings trail the field.

04 — Design & prototype

Full interactive prototype in Figma

Five main sections: Shelf, Journal, Discover, Insights, and Profile. The AI layer surfaces recommendations by mood and trope — not genre alone. Warm coral and cream palette, Nunito for UI, Crimson Text for journal entries.

Miolo — Shelf, Journal, Discover, Insights, and Profile screens

Key decisions

Key decision 01

Private-first by default

Every competitor defaults to public. We flipped that — your journal is yours, and sharing is always a conscious opt-in.

Key decision 02

Mood & trope discovery

Genre filters are too blunt. Users can ask for "a sweet but sad road trip romance with a dog" and actually get something that fits.

Miolo — community, review, and reflection flow

“I want to remember what I thought about each book, not just that I read it.”

Outcome

A fully interactive prototype covering all five app sections, a complete design system, and a brand identity built for the Brazilian market. The product is currently in the investment phase.

Tools: Figma · FigJam · Google Forms

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