Literal

I redesigned the reading experience for an EdTech platform serving 800K+ students nationwide, transforming how Gen Z engages with digital books by identifying key engagement barriers and rethinking how students discover and consume content.
IMPACT
Redesigned the reader experience tailored to Gen Z reading habits Rebuilt the browse experience to reduce friction between discovery and commitment Designed a full component library covering buttons, navigation, dropdowns, and iconography Alpha pilot showed reading completion up 7% and session time up 11 minutes
Timeline
6 months (Sep 2020 - Feb 2021)
ROLE
Product designer
COLLABORATORS
Lawton Smith
CEO, Product
Michael Romrell
CTO, Engineering lead
Ricardo Cotillo
Software engineer
Acacia Fante
Area partner manager
THE INSIGHT

Gen Z isn’t reading less — they’re reading differently.

Between TikTok, texting, and other social media, students are used to consuming information in short, interactive bursts — not sitting down with long-form text. Literal had 800K+ students on the platform, but engagement data revealed a problem: students were scrolling through books without actually reading.

TikTok

iMessage

THE OPPORTUNITY

Transform Literal into an immersive and intuitive experience that keeps students engaged in reading.

WHAT WE HEARD

Reading on Literal feels sterile and disengaging.

After interviewing 50 middle and high school students, a pattern emerged: Literal needed to feel more interactive & social like the apps students are already using but missed the mark when it came to execution.

The existing experience was wildly inconsistent and hard to use.

The PWA had been built fast with cluttered layouts, poor contrast, inconsistent components, and a browse experience with no true discovery mechanic. Students weren't disengaged because they didn't want to read — the product made reading feel like work.

PWA had major issues in visual consistency, accessibility, and interaction design
Reader (desktop)
Browse page
THE APPROACH

Redesigning around two experiences

I reorganized the platform around the two moments that determine whether a student engages with a book at all: finding one worth reading, and actually getting through it.

Readability

How students move through the content and consume text

Discoverability

How students explore books and content that feel worth reading

Readability

A reading experience designed for focus

The new reader transforms traditional text into a conversational format that matches how students already consume content.

The reader adapts to every book — colors, mood, and atmosphere shift dynamically to match the story.

DISCOVERABILITY

Built for the way students browse

Students wouldn't engage with books that felt like assignments. Redesigning the discovery experience around familiar streaming conventions like cinematic covers and personalized recommendations reduced the barrier between curiosity and commitment.

IMPACT

Reading more, dropping off less

Alpha testing showed the redesign moving in the right direction — reading completion increased from 25% to 32% and average session time grew from 17 to 28 minutes over a 1-month pilot in Utah.

While engineering constraints prevented a full rollout, the pilot results validated the core design hypothesis: make reading feel less like work, and students will do more of it.

READING COMPLETION

32% ← 25%

of assigned reading completed

AVG. SESSION TIME

28 min ← 17 min

per reading session

Captured over a 1-month pilot window

Let's make some magic ✧

Film+

Feel free to hit my line if you want to chat — from design technology to French house music. I'm always excited to exchange new ideas with fellow creatives.

Slices of life taken on traditional film and my Fuji X100VI.

Find some time together  ↓
hey.brandonngo@gmail.com
LinkedInMediumResume

Say hello

Film+

Feel free to hit my line if you want to chat — from design technology to French house music. I'm always excited to exchange new ideas with fellow creatives.
Slices of life taken on traditional film and my Fuji X100VI.
Find some time together  ↓
hey.brandonngo@gmail.com
LinkedIn
Medium
Resume