So, I got this design challenge with a really interesting prompt. The business goal was to increase daily engagement with Spotify Audiobooks by adding a social feature. I had 48 hours to come up with a solution. Here's how I broke it down.
Year: 2025
First Question: What does "social" even mean for audiobooks?
Before I could design anything, I had to figure out how people were already being social with audiobooks. I didn't have time for formal interviews, so I went where people were already talking: Reddit. I spent a good amount of time digging through subreddits like r/audiobooks and r/books, just listening to the conversations.
What I found was pretty interesting:
→People want more than just passive listening. A lot of listeners are looking for ways to engage more deeply with what they're hearing through discussions and shared experiences.
→Social influence is a big deal. People are way more likely to try an audiobook if it's recommended by a community they trust.
→Multitasking is key. Most people listen to audiobooks while doing other things, like commuting or exercising, so any social feature has to be low-effort.
→Online communities are already filling this gap. The fact that entire subreddits and book club sites exist proves there's a real demand for social interaction around audiobooks.
Okay, so who are we building for?
To help me make sense of all this research, I did something a bit resourceful. I took all the comments and themes I found and used ChatGPT to help me distil them into three user personas. It felt like all those real comments were being brought to life in these characters:
→Emily, the social listener: She wants a dedicated space to discuss books and feels more connected to a story when she can share it with others. Her biggest pain point is that conversations are fragmented across too many different platforms.
→Phil, the multitasker: He listens while doing other things and doesn't have time for long discussions, but he still enjoys quick, bite-sized engagement like polls or highlights.
→Sara, the curious explorer: She finds new books through recommendations from real people on platforms like TikTok and Reddit, not from algorithms. She wants to feel part of a larger community of audiobook lovers.
Putting it all together, what's the core problem?
The big picture was crystal clear. As I wrote in my problem statement for the project: "Right now, listening to audiobooks on Spotify feels kinda lonely... People are already going to places like Reddit, Quora, and Discord... to talk about the books they love... But that means Spotify is missing out on a huge opportunity to bring that engagement into the app itself."
This all led me to my main question for the challenge:
"How might we create a social experience around audiobooks on Spotify that helps listeners connect, share, and discuss stories without disrupting their listening experience?"
The journey: from ideas to a decision
How do you come up with ideas under pressure?
With a clear question, it was time for ideas. I gave myself just 10 minutes for a rapid brainstorming session, putting as many ideas on digital sticky notes as I could; no filtering, just volume.
Then, to make sense of the chaos, I mapped all the ideas on a 2x2 Effort vs. Impact matrix. This is a great way to prioritise and see which ideas would give us the most value with the least friction.
Here's a quick summary of where things landed:
→High Impact, Low Effort: A "Social talks" tab for each book, a "Trending books" feed, and curated lists.
→High Impact, High Effort: Full-blown book clubs, a social discovery section on the homepage, and listening parties.
→Low Impact, Low Effort: Simple emoji reactions to chapters.
→Low Impact, High Effort: Chapter reflections and shareable audio clips.
Making the tough call: What to build in 48 hours?
Looking at the matrix, I had to make a pragmatic decision. The "Bookclubs" idea was amazing, but way too high-effort for a 2-day challenge. The winner from the "High Impact, Low Effort" quadrant was clear: the
"Social talks in audiobook page".
It was the perfect fit. It added a meaningful social layer, it felt simple and familiar (like a forum), and it was realistic to design in the time I had. It was the best way to increase daily usage and give us real data to prioritise other ideas in the future.
The Solution: "Book Talk"
My final design was simple and integrated directly into the existing Spotify UI. When you're on an audiobook's page, alongside the existing tabs ("About," "Chapters"), there's a new one:
"Book talk".
I thought of it like a mini, built-in book club, a space where you can read or join community discussions and threads about the book, all right alongside the listening experience.
To get there, I started with some quick hand-drawn sketches in my notebook to explore the layout before jumping into high-fidelity designs in Figma.
What a 48-hour whirlwind taught me
Doing this challenge in just 48 hours really pushed me to prioritise clarity over perfection. At first, it felt a little chaotic, but as I went on, I started letting go of the noise and narrowing the scope to make sure I could actually finish.
Sketching on paper with my phone in hand was a huge help to keep things focused and grounded before going into high-fidelity work. I was ambitious and wanted to build a full prototype, but designing the screens took longer than I thought, so I created a clear screen flow instead, a smart trade-off, I think.
There are still small details that tug at my designer heart, but I've learned that nothing is ever truly finished. If you notice any tiny imperfections, just know they're a reflection of limited time, not a lack of care. I truly enjoyed this challenge; it was intense but a lot of fun!
