Storybook

CONSULTANT AND DESIGN LEAD

Redesigning a content-heavy wellness app for discovery, engagement, and retention.

THE CHALLENGE

Storybook had clinically sound content created with sleep experts and child psychologists, impressively proven effective in research settings. But most users were abandoning before experiencing the value. Storybook didn't understand why, or what to do about it.

Storybook Today screen at night, greeting the parent with "Good night!" over an illustrated campsite, above shortcut circles and recently played stories.

Wellness score screen showing a child's score of 6 with areas to improve.

Explore with the Subject filter sheet open over the story library.

Story detail page for Elephant & the Turtle with benefits and age guidance.

Story player showing where to massage, with playback controls.

End-of-story screen awarding a First Story badge.

HOW MIGHT WE

How might we redesign Storybook so users could experience what resonates faster and stick around longer?

THE TASK AT HAND

What we were solving for

Wayfinding. Users couldn't navigate to content that felt relevant to their situation.

Personalization. The experience felt generic, not tailored to a user's specific needs.

Navigation. The existing nav didn't match actual user jobs or mindsets.

Content programs. No structured pathways, just a library to browse.

The original app's Music tab, "Soothing music for your child" over a list of tracks.

The original welcome screen, "Welcome to Storybook", with create account and login.

The original story library, "Let's read a story for Jiminey", with search and filter.

The original Filters panel, listing options by area, benefits, topic and age.

The original Sessions tab showing one collection in progress and other collections.

The original set-up form asking for the child's name and date of birth.

THE INITIAL DESIGN, BEFORE THE REDESIGN

UNDERSTAND

A proper research effort to ground us

Conducted 1-on-1 interviews at the start and end of a two-week diary study

Had participants use the product over a full free trial period, completing usage surveys throughout

Ran live product walkthroughs where users showed us exactly where they got stuck

Research synthesis board grouping findings under Usage and Who is this for, with colour-coded notes on filters, massage instructions, set-up and bonding.

COLLABORATIVE SYNTHESIS

Turning research into direction

Ran a half-day design workshop with the Storybook team:

Reviewed research findings together

Co-authored "How Might We" statements

Generated ideas through Crazy-8s sketching

Defined specific focus areas for the redesign

The workshop board: agenda, participants, high-level findings by theme, survey results, How Might We statements and Crazy-8s.

Crazy-8s sketches exploring how to show progress — streaks, sleep journals, stats, a happy scale and challenges.

Crazy-8s sketches exploring check-ins — "Ready for sleep?", morning follow-ups, sleep trackers and behaviour ratings.

CONTENT DISCOVERY

Rebuilding the taxonomy from scratch

Audited all existing content and evaluated old categories against research findings

Ran card sorting exercises with real users to understand how they'd naturally categorize content

Created a new, flexible content taxonomy organized by user need in the moment, not just content type

Built an Explore experience with multiple discovery modes: text search, by content type, by subject, by personalized need

Improved content detail pages so both parents and kids could make informed selections

Massage with Stories, with the Subject filter sheet open.

Massage with Stories browsing by subject, with filter chips across the top.

Playlists — curated groups of content to make storytime simple.

Search results for "Elephant", showing one matching story.

Empty search state for "Monkey", suggesting other stories to try.

Story detail for Elephant & the Turtle, with tags, benefits and age guidance.

NAVIGATION & HIERARCHY

Nav that reflects how users actually think

Reorganized the navigation using language that matched real user jobs and mindsets:

Today. Content relevant to your activity and preferences

Explore. Full content library with relevant filters and easy-to-browse categories

Favorites. Saved content

Programs. Packaged, multi-day content journeys

Previous nav used vague category labels that meant nothing to users in the moment.

Today screen with recently played stories and recommended programs, and the four-tab nav along the bottom.

PERSONALIZATION

Personal from the first minute

A short assessment about the child returns a wellness score and recommended content before asking for an account. Progress lives on the profile, so parents can see if it's working.

Assessment question asking how often the child was irritable over the last two weeks, with four answers.

Wellness score of 6 with the areas to improve and content recommended for them.

Account set-up, offered only after the score.

Subscription screen with annual and monthly plans and a 7-day free trial.

DAY MODE

Good morning, too

A light mode for daytime use, with the same structure and a brighter palette.

Today in light mode, "Good morning!", with a 7 Days to Sounder Sleep card and recently played stories.

Explore in light mode, with search, content type cards and browse by subject.

Massage with Stories in light mode, with filter chips and story cards.

Programs in light mode, showing collections of stories.

THE STORY EXPERIENCE

Guided, gentle, and worth coming back to

Short guidance before the first story, a player that shows exactly where to massage, and a badge at the end that invites a repeat, music, or a favorite.

Onboarding screen, "Start slow and gentle", illustrating how to begin a massage.

End-of-story screen awarding a badge and offering to repeat, continue with music, or favorite.

WHAT I LEARNED

Content discovery is multi-modal. "Search" and "browse" are not the same thing. Users in different mindsets need different entry points into a content library.

Taxonomies should flex with the user. The most effective libraries feel like they reorganize themselves around your current need, not around the product's internal structure.

Navigation language is not a branding moment. It's a clarity moment. Use the words your users actually say.

RESULTS