Graduation Document - Srishti Verma I 2022

loud

blogs

An app for creators and listeners

Copyright © 2022 Student document publication, meant for private circulation only.

All rights reserved.

No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, xerography, photography and videography recording without the written permission from the publisher, Srishti Verma and Anant National University.

All illustrations and photographs in this document are Copyright © 2022 by respective people/organizations.

Designed and edited by: Srishti Verma Email: srishtiverma2000@gmail.com Processed at: Anant National University (AnantU), Sanskardham Campus Bopal-Ghuma-Sanand Road Ahmedabad 382115 Gujarat, India www.anu.edu.in Printed digitally in Ahmedabad, India May 2022

Exploring the world of

Reading and User Experiences

SRISHTI VERMA

UG PRODUCT DESIGN

GRADUATION PROJECT I 2022

Originality Statement

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and it contains no full or substantial copy of previously published material or does not even contain substantial proportions of material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this graduation project.

Moreover, I also declare that none of the concepts is borrowed or copied without due acknowledgement. I further declare that the intellectual content of this Capstone project is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. This Capstone project (or part of it) was not and will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.

Student Name: Signature: Date:

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Copyright Statement

I hereby grant Anant National University the right to archive and to make available my Capstone Project Report in whole or in part in the University Library in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act. I have either used no substantial portions of the copyrighted material in my document or I have obtained permission to use copyright material.

Student Name: Signature: Date:

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Introduction

Context Study

Market Research

Design Research

Investigation & Analysis

Acknowledgements

Reading

Competitor Analysis

Affinity Mapping

Preface

Audiobooks

User Centered Design Canvas

List of all the Possible Questions Questionnaire for Survey Conduction & Interviews

User Personas

About AnantU Product Design at AnantU The Journey of Taking Charge of a Personal Project

Survey Interviews

Project Guide

Closing the Survey & Interview Round

About Me

Discussion

Why this Project

Field Study

Project Brief

Extracting Pain Points from the Existing Apps

Project Timeline Sector Timeline

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Analysis

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6

7

8

9

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Detailed Design Brief

Design Development

Creating Design Systems

‘Loud Blogs’ The App

Epilogue

The Design Brief

User Task Flow

Typography

The App

Critical Reflection

Information Architecture

Colour Scheme

App Features

Way Forward

Customer Journey Mapping

Components

The Flow of the App

Image Credits

Hand Sketch Concept

Illustrations

Prototyping

Bibliography

User Interface Development (Building of Wireframes)

Branding

Revenue Model Study Revenue Model of the App Mood Boards Typography, Visual Drawings & Color Iterations The Design (Screen Design) Feedbacks from Professionals Audio Recording Experimentation Design Detailing

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Acknowledgements

I would like to take a moment to thank the people who helped me at different stages of this project. Firstly I would like to thank my parents for their constant support in all aspects of my life. Also for the support, they provided throughout the course of this project. I would like to thank my guide Professor Puneet Chhikara for encouraging and guiding me throughout the project.

Without the critical feedback and crucial insights, this project couldn’t bloom. I would like to thank the people with whom I connected through multiple platforms for the project. Without their valuable feedback, it would have not been possible to come this far.

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I feel privileged to have known an exceptional faculty and my Project Guide, Puneet Chhikara, and would like to thank him for his ever-insightful feedback, motivation and guidance. I would also like to thank Prof. Bhaskar Bhatt, Prof. Parth Raval, Prof. Milind Chitale and other Product Design faculties for sharing their knowledge and feedback through the years.

I would like to express my affection and appreciation for my PD’18 batchmates for sharing the steep learning curve on my design journey and making it such an enriching and memorable experience.

I would like to express my love for everyone who became a part of this journey. I would not be anywhere close to where I am now without their unwavering support.

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Preface

As part of the AnantU curriculum all eighth semester students of the Bachelors Programmes are required to complete the Graduation project, which is a full scale project in the industry. Graduation project is of 4-6 months duration where students have to undertake a project and are expected to generate a professional output with market application and implementation capabilities.

I did a self-sponsored graduation project for 5 months. This document is a comprehensive record of the work carried out from the initial stages to the final solution.

This project exposes the student to a real-time scenario of an industry and helps to understand the constraints and limitation of the industry. It makes them capable to work in those situations with maximum efficiency and to generate outputs according to industry requirements. This helps in understanding the role of a designer in the industry, which is not only restricted to design but also coordinating with various departments together to get the best out of it. It also helps the students in recognizing their strengths and weaknesses.

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introduction This section outlines the background for the content of the project and the context in which it was undertaken. It also briefly explains the timeline and design process.

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About Anant National University Anant National University is a private university located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was established in 2016 by the Laxman Gyanpith Trust through The Gujarat Private Universities Act, 2016. The University offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in design, architecture, and built environment.

AnantU philosophy presents design as a solution to the challenges of humanity. It underlines the contribution of the center, head, and hand as symbols of attitude, knowledge, and skills toward making the answer elegant and sustainable.

Heart: This represents a meaningful engagement with issues that make us human and is reflected in activities, projects, and initiatives associated with sustainability, temperature change, poverty alleviation, heritage conservation, rural livelihoods, etc.

Head: This represents a deep engagement with the cognitive component of design reflected in extensive theoretical inputs through seminar courses besides an interdisciplinary approach to style education.

Hand: This represents activities that are distributed by our hands and emphasizes the concept that dirtying our hands is critical to be told and grow. It’s evidenced in activities at Makerspace, studio-based courses and within the institutional culture of learning by doing.

The University has taken steps to integrate the New Education Policy 2020 into the curriculum and pedagogy. AnantU aspires to become a site for excellence by fostering interdisciplinary programs building on its multidisciplinary course offerings. AnantU aims to deliver an inclusive pedagogy that’s socially engaged. the expansion are going to be relevant, innovative, and inspirational.

AnantU hopes to balance the role of conceptual and applied research in improving practice and making it contextual.

AnantU has strong partnerships with leading institutes and universities round the world.

These top institutions work with AnantU to supply faculty and student exchange opportunities, and partner in joint research and curriculum innovation.

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Product Design at AnantU Strategic problem-solving processes, innovation, entrepreneurship, and designing user-centric products form the crux of the program. Product design students learn to style innovative products, systems, services, and experiences that promote impact through design.

The program educates designers about prevalent global problems and encourages them to propose path-breaking solutions. It facilitates personal development and allows students to explore practical design solutions through learning-by-doing modules.

Product Design is a strategic problem-solving process that drives innovation, builds business success, and ends up in an improved quality of life through innovative products, systems, services, and experiences. The program promotes impact through design. It educates designers to not only solve today’s problems but also propose new ways for the long run.

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The Journey Of Taking Charge Of a Personal Project “First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.” ~ Aristotle It’s been a long journey of five months of having multiple overwhelming emotions that included excitement, energized, breakdowns, failures but in the end success. The beginnings are always beautiful because you are electrified with the work you are going to deal with. But as you go deep into it things start to form a web structure wherein it becomes difficult yet exciting to make a straight thread from it. For me, I really enjoyed doing research on macro and micro levels and it pushed me to think through certain things which used to be back-breaking at times but I learned a lot from it and now I can actually say that I have a piece of great knowledge about my topic and its history.

The designing part was daunting at first because I’ve never handled a project on my own before but this time I got the chance to take full charge of it and this is how it opened many avenues for me to learn new and different things. I struggled a lot during my design iteration stage but then I had an amazing mentor Professor Puneet Chhikara who guided me throughout and helped me discover my real talent for designing user experiences for the users. I also came across many young professional people who belonged to different roles in the industry from whom I got to learn a lot and eventually helped me in making my design worthy enough to launch for my targetted user group.

In the end, I want to conclude by saying no matter how slow or fast walker you are if you know how to reach your destination on time and what things you should be taking care of you’ll definitely get there. So, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who became a part of my journey and supported me throughout because it wouldn’t be possible without them. Forever grateful.

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Project Guide Puneet Chhikara is an Assistant Professor at Anant National University. His professional interest areas include Product Design, User Experience Design and Design Futures. He aims to, and works towards, contributing to a future where design education leads to improvement in the quality of physical and digital product experiences in our daily lives.

He is an alumnus of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, where he did his post graduation in Product Design. He also holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Rajasthan University in Mechanical Engineering.

He is passionate about designing meaningful products, systems, and experiences and likes to work at the intersection of design and technology. In the past, he has collaborated with the design teams of Microsoft, Adobe, Samsung R&D and Studio 5B for several projects. He has also worked as a Design Engineer with Larsen and Toubro, for over four years. In his leisure time, he loves to travel, experiment with new technology, and read about Indic history, traditions, and knowledge systems.

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About Me I am an undergraduate student of Product Design at Anant National University, Ahmedabad. I strive to create products, services, and user experiences for targeted users through knowledge gained over the past four years. Challenges in the design vertical helped me to be a collaborative worker and understand the in-depth as well as look for solutions. I’m a quick learner, diligent and enthusiastic to join an organization that can improve my productivity and enables me to lead the projects being an asset to them.

I find User Experience Design a growing field and I feel being a product designer I can apply my product thinking to the UI part more effectively. Tech is changing the world.

Everyone is talking about digital products.

I feel one can focus on people while still working within the tech industry because it’s the future.

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“The only real training for leadership is leadership.”

Antony Jay

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Why this Project?

Audiobooks have a great and long history but still even now not a lot of people use them because of various reasons. And this is where I found the scope for design intervention at some point or the other. My passion for reading since childhood evoked the inner reader in me to design an experience where the user doesn’t always have to sit and read rather they can opt for listening to their favourite reading and can multitask.

The idea came into existence to create a platform that is an idea similar to audiobook creation where creators can read from books and can record them and publish the same for the audience. The research was carried for it and certain gaps were noticed which the audiobook category faces:

And this is where the idea of audio blogging came into existence. So as to make it a listening habit in people and make the usage more frequent something can be done around the concept similar to the Instagram reels where the creator creates 30 - 60 sec videos and publish them on the app to gain likes, views, and comments.

Although people love to listen to audiobooks for multiple reasons but due to the long duration, their usage time decreases to either 45 mins/day or used during evening walks as it helps to multitask or it’s used twice or thrice a month. Plus a normal layman cannot record an audiobook due to copyright issues and it takes a lot of time, effort, and money to create the same.

An idea similar to this can be considered where in this new app the creator will create audios based on their interest area whose time limit will be a minimum of 3 minutes and the maximum can go up to 15 - 20 minutes.

The main concept is to convert the readable blogs and writings into audio to give rise to a completely new platform for the listening community and the procedure to make it will be effortless. There are also other features available on the app you can create your own genre category, download for free & listen at your own comfort, and lastly based on the listener and creator activities the incentivization will be given to both the participants.

As a solution, the decision was made to make an audio blogging app for which currently there’s no competitor in the market and also due to various multiple reasons that were received as insights from the research: According to the insights, there’s a very less population who’s aware of the audiobooks industry. Besides audiobooks, people prefer to listen to podcasts, music, and love to read blogs and other reading material.

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Project Brief

Developing a mobile experience where users can publish their recorded written blogs in their own voice on the platform.

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Discovery + Quantitative Research Qualitative Research + Analysis Concept Development + Ideation (Lo-fi Wireframing) Hifi Screens + Visual Design Branding Prototyping Documentation

Actual Timeline: The bar containing different shades of grey depicts the duration of each phase.

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JUNE

MAY

APR

MAR

FEB

JAN

Project Timeline

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Sector Timeline Discovery + Quantitative Research

Qualitative Research

Analysis

Concept Development + Ideation (Lo-fi Wireframing)

Hifi Screens + Visual Design

Branding

Prototyping

Documentation

1. Importance of Reading 2. What are Audiobooks?

3. Origin and History 4. Usage in Current Time 5. Instagram Algorithm for Reels 6. Audiobooks in India 7. Copyright Research 8. How to Create at Home 9. Competitor Benchmarking 10. UX Canvas 11. How to Share 12. Audiobooks Creation in India

1. Survey 2. Interviews 3. Public Library Visit 4. Tracing Pain Points from Audible & Spotify App 5. Insights Gathering through Affinity Mapping

1. User Personas 2. Gap Identification 3. Key Insights

1. User Journey Mapping 2. User Task Flow 3. Information Architecture 4. Lo-fi Versions of the App 5. Moodboards

1. Hi-fi Screens Design 2. Designing Systems 3. App Outlook Finalization

1. App Branding

1. App Prototyping 1. Gathering Data in a Presentation 2. Audio Format Recording Experimentation

Actual Timeline. It depicts what subcategories need to be worked on in every major sector.

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context study

This section involved qualitative and quantitative research by understanding the micro and macro levels by conducting surveys, stakeholder interviews, competitor analysis and user interviews.

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Reading Why Reading is Important in our Life ?

“There is no friend as loyal as a book”, said American author Ernest Hemingway. Books fire up your imagination, provide solace in times of grief, and open up your world.

What are reading skills?

Reading can cause you to be a stronger writer and speaker. If you select the acceptable reading skill, it’ll enhance the reading process and facilitate the achievement of your goal.

1. Extensive reading skill - called reading for pleasure. there’s no expectation from the reader here and you’ll understand the meaning of words through context.

2. Intensive reading - you’ve got to pay complete attention to each word and understand it fully. This method would take much longer to read, but the comprehension of the text would be much higher.

4. Skimming & Scanning - after you want to travel over information quickly, you utilize these methods.

It all depends on a method of reading something and also the outcome one wishes to induce from it that’s why choosing the appropriate thanks to reading can facilitate your get maximum benefit.

3. Critical reading - helps analyze and question the assumptions within the text. It enables you to make your own conclusions.

Credit: Olha Kostiuk, Largest size: Vector (EPS) – Scalable to any size Stock illustration ID: 1159363620, Upload date: July 01, 2019

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The importance of reading Reading enhances our life in several ways:

3. Finding yourself:

1. Exercises your mind:

Books open up your visions to newer worlds.

They need the potential to broaden your perspective, shape your attitude towards others and life, and open you up to new ways of thinking. It helps shape your identity. after you read, you choose who you would like to become. You borrow bits from fictional characters you care for and take a look at them to inculcate those positive attitudes in yourself.

One of the benefits is that it engages various parts of your brain. While reading you’re exercising your comprehension abilities and analytical abilities. It fires up your imagination and stimulates the memory centres of your mind. Helps in recalling the information and likewise stabilizes emotions.

It’s one of the simplest workouts by strengthening your mental muscles. It’s been found that regular mental stimulation can cut down and possibly even prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia because it keeps the mind agile and young.

2. The role of reading skills in communication: Reading improves your expressive style and flow. Writers learn to perfect their craft by taking inspiration from other writers. It’s impossible to be a decent writer if you don’t read.

Another vital role of reading skills in communication is perfecting your oratory skills. Reading teaches you new words and perspectives. It helps strengthen language and sharpens structure. It gives you a far better command of the language. All of those are critical to being a decent speaker.

4. Becoming a well-read individual: Before the net, books were the sole source of information and knowledge. It’s a collective wisdom of our times. The more you read, the more you may study the planet and its people.

One of the good benefits of reading is that it helps you evolve your understanding of the globe.

5. Keeping calm & entertained: Books are an ideal shake reality. They will cheer you up when you’re down, motivate you when you’re sad, and even keep you company when everybody else is busy. One of the advantages is that it relaxes your mind and body. You recharge your energy levels much faster once you read. It’s the simplest thanks to ending the day on a peaceful note. it should even facilitate your going to sleep much faster.

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Advantages of reading 1. Improves your thinking skills & analytical abilities: Reading sends your analytical and critical thinking abilities into hyperdrive. Each book becomes a puzzle your mind races to solve and with each book, it keeps improving its score. Somehow, your mind works faster when you read.

2. Helps you block out the noise: Doing multiple activities at one time reduces focus and lowers productivity levels. But when you read a book, all your attention is focused.

The importance of reading in this digital age cannot be overstated. It is perhaps the only way left to improve focus and attention.

3. Helps master a language: When you learn through stories, you learn much faster. Learning about words through context is one of the most organic ways to understand their meaning and improve your vocabulary. This also helps gain knowledge about colloquial terms.

4. Connecting with others: Books can always be great conversation starters to bond with new people because readers have multiple stories to tell and share which also makes you the center of attention due to the knowledge you’ve gained while reading.

5. Keeps you grounded: It’s a constant exercise in humility. The more you read, the more you realize how much you haven’t. That reminds you of how much further you still need to go. Each book reminds you of how limited your knowledge is. Readers are friendlier and more accepting of others.

They are always helpful as they know they too are still a work in progress. Its benefits make reading a non-negotiable habit. A book can be many different things. It can be a guide when you are lost. It can be a companion when you feel alone.

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6. Helps you discover yourself: Every Bible parades new dimensions of thoughts for the reader. After you read, you somehow attempt to connect the events, emotions, experiences, and characters within the books with yourself. This not only keeps you engrossed within the book but also causes you to realize how you’d feel and react to those situations that haven’t yet occurred in your life. It helps you broaden your dimensions of likes and dislikes.

7. Imparts valuable lessons from years of experiences: Books aren’t written every day. To write, it takes plenty of toil, understanding, experiences, knowledge, and in many cases lots of pain to return up with one book. But we as a reader get to read them in barely weeks or days thereby living years of experiences in considerably less time.

8. Reading improves your emotional health: Books can cause you to happy, sad, jealous, loved, betrayed, and so on! Books are thus an amalgamation of various mixed emotions that ultimately help us grow emotionally!

9. A good source of motivation: Life is hard. Sometimes there are moments in our life when we feel down and discouraged.

We may lose our hope and interest in life and want to abandon it. Reading an honest inspirational book during such a period can change our way of thinking and provides us hope and motivation.

10. Being lonely won’t bother you much: Books may be our greatest friends if we consider them to be so. They don’t complain, and nor do they need any demands. they’ll stick with you irrespective of what. you’ll carry them wherever you would like and skim them whenever you would like, provided you create time for reading.

https://www.freepik.com/vectors/bookcase

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What difference can someone make as a parent?

2 divisions why reading is important

1. Parents can make a large difference as they’re the foremost important educators during a child’s life - even more important than their teachers – and it’s never too early to start out reading together.

1. Reading to reinforce your knowledge about things.

2. Even before babies are born, they learn to acknowledge their parents’ voices. Reading to your baby from birth, even for just some minutes on a daily basis, gives them the comfort of hearing your voice and increases their exposure to the language.

- It’s fundamental to functioning in today’s society. There are many adults who cannot read tolerably to know the instructions on a medication bottle.

3. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a good range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding once they listen, which is important as they begin to read.

4. Whether or not a toddler doesn’t understand every word, they’re going to hear new sounds, words, and phrases which they’ll then try, copying what they need to hear.

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2. Capability to read to fulfil the minimum requirements of society. For example:

- Filling out applications becomes impossible without help. Reading road or warning signs is difficult.

- Day-to-day activities that several people reckon granted become a source of frustration, anger, and fear.

- It’s an important skill to find a decent job.

Many well-paying jobs require reading as an element of job performance. There are reports and memos which must be read and more established. Poor reading skills increase the amount of your time it takes to soak up and react within the workplace.

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Audiobooks Some great facts about audiobooks

What is an audiobook?

1. The audiobook market is growing at a rate of 30% p.a., which nearly quadruples the expansion rate for eBooks. in step with a fact, almost 1/2 of all Americans listened to an audiobook last year and also the audiobook market is sort of 3.5 billion dollars!

An audiobook (or called a talking book) may be a recording of a book or other work which is being read aloud. A reading of the entire text is described as “unabridged”, while readings of shorter versions are abridgments.

2. What do the statistics say about audiobooks?

- Audible said it already had “tens of thousands” of listeners who logged from India into the US website and mobile application to pay attention to its content. (EconomicTimes) - Association of American Publishers released a report on the audiobooks’ statistics; it witnessed the elevation of 32.1% of revenue, earned by publishers alone from audiobooks.

(Businessworld) - 57% of frequent audiobook listeners are under the age of 45. (Goodereader)

Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. It had been not until the 1980s that the medium began to draw in book retailers, then they started displaying audiobooks on bookshelves instead of in separate displays.

What are the differences between Audiobooks and Podcasts?

Audiobooks are already written books converted to audio. Their content is scripted and mostly released in an exceedingly single go, though it’s going to even be in serialized form. While podcasts are unscripted episodic content. The overlap lies only within the case of scripted serialized content which might be categorized as either of the two.

- The audiobook and podcast market is expected to grow by 25 to 30% compared with the general media and show business growth of just 4%, globally. (Financialexpress) https://www.straive.com/blogs/why-audiobooks-are-gaining-in-popularity

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Origin and history of audiobooks Origin

History

The term “talking book” came into existence within the 1930s with government programs designed for blind readers, while the term “audiobook” came into use during the 1970s when audiocassettes began to interchange records.

United States Beginnings to 1970

Later in 1994, the Audio Publishers Association established the term “audiobook” because of the industry standard.

Thomas Alva Edison was an inventor called the Wizard of Menlo Park. His favourite invention was the phonograph. He created some way to record sound on tinfoil cylinders by using two needles, one for recording and one for playback. The primary words that Edison recorded were “Mary Had a touch, Lamb.” Ten years later, in 1887, Edison formed the Edison Phonograph Company to sell the phonograph to the general public. This marked the start of the audio recording industry. The primary records sold by the Edison and Columbia Phonograph Companies were on wax cylinders.

Many short-spoken word recordings were sold on a cylinder within the late 1800s and early 1900s. The cylinder working is as follows:

Earlier the round cylinders were limited to about 4 minutes each but later became 12 minutes. By the 1930s close-grooved records increased to twenty minutes making possible an extended narrative.

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“The phonograph at home reading out a novel.”

From Daily Graphic (New York), 2 April 1878.

Photo of Edison with cylinder phonograph in 1878.

Black Wax Cylinder

Cylinder Containers

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Audiobooks first emerged in 1932 with the establishment of a studio by The American Foundation for the Blind, which created recordings of books on vinyl records. Both sides held about a quarter-hour of speech.

Initial recordings included William Shakespeare’s plays, The Constitution, and also the novel “As the world Turns” by Gladys Hasty Carroll. More recording companies slowly emerged, mostly to help the blind.

In 1955, the Listening Library became a significant distributor of recorded books. The audiobook took growth with cassette tapes within the 1960s and compact discs within the 1980s.

Stories of some pioneering and successful companies at that time: 1. The primary company dedicated to selling spoken work recordings to the general public and has been called the “seed” of the audiobook industry is understood by the name Caedmon Records. It was formed in ny in 1952 by college graduates Barbara Holdridge and Marianne Roney. Their first release was a group of poems by Thomas as read by the author.

2. Listening Library was another pioneering company that was the primary to distribute children’s audiobooks to varsities, libraries, and other special markets, including VA hospitals. It was founded by Anthony Ditlow who was partially and his wife in 1955 in their Red Bank, New Jersey home.

3. Another early pioneering company was Spoken Arts founded in 1956 by Arthur Luce Klein and his wife, they produced over 700 recordings and were best known for poetry and drama recordings employed in schools and libraries.

1970 to 1996 The beginning of the trendy retail marketplace for audiobooks was adopted into cassette tapes during the 1970s. Cassette tapes were invented in 1962 and few libraries just like the The Library of Congress began distributing books on cassette by 1969. However, during the 1970s, a variety of technological innovations allowed the creation of a brand new commercial audiobook market. These innovations included the introduction of the Walkman and therefore the widespread use of cassette decks in cars especially imported Japanese models.

In the early 1970s, instructional recordings were among the primary commercial products sold on cassettes. However, in libraries, most books on cassette were still made for the blind and handicapped but some new companies saw the chance for creating audiobooks for a wider audience, like voice Books which produced abridged best-sellers with professional actors.

Journey of audiobooks to form its place within the market: 1. In 1975, Olympic gold medalist Duvall Hecht founded the California-based Books on Tape

as a direct-to-consumer mail-order rental service for unabridged audiobooks which gained popularity with commuters and travellers.

2. In 1978, Henry Trentman, a travelling the salesman who listened to sales tapes while driving long distances had the thought to form quality unabridged recordings of classic literature read by professional actors.

3. In 1984, Brilliance Audio invented a technique for recording twice the maximum amount on the identical cassette thus with affordable unabridged editions.

4. By September 1985, Publishers Weekly identified twenty-one audiobook publishers.

These included new major publishers like Harper and Row, Random House, and Warner Communications.

5. 1986 has been identified because the turning point within the industry, the Audio Publishers Association, an expert non-profit trade association, was established by publishers who joined together to push awareness of spoken-word audio and supply industry statistics. Time-Life Club, Book-of-theMonth Club, History Book Club, Get Rich Club, Nostalgia Book Club, and also the Scholastic club began offering members audiobooks.

6. By the end of 1987, the audiobook market was estimated to be a $200 million market, and audiobooks on cassette were being sold in 75% of regional and independent bookstores surveyed by Publishers Weekly.

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7. By August 1988 there had been forty audiobook publishers, about fourfold as many as in 1984.

8. By the center of the 1990s, the audio publishing business grew to 1.5 billion dollars a year in retail value.

9. In 1996, the Audio Publishers Association established the Audie Awards for audiobooks, which is similar to the Oscar for the audiobook industry.

1996 to present The popularity of audiobooks increased during the late 1990s and 2000s thanks to technological advancement. In 1997, Audible pioneered the world’s first mass-market digital media player, named “The Audible Player”, it retailed for $200, held 2 hours of audio, and was touted as being “smaller and lighter than a Walkman”. Digital audiobooks were a big new milestone as they allowed listeners freedom from cassettes and CD-ROMs. Audible.com was the primary to ascertain an internet site, in 1998, from which digital audiobooks maybe purchased.

Another innovation was the creation of LibriVox in 2005 by Montreal-based writer Hugh McGuire. He began the creation of public domain audiobooks by volunteer narrators. By the end of 2021, LibriVox had a catalogue of over 16,870 works. The resurgence of audio storytelling is widely attributed to advances in mobile technologies like smartphones, tablets, and multimedia entertainment systems in cars.

Audio drama recordings are now podcasts over the net.

In 2018, approximately 50,000 audiobooks were recorded within the US with a sales growth of 20% year over year. U.S. audiobook sales in 2019 totalled 1.2 billion dollars,16% up from the previous year. Edison Research’s national survey of Yankee audiobook listeners found that the typical number of audiobooks listened to per annum increased to 8.1 in 2020, up from 6.8 in 2019.

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Germany

India

The evolution and use of audiobooks in Germany is closely almost like that of the US. An example of its use is the West German Audio Book Library for the Blind, founded in 1955. Actors from the municipal theatre in Münster recorded the primary audiobooks for the visually impaired. Later, texts were recorded by trained speakers in professional studios and distributed to users by mail. Until the 1970s recordings were on tape reels, later cassettes. Since 2004, the offerings are recorded within the DAISY Digital audio recording MP3 standard, which provides additional features for visually impaired users to both listen and navigate written language aurally.

Only by 2010 did audiobooks gain mainstream popularity within the Indian market. The marketing efforts and availability of Audiobooks have made India one of the fastest-growing audiobooks markets within the world. Business and Self Help books are more popular than fiction/non-fiction because the audiobooks are primarily seen as an avenue for self-improvement and education, instead of entertainment.

Audiobooks are being released in various Indian languages:

3. The National Association for Blind also has an intensive collection of books in audio format, but these are outside the commercial domain.

4. The following real evolution in audiobooks was within the type of cassette tapes, again in Marathi, with Babasaheb Purandare’s short stories set within the Shivaji-era and also the play Janata Raja.

5. The Chennai-based independent children’s publishing firm popularised audio storytelling by using film stars for voiceovers, but they’re not as active as they want to be.

1. In Malayalam, the primary audio novel, titled board, was released by Kathacafe in 2018.

2. Now Indian companies are working towards the audiobooks generation within the Indian vernacular languages. hear Stories by Sahitya Chintan is an android audiobook library with 1000+ Hindi audiobooks for free.

To access the whole catalogue nominal membership is Rs.199/ year for Indian audiobook listeners and $5.99/year for the remainder of the planet.

The West German Audio Book Library for the Blind

Cassettes make way for DAISY

The history of audiobooks in India: 1. The earliest instances of audiobooks in India were recordings played on popular Marathi radio channels and on All India Radio.

2. Murthy’s Kannada audio stories were popular for a long time.

Prakash Raj narrating Anita Nair’s story ‘Little Duck Girl’ for Storytel

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How are they produced or created?

Ideally, the narrator sits in a recording booth while a studio engineer and a director record and direct the performance. If a slip is created the recording is stopped and therefore the narrator reads it again. because of technological advancement, many audiobooks are now recorded in home studios by narrators working independently. Audiobooks produced by major publishing houses undergo a proofing and editing process after narration is recorded.

How much one is paid to create an audiobook?

1. Narrators are usually paid on a finished recorded hour basis, meaning if it took 20 hours to supply a 5-hour book, the narrator is got 5 hours, thus providing an incentive to not make mistakes. The general cost to provide an audiobook can vary, as longer books require more studio time and more well-known narrators come at a premium.

2. In keeping with a representative at Audible, the value of recording an audiobook has fallen from around US$25,000 within the late 1990s to around US$2,000-US$3,000 in 2014.

https://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/audiobook-creation-exchange-has-generated-160000-audiobooks

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Formats of producing audiobooks 1. A little number of books are recorded for broadcast, usually in abridged form and sometimes serialized.

2. Can even come as fully dramatized versions of the printed book, sometimes calling upon an entire cast, music, and sound effects. Effectively audio dramas, these audiobooks are referred to as full-cast audiobooks.

3. As audiobooks became more popular, there were debates to return up with an application to digest this medium. Audible is among the foremost used paid subscription platforms, with apps which will be downloaded on smartphones, iPads, desktops, and Kindle, but there also are many free applications through local library systems, like Hoopla and Overdrive.

https://gladreaders.com/why-are-audiobooks-so-expensive/

CD versions of audiobooks also are still sold and available in libraries, as are devices made specifically for audiobook reading.

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/2021/07/new-lord-of-the-rings-audiobook-with-andy-serkis/

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Why audiobooks are used?

Listening practices of audiobooks

Role of charitable and nonprofit organizations

1. Helps in teaching children to read and to increase reading comprehension.

1. Replaying: Depending upon one’s degree of attention and interest, it’s often necessary to concentrate on segments of an audiobook over once to permit the fabric to be understood and retained satisfactorily.

1. Learning Ally was founded in 1948 and serves over 3,00,000 K-12, college and graduate students, veterans, and lifelong learners – all of whom cannot read standard print thanks to blindness, visual disorder, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities.

Learning Ally’s collection of over 80,000 human-narrated textbooks and literature titles may be downloaded on mainstream smartphones and tablets and are the largest of their kind in the world.

2. Also useful for people with visual impairment.

3. Requested books are mailed out (at no cost) to clients.

4. About 40% of all audiobook consumption occurs through public libraries. Library download programs are currently experiencing zoom (more than 5,000 public libraries offer free downloadable audiobooks.

2. Learning: People may hear an audiobook (usually an unabridged one) while following along in an actual book. This helps them to be told words that they’ll not learn correctly if they were only to read the book. This could even be an awfully effective thanks to learning a brand new language.

3. Multitasking: Many audiobook listeners choose the format because it allows multitasking during otherwise mundane or routine tasks like exercising, crafting, or cooking.

4. Entertainment: Audiobooks became a preferred type of travel entertainment for families or commuters.

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2. Bookshare, founded in 2002 is a web library of computer-read audiobooks in accessible formats for people with print disabilities.

3. LibriVox founded in 2005 is additionally an internet library of downloadable audiobooks and a free non for profit organization developed by Hugh McGuire. It’s audiobooks typically in Western European languages.

4. Calibre Audio Library could be a UK charity providing a subscription-free service of unabridged audiobooks for people with sight problems, dyslexia, or other disabilities, who cannot read print. They need a library of over 8,550 fiction and non-fiction titles that may be borrowed.

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How has the audiobook industry evolved over time?

5. Listening Books could be a UK audiobook charity providing online streaming, download, and post to anyone who includes a disability or illness which makes it difficult to carry a book, turn its pages, or read in the usual way, this includes people with visual, physical, learning or psychological state difficulties. They need audiobooks for both leisure and learning and a library of over 7,500 titles which are recorded in their own digital studios or commercially sourced.

6. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) may be a UK charity that gives a Talking Books library service. The audiobooks are provided in DAISY format and delivered to the reader’s house by post as a CD or USB memory stick. There are over 30,000 audiobooks available to borrow, which are liberal to print.

The growth of an industry The publishing industry has been seeing a decline in physical and ebook sales, however, audiobook sales are booming. In an annual report of 2016, the Audio Publishers Association, which tracks the industry, found that:

According to Dan Zitt, VP of content production at Penguin Random House Audio said the industry gained more traction after voice performer Jim Dale’s reading of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series in over 200 different voices hit digital shelves in 2015.

1. Sales totalled $2.1 billion in 2016, an 18.2% increase from the previous year compared to $1.8 billion of hardcover copy books sold in 2016.

Multicast talent performances are becoming more common, with Audible’s recent dramatization of “The X-Files: Cold Cases” and “Stolen Lives,” which featured the first series’ cast, and Penguin Random House’s production of George Saunders’ “Lincoln within the Bardo” with 166 narrators. While celebrities are increasingly more interested in voicing audiobooks, the bulk is still read by specific audiobook readers.

2. The quantity of accessible audiobooks has also increased. In 2016, 51,000 audiobooks were published, up from 7,200 in 2011. Making an audiobook has become a far faster and more widely practised option for publishers.

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Status of audiobooks in current time?

Are audiobooks right for you?

Where audiobooks go from here?

The biggest question about audiobooks is:

About 55 million people hear an audiobook annually which number continues to grow, in keeping with the Audio Publishers Association.

Many users now hear fill their time during chores, commuting, or multitasking with other work.

Does taking note of a book count the maximum amount of reading it?

Some traditional readers tried being attentive to a good classic, through audio and hated it.

Meanwhile, avid audiobook listeners say they read and comprehend more with audio, which allows them to read more books. Some studies show that taking notes of books doesn’t keep readers as focused but the solution seems to be that it depends on the person, still because of the book.

Although audiobooks might not be for everybody, their numbers still rise, especially for people under 35, who conjure nearly half of frequent audiobook listeners.

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The increase in the use of audiobooks through multiple sources is as stated below: 1. As said by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2013, “Audible makes it possible for you to read when your eyes are busy.”

2. In-home devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home have also meant more people are tuning in reception which is additionally rising.

3. Mobile devices also allow readers to constantly listen, optimizing their time and reading more, and a few argue that audiobooks are one more thanks to always staying online, driving productivity, and constantly being within the know.

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Audiobook market in India According to industry experts, India has been the fastest-growing marketplace for audiobooks after the US and China. Audible and Storytel are the most important foreign players within the Indian audiobook market, but home-grown rivals like Pocket FM and Kuku FM are coming into the picture.

According to a report by India News, within the last six months, there has been a 5x rise in user base to 25 million users. From an engagement standpoint, two million listening minutes per month with a user spending 110 minutes on a median has been recorded, said Rohan Nayak, co-founder, of Pocket FM told BrandWagon Online.

According to industry experts the worldwide audiobook market which was valued at $4 billion in 2020, is estimated to grow to $20 billion by 2030. The Indian trade edition market (excluding educational titles) is estimated to be between $500 million and $1 billion. “India has been the fastestgrowing marketplace for audiobooks after the US and China. There has been an appetite for audiobooks even within the paid audiobooks segment.

Lockdown Scenario: Since the pandemic, there has been a growth in people trying the service and continuing with the identical together with the next level of exploration. As per a recent study by EY-Parthenon and therefore the Association of Publishers in India, 8-10% of the publishing market is digital including both ebooks and audiobooks. Further, the study reveals that ebooks and audiobooks are expected to be critical growth drivers for the industry.

To leverage the rising footfall of Indian consumers, audiobook platforms are experimenting with the space by introducing new formats and broadening their libraries.

For example: 1. Pocket FM’s move to launch audio fiction shows has played an enormous role in driving listenership.

Storytel claims that 75% of its user base listens to regional audiobooks while the remaining 25% choose English audiobooks.

- Meanwhile, Audible which offers Hindi and English content played the sport of relatability during lockdown by launching covid related audio series to extend its user base.

“Leveraging the increase in listenership during the lockdown, we launched covid-related stories like Kisse Lockdown Ke by Nilesh Mishra,’’said Dashrath.

- Further, there was traction that the mythological genre was gaining and unrolled Suno Mahabharat by Devdutt Pattanaik.

2. Storytel has strengthened its regional library portfolio by including 11 languages.

Today, there’s a degree where users are choosing certain audiobooks instead of for or their print version, said Yogesh Dashrath, country manager, Storytel India.

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Audible claims to own over 2,00,000 premium content while its free platform Audible Suno– consisting mostly of Hindi content, has over 1,000 hours of content.

For now, Audible’s content for Audible India is in English and Hindi languages only, a ploy which can backfire longer-term as rivals like Storytel cast their net wider among the country’s 755 million internet users.

Storytel India Country Manager Yogesh Dashrath said that three-quarters of Storytel India’s consumption is across the 11 local languages Storytel makes content available in, while just 25% is consumed in English. because the market grows the differential can only increase, with only about 100 million of India’s 1.4 billion population speaking English.

Audible and Storytel are the largest foreign players within the Indian audiobook market, but there are home-grown rivals like Pocket FM and Kuku FM too.

1. Pocket FM raised $0.67 million in 2019 and in 2020 picked up 5.6 million, led by Tencent. This year Tencent is believed to be on the brink of injecting an additional $25 million into Pocket FM, with the Indian audiobook start-up valued at $100 million.

2. Other competitors include regionallanguages audio service Kuku FM, which picked up $5.5 million in funding in early 2020.

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The recent onslaught of Internet-enabled mobile computing devices is Reado which is India’s largest manufacturer and retailer of audiobooks within the country. The most important number of sales of audiobook CDs for Reado comes from metropolitan towns with Mumbai leading. Also, the most important retailer Reado currently offers only physical CDs currently at over 200 book stores within the country together with online sales on Flipkart and Infibeam. they’re launching a digital store with mobile apps for audiobooks very soon.

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Copyright research to create audiobooks

How can someone legally make audiobooks?

Any legal issues to make audiobooks of already existing books and put them on some platform?

How can someone legally make audiobooks?

Is it legal to record and publish on YouTube an audiobook of any known book?

Can someone make an audiobook from a book published by someone else?

- No. If the work is copyrighted, you could find yourself in a trouble (financially and legally). Doing so is illegal copyright infringement.

- Yes, but only if you have obtained the audio rights to the work and negotiated a workable royalty compensation.

- Yes, if the work is public domain. But while grabbing a new version of the story one must be careful because the notes or interpretations of the story may be copyrighted by the author who put the version together. It’s best to go to a library or check online and pull down a version that was printed long ago enough that it is no longer copyrighted.

- Making audiobooks is never illegal. The legality factor enters when you make them available to the public, whether you sell them or give them away for free.

- Only if you have obtained prior written permission from the copyright owner.

Yes, but only if you have obtained the audio rights to the work and negotiated a workable royalty compensation.

If one wants to record someone else’s book: 1. Own the audio rights to the book.

2. Have a manuscript the narrator will use.

3. Either hire a narrator or do the narration yourself. Record it.

4. Register with a service like Audible.

5. Upload audiobook recordings to Audible.

6. Finish setup of the audiobook with things like the book cover and pricing.

7. Make it active so that people can listen to it.

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How to know if recording an audiobook is legal or not?

What is the copyright owner, copyright holder, and license holder?

Can you record an Audiobook if you’re not the author or copyright holder?

1. The work will come under property right if you are doing it within the US by selecting a piece that was copyrighted before 1923, whether or not the copyright was renewed by that point.

2. You’ll be able to also choose a piece under a Creative Commons license, ensuring that you simply go with all of its requirements.

A creative Commons license may be a public license. you’ll use them to point out what others are allowed to try and do together with your work. Each work is automatically protected by copyright, which implies that others will have to ask permission from you because of the copyright owner. It’s the foremost open license.

Recording unlicensed works are possible if you’re a coach and may demonstrate that: - The audiobook should have non-commercial purposes.

- It won’t be distributed on social media, YouTube, music or podcast platforms, or any other sort of website, moreover as copied on USB flash drives, portable hard drives, CDs, DVDs, or any other reasonably memory device.

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- The varsity or institution cannot get any direct or indirect make the most of making this recording available to any reasonable audience.

- The recordings are hosted on an indoor education platform like Moodle, BlackBoard, or similar ones, where only a restricted number of users can have access to that online. Avoid making it available to download, confirm that the audience knows the items that cannot be through with it.

- Recording covers should be but 10% of the first work, avoid picking the essential core parts of the story because it will be disregarded as use.

A copyright owner or holder is the person or company that has ownership and control of any of the exclusive rights of the work and a license holder may be a person or company that has been granted permission to repeat or change the first work. Therefore, before recording an audiobook, the producer or person responsible for it must hold a sound license from the copyright holder, mainly to “prepare derivative works supporting the copyrighted work.”

Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to try to and authorize any of the following: 1. To breed the copyrighted add copies or phonorecords.

2. To organize derivative works based upon the copyrighted work.

3. To distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the general public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.

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4. Within the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, motion pictures, and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly.

5. Within the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a show or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly.

6. Within the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of digital audio transmission.

Difference between original work and derivative work

How to know if a book is still under copyright?

An audiobook may be a derivative work supporting an existing physical book or ebook, which is the original work.

How to know if a book continues to be under copyright?

Audiobooks may also be produced in two versions: 1. Abridged: It’s an adaptation that presents the simplest and most relevant content of each chapter to stay the essence of the first work. It’s done by the author or the person designated by the copyright holder or license holder.

2. Unabridged: It’s the initial work being narrated by a voice narrator or actor. It’s an honest option when the book itself is long enough to capture the listener’s attention from the start to the tip.

“As in the other physical book, an audiobook is presented and recorded by chapters, and definitely the standard of the narration can have a large impact on its success.”

1. If the work was copyrighted before 1923, it’s already achieved the 95 years period stated by the copyright law and its property right. You don’t need further confirmation of that fact.

2. On both physical books and ebooks, there’s the data mentioned associated with the date the copyright was first obtained and therefore the latest renewals on the left page, before or after the page.

3. Can even check directly online at the Copyright Catalogue, for works from 1978 to the current.

4. Copyrighted works registered before 1978 can only be checked directly within the room of the Copyright Public Records.

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How to request permission from the copyright holder?

Books that can be recorded without copyright infringement

Books that are successful for many years will surely have a current copyright holder. In most cases, those holders will depend on well-established audiobook production companies or publishing houses that provide that service.

1. Creative Commons Licenses

2. Books copyrighted after 1923

The purpose of Creative Commons is to enable somebody or an institution to use creative works from authors in keeping with copyright law, but only in some cases, the reuser can get an advert to get pleasure from it. which means that a copyright owner or holder is liberal to continue getting financial benefit from his/her creation and its derivative works, still as from providing specific licenses to others so that they can get a poster profit too. Within the case of Creative Commons, the copyright holder may grant or not grant permission to others to use it or create new material from it.

It is mandatory for the reuser of an explicit Commons licensed work to offer attribution to the author all told the six options of license.

Only three of them allow commercial use:

An easy thanks to knowing if you’ll be able to use a book to record an audiobook is to require the present year and subtract the year the book was first copyrighted (2021 – 1925 = 96). Take into consideration that the copyright law allows the 95th year to be completed until the tip of the current year. which means that a book copyrighted on February 28th, 1925 is within the property right until the top of the additional 10 months. The table below shows an example of doing this calculation for the past four years:

But some really famous at the time they were published aren’t known to today’s audiences. in this case: 1. You will have the possibility to supply and market an appealing audiobook version of it

by Googling the title of the book and trying to urge the contact information of the publishing house(s).

2. Ready to also try and find the author on social media and send him/her an immediate message by ensuring the proposal is concise and providing evidence that you just are able to create an expert quality product.

3. Also the financial arrangement you will achieve with the copyright holder should be satisfactory for both parties.

3. Books that didn’t have their copyright renewed: 1923 to 1964 The copyright law by that point provided a period of 28 more years for every work that was renewed.

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Where to find public domain books The following three websites are non-profit organizations that have been collecting and formatting many public domain books, in addition to other types of works.

1. The Internet Archive (archive.org) It began in 1996 by archiving newspapers.

Their mission is “To provide Universal Access to All Knowledge.” Their current archive is made by:

2. Standard Ebooks (standardebooks.org)

3. Project Gutemberg (gutenberg.org)

It’s a non-profit project that provides high-quality formatting. All their work is cost and copyright-free and includes a cover image and some illustrations. Each ebook is neat and aesthetic. A real pleasure. The available titles and significantly fewer, in contrast with Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg.

The founder of Project Gutemberg and inventor of the ebook was Michael Hart which was started in 1971. He brought the idea of creating a digital version of a physical book, being one of the main sources of public domain books.

Their ebooks are available in the following formats: - Compatible epub: for all devices except Kindles and Kobos.

- AZW3: for Amazon’s Kindle devices and apps.

- Kepub: for Kobo devices and apps.

- Advance epub: the most recent format not yet suitable for general use.

Ebooks are available in the following formats: - Online HMTL text - Downloadable Epub (with no images) - Downloadable Kindle (with no images) - Online Plain Text UTF-8 (very similar to HTML text, but a more basic font type) - Downloadable *.txt file

It’s definitely a massive collection of all kinds of work. Although parental guidance is necessary as a few adult content items are available in several categories of books. The reader is free to read, listen or watch online or download the file in about 10 different formats for books.

Available formats for books: ABBYY, Daisy, Epub, full text, Kindle, Pdf, Pdf with text, single page processed JP2 zip, torrent.

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How to create audiobooks at home?

According to a fact, almost 1/2 all Americans listened to an audiobook last year and therefore the audiobook market is almost 3.5 billion dollars!

The audiobook market is growing at a rate of 30% p.a., which nearly quadruples the expansion rate for eBooks.

Why Make An Audiobook?

Here are some impressive statistics on audiobook market growth and evolution:

Books that do not make good audiobooks

What are the audiobook formats?

In fact, Audible even specifically recommends against recording any of those book types as audiobooks. These book types include:

1. WAV Files:

1. Reference books 2. Quotation books 3. Home and garden or interior design books (image heavy books) 4. Any form of volume 5. Cookbooks 6. Travel guides

Originated in 1991. nowadays they’re used because the uncompressed file that stores all the nuances of the recording that then is employed by the audio engineer during file mastering. The Origin file could be a “.band” file, which then is employed by the engineer to extract all the individual WAV file tracks for every book chapter. Those files are mastered and so the mastered WAV files are exported as MP3 files.

Books that make excellent audiobooks

2. MP3 Files:

Book genres like:

It’s much smaller and compressed files as compared to WAV, so they’re portable.

1. Self-help/spirituality 2. History/biography 3. Mystery/thriller 4. Science fiction/fantasy 5. Health and fitness 6. Romance 7. Business

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3. M4B Files: It’s almost like MP3 files but is way smaller than WAV files, and M4B files are utilized by iTunes. The biggest advantage is that they will be bookmarked, whereas MP3 cannot, this process though is incredibly difficult for a do-it-yourselfer.

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Ways to create an audiobook How to make an audiobook?

How to make your own audiobook?

OPTION 1: Get hold of production

Step 1:

1. Find an audiobook narrator.

2. They record the book and have the audio files mastered by an audio engineer.

3. And you get the finished audiobook files with all the rights to the audio.

- Obtain the correct equipment - Good mic - Pop screen - GarageBand or Audacity

OPTION 2: Record your own audiobook + publish on ACX 1. Must have quality equipment.

2. Must be acquainted with the recording specifications that ACX insists upon.

3. Must know that this project will take a big amount of your time.

Step 2: - Equipment & space setup - Find your equipment in an exceedingly space that’s suitable as a studio and make sure all of your equipment functions correctly.

Step 3: - Record your audio - Eat a pair of potato chips before you begin recording to stay your lips moist.

- Apply shea butter salve.

- Keep water to sip handy.

- If you’re recording over several days, re-read the previous couple of paragraphs you recorded the day before. Then, hear your recording of that very same section too. Doing this can help set the tone for your recording, and can help ensure your audio sounds more uniform.

- If possible, record at the identical time of day. Your voice changes throughout the day, so if you’ll be able to record about the same time day by day, that may also keep your audio more uniform.

Step 4: Send your audio to an audio engineer for editing Step 5: Modify your protect ACX standards Step 6: Create your ACX account Step 7: Upload your audiobook & cover Step 8: Add/Update your categories

https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-make-an-audiobook/

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Easy steps to follow for audiobook creation 1. Create an account with ACX They help build and manage audio content that gets sold on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.

Mention your bank information in order that they pay you royalties. Once the account is formed, take a glance at the Audio Submission Requirements: - Include separate opening credits, chapter files, closing credits, and a 1-5 minute sample.

- Leave silence at the start and end of every chapter, and browse the chapter headings aloud.

- Reduce noise on the low end, and ensure it’s not louder than -3dB. - Export at 192kbps MP3 at 44.1kHz.

- Headphones, to watch yourself you’ll need a pair of headphones.

- A quiet space, open spaces with nothing on the walls can bounce the sound everywhere.

Use blankets, foam, whatever you’ll to dampen the sound.

3. Start recording - Confirm your master volume just hits the “yellow” during loud moments, stays within the mid-to-high green area, and never hits the red.

- Under Controls (the little dial-looking button top left) ensure your “noise gate” is checked, and set to around -65dB.

2. Get your studio ready

- Also under controls, click on the compressor, the EQ, and provide yourself a wee little bit of reverb.

- Come up with a computer or an iPad.

5. Upload your files to ACX

- Garageband is the name of the software that comes free with a Mac and for a PC Audacity is the best.

- ACX takes over and packages up your files, and assuming you don’t have any problems they are available back to you with, they distribute it for you thru Amazon, Audible, and Apple iBooks. And you earn a percentage of every sale.

- A microphone, there are lots of USB mics that are ok for this work and may plug directly into your computer or iPad.

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Audiobook markets: Where to publish your audiobook

Distributed to libraries, which might be a decent opportunity to distribute even more widely. However, Overdrive is incredibly selective in choosing which authors to just accept, and typically you’re visiting need a minimum of a dozen or more audiobooks recorded to even get your foot within the door.

Is another platform that’s right behind Audiobooks.com in sales. Both of those platforms, however, are visiting require you to barter a deal to be published on them, while on ACX you’ll be able to simply upload your book and begin selling audiobooks.

Is in second place behind ACX in terms of audiobooks sales, but ACX is far from the lead!

Is a platform that takes finished audio and sees if it’s eligible for deals. Chirp could be a sales platform with its own audiobook app but is run by the identical team behind BookBub, meaning it’s geared mostly for deal seekers.

But their reach is large, and if you manage to urge a featured deal, it is often very lucrative for you. so as to air Chirp, you’ve got to be with Findaway Voices.

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All about ACX, Findaway Voices & Exclusive & Non Exuclusive Platforms What’s ACX? To set up an ACX account two things are important one the tax information and the second is Amazon login to get started.

Non-Exclusive – Publish in Multiple Places: - Pro: Publish an audiobook on your own website and other markets.

- Con: Lower royalties on ACX.

What’s Findaway Voices?

Findaway Voices is a production and distribution channel. It helps by creating your audiobook recording by helping you select a professional narrator. Or it takes the book that you produced with a different professional voice actor and sends it out to all the different audiobook distributors.

Exclusive vs Non-Exclusive

Recording an audiobook is much harder than people think. But it’s not like that the least bit.

Recording and editing an audiobook requires a median of three.5 hours/finished hour of an audiobook. Recording can take shorter or longer looking on certain preparations, audio content, reader proficiency, and recording practices.

https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-make-an-audiobook/

“On average, readers report a 350-page audiobook is around 10 hours of audio and can take around 35 hours to record and edit.”

The main pros and cons of each are: Exclusive – Publish on ACX Only: - Pro: Royalty share will be higher. Can start selling fast and don’t need to negotiate a publication deal.

- Con: Exclusive to ACX and cannot publish your audiobook on competing platforms.

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https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-make-an-audiobook/

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How long does it take to narrate 10,000 words?

How much can you earn selling audiobooks?

Usually, it takes around 158 words to narrate per minute. Using this average, we can extrapolate the subsequent figures:

With ACX, they choose the worth for you supported the runtime of your audiobook as follows:

1. To narrate 10,000 words: - 63 minutes 2. To narrate 20,000 words: - 2 hours and 6 minutes 3. To narrate 30,000 words: - 3 hours and 9 minutes

- Under 1 hour: $3.95 to $7.00 - 1-3 hours: $7 to $10 - 3-5 hours: $10 to $20 - 5-10 hours: $15 to $25 - 10-20 hours: $20 to $30 - Over 20 hours: $25 to $35

Also, the genre can really make a difference within the speed of reading. A book with technical jargon goes to require lots longer because the reader will must curtail or practice unfamiliar words while a fantasy novel has other challenges, like impossible to pronounce mythical locations but they’re often are very long so it evens out.

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Audiobook creation in India Skilled storytelling

Publish your audiobook

Global platforms and distribution

Timbre Media makes audiobooks with only the foremost skilled voice artists and producers.

They create every story change state, every page evocative, and make sure that a listener’s The experience of an audiobook is rewarding and unparalleled in value.

With an outsized database of world-class voice artists, cutting-edge studios and sound engineering, and partnerships with leading audiobook publishers & sellers across the world, they assist by creating an imaginative output that reaches its true potential.

They publish audiobooks on quite 40 leading platforms (Audible, Apple, Google, Kobo, Downpour, etc.). Timbre Media’s partnership with these platforms provides the foremost comprehensive distribution network across geographies, covering audiobook markets within the world.

They’ll help reach your audiobooks to a world audience.

https://www.timbremedia.in/audiobooks/#2

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Audio Content Creation on Instagram Here’s a tutorial on how to create and share Reels 1. Open the Instagram App & navigate to Reels - Open the Instagram app and log in to your account if not logged in already.

- Then tap the plus-sign button, or swipe right from the most feed to induce to the Instagram camera.

- With the Instagram camera open, scroll to Reels at the underside.

- Audio: rummage around for a song from the Instagram music library or record your own audio - AR Effects: Select one amongst the numerous effects within the effect gallery.

- Timer and Countdown: Set the timer to record clips hands-free.

- Align: Line up objects from your previous clip before recording your next clip.

- Speed: Speed up or weigh down a part of the video or audio you chose.

- By default, your Reel is going to be shared to Instagram Explore.

- Tap Stories at the highest if you would like to share your reel to your story rather than to Explore.

- Record your Reel by pressing and holding the capture button. It will be recorded during a series of clips, all directly, or using video uploads from your camera roll.

- You’ll preview your creation likewise as add stickers, drawings, or text before publishing the Reel.

- Once your Reel is finished you’ll travel to the editing screen.

3. Share the Reel along with your followers 2. Record a Reel with the Instagram camera After selecting Reels you’ll be able to either begin recording immediately, otherwise you can add some production quality by selecting one amongst the subsequent tools:

- Tap Share to and so tap Cover to vary your cover photo and write a caption.

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market

research This section involved qualitative and quantitative research by understanding the micro and macro levels by conducting surveys, stakeholder interviews, competitor analysis and user interviews.

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Competitor Analysis Drawing a comparison between multiple apps

Audible

Spotify

Audiobooks

Google Play Books

LibriVox

1. It has 2,00,000 English and Hindi audiobooks and original titles, including 400 titles by Indian authors.

1. It is a Sweden-based music streaming platform.

1. Has a catalogue of 175,000+ premium titles.

2. Its library of books includes genres like biography, popular fiction, non-fiction, storybooks for kids, sci-fi fantasy, etc. The wide collection caters to the needs of all age groups i.e. kids, teenagers, young adults, etc.

2. The various genres it offers include bestseller fiction & non-fiction, business & economics, classic literature, award-winning drama & comedy, mystery, thriller & horror, foreign-language titles, and far way more. It also allows its readers to pay attention to over 1.2 million free podcasts.

1. It has a million bestselling ebooks, comics, textbooks, and audiobooks.

1. It’s a collection of 15,000 free audiobooks that features classics, biographies & memoirs, gothic fiction, romance, poetry, and more.

2. It has different genres like classic, fiction, non-fiction, technology, politics, fashion, health & wellness, romance, among others.

3. Comes with a 30-day free trial, at the end of which you need to sign-up for a monthly subscription. Even if you cancel the membership, you can access all the downloaded audiobooks in your Audible library.

4. It’s available for download on iOs and Android devices as well as Kindle and other Amazon products (Echo, Tap, or Echo Dot).

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3. Can access the entire audiobook library for free, no subscription is needed. For an ad-free experience, one can switch to its premium plan that includes a 30-day free trial.

4. It’s available for all Android and iOS devices.

3. It offers a free 30-day trial and offers you a versatile premium membership plan that you simply can cancel at any time.

4. The app is offered for iOS and Android mobile devices, wherein you’ll live stream audiobooks or download it for offline listening.

2. This app doesn’t work on any subscription-based model but allows for in-app purchases.

3. It’s available for download on iOS and Android devices.

Plus all downloaded audiobooks automatically get synced on all devices that are connected to your Google account.

2. It is a non-commercial, non-profit, and ad-free the project, wherein volunteers from everywhere in the world contribute recordings, in different languages, to the general public domain.

3. Users can hear free audiobooks on their computers, mobile devices (Android & iOS), iPods, or perhaps CDs.

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Amazon Kindle Books

Hoopla

Serial Box

Loyal Books

eStosries

1. If one owns a Kindle an e-reader, then all the users should update the Kindle ebook with an Audible audiobook.

1. It’s an enormous collection of many thousands of titles that one can flick through and choose. It lets you stream digital content or can download and watch it offline at leisure.

1. This audiobook app offers bite-sized stories including sci-fi/fantasy, drama, comedy, fiction, non-fiction, and more.

It also offers you a free preview of nearly all titles, so you’ll read/listen to the eBooks and audiobooks before you create a buying deal.

1. Offers a range of over 7000 audiobooks and eBooks. But with the big selection of genres, most of the titles on this platform are available in numerous languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil, French, Urdu, and plenty more.

1. It has over 120,000 audiobook titles.

2. Next, Amazon’s Whispersync for Voice feature will make sure the books that are bought via the Amazon Kindle Store are synced with their audio iteration, thereby providing a good option for listening.

2. It allows borrowing audiobooks, movies, eBooks music, etc that may be watched on mobile devices, desktop PC, tablets, or TV.

2. You’ll hear or read on your phone, tablet, or laptop.

2. It’s also available for iOS devices.

3. It offers a preview of titles and allows you to stream online or download them for offline listening.

2. Its catalogue includes fiction, non-fiction, mystery, thrillers, history, young adult books, NYT bestsellers, latest releases, and more.

3. May be easily downloaded for Android or iPhone devices. It can even automatically sync your audiobooks across (up to) 10 devices.

4. Offers unlimited cloud storage and features a 30 days return policy if you’re not satisfied together with your purchase.

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Scribd

The Libby App

Kobo

Storytel

Penguin Random House

1. It is an American eBook and audiobook subscription service.

1. One can pick from classics to kids’ stories to NYT bestsellers.

1. Has more than 5 million titles.

2. Offers easy accessibility to over meg titles.

2. One can borrow and skim eBooks & audiobooks from the local library for free.

1. Swedish audiobook streaming subscription major also ventured into the Indian markets of Audiobook recording companies in 2018 with a robust concentrate on vernacular and India-centric titles.

1. Penguin Random home is a renowned name within the global book publishing industry when it involves producing top-quality audiobooks from the most-read authors of India.

3. Its collection of audiobooks is pretty small (30,000) when put next to other audiobook apps.

4. It’s the most important digital library, wherein subscribers can read/listen to unlimited eBooks and audiobooks any time, anywhere.

5. The app is offered for download on iOS and Android devices.

3. Allows for offline download of audiobooks, which you’ll be able to then hear on Android/ iOS devices or Kindle.

2. It offers both paid and free audiobooks for Android and iOS devices.

3. It is just like Google Play Books and allows for in-app purchases for eBooks, while its audiobook subscription service is analogous to Audible.

3. Available books in Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, and other Indian languages.

2. Its illustrious author audio titles include Ruskin Bond’s book in his voice besides the audio versions of the books from DevduttPattanaik, Sudha Murty, Khustwant Singh, DurjoyDatta, Ravinder Singh, and Gaur Gopal Das.

4. Extensively leveraging its tie-ups with local publishers like HarperCollins India, and Karadi Tales Penguin Random House, to customize its offerings for the Indian readers.

3. Aside from English its the spoken files-rich collection entails Hindi Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and Urdu book audios.

2. Has 1,20,000 audio and e-books, chat stories, and podcasts in its libraries on offer.

5. Has genres in children, erotica, classics, fiction, and lots more.

6. Is on the market on android and ios devices.

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Karadi Tales

Kannadhasan Pathippagam

Orange Book Publishers

Cedar House Audio Productions

1. It’s a subsidiary of Amar Chitra Katha, one of the leading publishing houses for picture books and audiobooks for youngsters.

Based out of Chennai and operational since 1996, it houses an unlimited collection of books from biographies to folklores to rhymes for children.

1. It’s a hyperlocal audiobook publisher and translator with a really strong marketing and distribution network in the province.

1. Based out of Kolkata, Orange publishers have the requisite audiobook publishing skills and technical–knowledge to convert the prints to audio.

1. Cedar home is an independent recording and production company for spoken titles.

2. Its huge array of audiobooks have been narrated by celebrated Indian film and theatre personalities.

3. All are set to classical Indian music giving a taste of rich Indian culture to the kids.

2. Having published some well-known authors like Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and writer, Allan Pease, it’s created its name credibility and reached Tamilian readers.

3. It houses an unlimited collection of audiobooks for its target geographic readers.

2. Its in-house capabilities of voice-over, studio recordings, and sound engineering.

2. It’s based out of the US, makes a specialty of producing audiobooks, podcasts, audio tours, and voice-acting for video games.

3. They need some illustrious Indian authors’ audiobook files in their catalogue which include, The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy and therefore the Palace of Illusions, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

4. Their audiobooks are often easily sourced from Audible and Google Play stores.

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Points of a differentiator in the selected apps

Number of titles in audiobooks category

It has 2,00,000 English and Hindi audiobooks and original titles, including 400 titles by Indian authors.

Approximately 5,00,000 audiobooks available.

Has a catalog of 175,000+ premium titles.

Genres category

It has different genres like classic, fiction, non-fiction, technology, politics, fashion, health & wellness, romance, among others.

Its library of books includes genres like biography, sci-fi fantasy, etc. The wide collection caters to the needs of all age groups i.e. kids, teenagers, etc.

The different genres it offers include bestseller fiction, business & economics, award-winning drama & comedy, foreign-language titles, and much more.

Languages

Offers languages in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Portuguese.

Spotify’s mobile experience will be available in a total of 62 languages.

Provides many different foreign-languages.

Ways of getting access to free & premium version

Comes with a 30-day free trial, at the end you need to sign-up for a monthly subscription. But downloaded audiobooks remain in your Audible library.

Can access the entire library for free, no subscription is needed. For an ad-free experience, one can switch to its premium plan which includes a 30-day free trial.

It offers a free 30-day trial and offers you a flexible premium membership plan that you can cancel at any time.

Available on android & iOS and other devices

It’s available for download on iOs and Android devices as well as Kindle and other Amazon products (Echo, Tap, or Echo Dot).

It’s available for all Android and iOS devices.

The app is available for iOS and Android mobile devices.

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Number of titles in audiobooks category

They have over 5 million titles.

It has a collection of 15,000 free audiobooks

Offers a selection of over 7000 audiobooks and eBooks.

Genres category

Has a variety of genres on the app.

Genres includes classics, biographies & memoirs, gothic fiction, romance, poetry, and more.

Has a wide range of genres.

Languages

Has an option of multiple languages.

Offers 43 different languages.

Available in different languages, English, Hindi, Tamil, French, Urdu, and many more.

Ways of getting access to free & premium version

It offers a free 30-day trial and offers you a flexible premium membership plan that you can cancel at any time.

This app doesn’t work on any subscription-based model but allows for in-app purchases.

It’s an ad-free project providing free audiobooks.

Available on android & iOS and other devices

The app is available for iOS and Android mobile devices.

Available for download on iOS and Android devices. All downloaded audiobooks automatically get synced on all devices that are connected to your Google account.

Users can listen to free audiobooks on their computers, mobile devices (Android & iOS), iPods, or even CDs.

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Number of titles in audiobooks category

It has over 120,000 audiobook titles.

Its collection of audiobooks is pretty small (30,000) when compared to other audiobook apps.

Genres category

Its catalog includes fiction, non-fiction, mystery, thrillers, history, young adult books, NYT bestsellers, latest releases, and more.

Has a wide range of genres.

Languages

Gives access to 10+ regional languages.

Website is also beneficial for non-English speakers because it contains books in different languages.

Ways of getting access to free & premium version

Offers unlimited cloud storage and has a 30 days return policy if you are not satisfied with your purchase.

It is the largest digital library, wherein subscribers can read/listen to unlimited eBooks and audiobooks any time, anywhere.

Available on android & iOS and other devices

Can be easily downloaded for Android or iPhone devices. It can also automatically sync your audiobooks across (up to) 10 devices.

Allows for offline download of audiobooks, which you can then listen to on Android/iOS devices or Kindle.

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Number of titles in audiobooks category

Has more than 5 million titles.

Has 1,20,000 audio and e-books, chat stories, and podcasts in its libraries on offer.

Genres category

Genres like fiction & literature, nonfiction, romance, biography and many more are there.

Has genres in children, erotica, classics, fiction, and many more.

Languages

It has an option of foreign language too.

Available books in Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, and other Indian languages.

Ways of getting access to free & premium version

It offers both paid and free audiobooks. It is similar to Google Play Books and allows for in-app purchases for eBooks, while its audiobook subscription service is similar to Audible.

The subscription is paid. It will be charged automatically when the subscription renews every 30 days.

Available on android & iOS and other devices

It offers both paid and free audiobooks for Android and iOS devices.

Is available on android and ios devices.

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Live room apps competitor analysis

What is it about?

How does it work?

Business Model

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Clubhouse

Facebook Audio Rooms

It’s a social network that supports audio chat. Users can hear interesting conversations, interviews, and discussions happening between people. After opening the app users are given access to an inventory of virtual rooms they will join. Every room has live speakers. Users can, furthermore, chat with one another in text format during the audio event.

Users can listen in and join live conversations. Also, public figures can invite friends, followers, other verified public figures, or any listener within the room to be a speaker. The quantity of speakers is restricted to 50, and there’s no limit to the number of listeners.

It offers a singular, exclusive experience. to not mention celebrities and CEOs frequent it. It’s an “audio-first social app” that provides audio-only digital events.

Users can discover Live Audio Rooms to hitch from places like News Feed and via notifications. While being attentive to a conversation, users are going to be notified when friends or followers join. There also are options to enable live captions, raise a hand to request to affix the conversation and use reactions to participate in real-time.

It is a non-profit organization supported by working capital firms.

The clubhouse may be a social media application that’s entirely audio-based. Besides donations and tips, Clubhouse has additional revenue-generating alternatives. This might include displaying advertisements, selling tickets to (offline) events hosted by the corporation, or charging a membership fee to access premium content.

It’s a free app that anyone can join and therefore Facebook provides money to the people being active on the app.

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Spotify Green Rooms

Sound Cloud

Greenroom may be a social media platform from Spotify that utilizes live audio to attach people. One can chat about the items that interest them in virtual rooms. And artists can use Greenroom to connect with fans in a very whole new way.

SoundCloud is an internet music streaming, internet community, and distribution platform that enables users to upload, stream, promote, and share music and podcasts.

SoundCloud is free, with paid subscriptions offering ad-free listening and offline listening options for fans.

How does it work?

Sign in to your Spotify account then pick specific interests. To seek out and partake in audio chats, you may join groups inside the app. The app may be a space for live conversations that happen in “rooms” of the virtual variety. Anyone can create an area on the platform and invite users through the calendar and scheduling function.

Business Model

Spotify purchases a license from labels, artists, publishers, and other rights holders for streaming their music on its platform. For paying royalty to the artists, the platform uses complex algorithms that finalize the royalty per stream for each artist or label.

SoundCloud makes money from advertising, premium subscription services (namely Go, Go+, and Unlimited), audio mastering services, and ticket sales from events. the corporate operates on a freemium model, meaning its core product is free to use, but users would wish to get hold of premium features.

What is it about?

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User Centered Design Canvas The canvas After relooking at the problem area more deeply a refined and a new user-centred design canvas for the app-building was built.

It helped by building the application in such a way that it is going to benefit the users and they will enjoy using it since multitasking can be done.

1

Business Create listenable blogs - articles and share them with the community of listeners.

2

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Users 1.

People who love to read books but don’t get enough time so prefer listening

2.

Working women

3.

Businessmen

4.

Students

3

Problems 1.

Layman cannot create audiobooks from existing books and share them due to copyright issues.

2.

Limited access to audiobooks of which few come with an only 30-day free trial.

3.

Not all users cannot afford a subscription to get access to premium/latest audiobooks.

4.

4

Motives 1.

Discover new creators and writers to listen to every day.

2.

Helps in focus while multitasking.

3.

Helps in visualizing and creating the desired ambiance.

4.

Making everyday listening more enjoyable.

Latest audiobooks in the premium version.

5.

Gaining knowledge while listening to audio blogging.

5.

Ads coming up in between the sessions.

6.

6.

People not getting enough time to read.

Connect with a community of creators and listeners.

7.

Listen to audiobooks either 45 minutes/ day or twice or thrice a month because of the longer listening content that leads to a shorter time to listen.

7.

Able to express themselves.

8.

Earn incentives based on performance.

8.

Creating an audiobook on its own is a very tedious process as it takes a lot of time to record and the cost of building it up is also very high.

9.

Audiobooks require a lot of time to listen to as it’s generally minimum of one-hour audio.

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5

Fears

6

Solutions

8

Competitive Advantages

1.

More criticism and less feedback.

1.

Unexpected paid version when the demand is high.

Be curious, record, and share with the community of listeners.

1.

2.

Audio blogs from the top creators and authors.

2.

Availability of the latest collection.

The place will be similar to other audiobook apps/blogs/article websites.

Hundreds and thousands of audio blogs to listen to.

2.

3.

3.

Connect with the community by creating the audio blogs on their own.

4.

Recording and listening quality not matching to the other apps.

Free access to unlimited and latest blogs and writings.

3.

4.

4.

Incentivization for the users.

5.

New and similar companies emerge with the same idea concept.

Easy to multitask. Listen while you’re walking, driving or cooking, and many more.

5.

Listeners can download and listen to it later.

5.

Listen to new experiences every day.

6.

People not liking the audio version of the new upcoming blogs or articles.

6.

Multiple genres to choose from.

7.

To increase the listening habit in people incentives will be provided to both parties.

7

Alternatives 1.

Listening to podcasts.

2.

Reading instead of listening.

3.

Using apps like Spotify as it gives free access to all the listening.

4.

Better experience on other listening apps.

5.

Simple and easy interface of other competitive apps to interact with.

9

Unique Value Proposition A one-stop place to create, record, and share your audio blogs with the community of listeners along with a unique option of incentivization to promote healthy listening and creation with an extraordinary experience for over millions of titles available in multiple genres.

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design research It includes a different set of questions framed for multiple types of research methods. The questions were mainly asked from the target user group and stakeholders and other sets of people who fell into the project respectively.

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The Questions List of all questions required to start the design journey How old are you?

Gender Occupation 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

How long have you ever been paying attention to audiobooks?

What started you listening?

Do you prefer listening or reading?

What does one like about the experience of taking note of audiobooks?

Do you know others that hear audiobooks? Does one speak about audiobooks with others?

How does one choose an audiobook?

Is there a daily system you follow?

Are reviews important?

How do they impact your choice?

Do you hear samples?

How do they impact your choice?

Is audiobook cover art significant in your choice or attraction to a book?

What role does the narrator play for you?

Are they important to your experience?

Do you prefer male or female narrators?

High voices or low voices?

Straight narration or character voices?

How does one hear your audiobooks?

- School Library - library - iTunes - Amazon/ Kindle - Audible.com

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19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

- LibriVox - Bookstore (Brick and Mortar store) -YouTube - Other (please specify) What device(s) does one use?

When does one hear audiobooks? (Time of day, during what activities) How often does one listen?

Why does one hear audiobooks?

Describe how audiobooks fit into your world of entertainment.

What types of audiobooks does one listen to? (Just one genre or does one experiment?)

Where does one buy your audiobooks?

Do you read audiobook magazines or visit audiobook websites?

Do you have a very positive experience associated with an audiobook?

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Questionnaire for Survey Conduction & Interviews Survey questions

Questionnaire for the interview

How old are you?

Gender Occupation

Name Occupation

1.

2.

3.

4.

1.

2.

3.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Have you listened to an audiobook?

How long have you ever been listening?

What started you listening?

Why does one hear audiobooks? Please check all that apply.

- Convenience - Relaxing - Makes the story more interesting - Something to concentrate on within the car - a decent way to do multitask - I don’t hear audiobooks - Other (please specify) When does one hear audiobooks? (Time of day, during what activities) What does one like about the experience of taking note of audiobooks?

What device(s) does one use while taking note of an audiobook?

If ever given an opportunity would you create an audiobook of your writings?

Would you share the same with the community?

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

Have you listened to an audiobook?

Why does one hear audiobooks?

Do you prefer listening or reading? And why so?

Do you find audiobooks helpful?

How often does one listen?

What does one like about the experience of paying attention to audiobooks?

Do you know others that hear audiobooks? Does one consult with them about your experience?

How does one choose an audiobook?

How do they impact your choice of listening?

Do you listen through free apps or does one pay to listen?

Do you prefer male or female narrators?

And why so?

What does one love the most about narrating audiobooks?

How does one hear your audiobooks?

(Which device or does one buy from somewhere) What varieties of audiobooks does one listen to? (Just one genre or does one experiment?)

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Survey 35 Respondents

How old are you?

Gender?

What’s your occupation?

Out of a total of 35 responses, 82.9% of the population falls into the age group between 16-30 years. 11.4% fall into the age group 30-50 years and the rest left out percentage is divided into 0-15 years and 50 or older age category.

Out of a total of 35 responses, 51.4% are the male category and the rest 48.6% are the females who filled the audiobooks survey.

People who filled up the survey belonged to multiple different professions like product design, UI UX design, engineering, startups, business owners, school students and physiotherapy. Multiple entries for the survey gave a huge variety of answers to the upcoming set of questions which helped in understanding the users’ pain points and touchpoints.

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Have you listened to an audiobook?

How long have you been listening?

What started you listening to an audiobook?

Most of the survey takers had very unique and different answers to the question asked, some didn’t get time to read books and novels so they preferred audiobooks, and some went to explore various apps and websites, some people got recommendations from their friends and teachers to try audiobooks, some had educational reasons like it enhances your listening capability and makes you work faster, some use it in their leisure time or while multitasking.

Out of all the 35 responses that have been received 51.4% of the total population has listened to an audiobook and the rest 48.6% haven’t.

Multiple answers were been provided by the survey takers 10% of the total population have been listening to audiobooks for the past 1-2 years, the rest 5% each listens to it by devoting their 1 hour daily, and some listen to it in 2-3 months of time, some have listened to it only once, some use it once or twice a week, and last few populations haven’t listened to it all.

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When do you listen to audiobooks?

Why do you listen to audiobooks?

According to the answers received most people prefer to listen to audiobooks in the evening or at night before going to sleep.

Some also prefer to listen during morning walks or during the afternoon while they’re working as it helps to multitask.

52.4% of people listen to audiobooks as it is a good way to multitask, 47.6% listen to it as it is more convenient than reading a whole book, 38.1% each while relaxing or it makes the story more interesting with special audio effects, 23.8% listen while driving a car, and 4.8% each for listening is better than reading and lastly few haven’t really explored the world of audiobooks.

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What do you like about the experience of listening to audiobooks?

According to some users, it’s less time consuming and one can hear it while doing the other work additionally, like while travelling or cooking, in order that time also gets utilized and that they don’t must determine a separate time to read the book.

It’s convenient and the narration improves the listening memory and it goes into the subconscious. It also helps in reducing the screen time or eye strain as one can listen to it while listening to an audiobook and lastly people can multitask.

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What device(s) do you use while listening?

If ever given a chance would you make an audiobook of your own writings?

Would you share the same with the community?

Out of five different categories i.e. a mobile phone, tablet, computer, MP3 player, and Google Home, 90.5%of the total survey takers preferred listening to audiobooks on their mobile phone and the rest 9.5% used a tablet to listen.

Out of the three given choices that is yes, no and maybe, 56.5% of the total population was interested in making their own audiobooks if ever given a chance, 34.8% selected maybe and the rest of them as no.

75% of survey takers chose yes as an option to share the created audiobooks creation with the community and the rest 25% chose maybe as they were still confused about it.

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Interviews 10 Respondents

Simran Kaur Third-Year Physiotherapy Student

1

“Just gave it a try a few years back and now I listen to it while doing my work, it’s just like listening to a song and working.

Basically, I can multitask.”

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2

Chorjitkanta Sharma Fourth-Year Architecture Student

“I prefer reading but when I don’t get time I listen. Not a frequent listener but when I do it brings me peace.”

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Mr. Chander Hira Business Owner

3

“‘Due to work, I can’t devote much of my time to reading so I prefer listening because it’s more convenient. And it also increases my speed to understand new things while I’m multitasking.”

Raghav Hira Final Year B.Com Student

4

“The experience of listening is very good. I listen to it when I go for evening walks and it has also helped develop my confidence in me.”

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Shashwat Dadu Fourth-Year Law Student

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5

“Due to the convenience factor and less time consumption one can listen to it while doing any other work.”

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Sneha Thakur Third-Year Physiotherapy Student

6

“It’s easier than reading a whole book. I can close my eyes and still listen to it, moreover, it’s very convenient & time-saving.”

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Sukriti Gupta Service in a Corporate Sector

7

“Because I don’t get time for reading so while coming back home from work I play audiobooks in my car.”

Mr. Vivek Narang Business Owner

8

“The experience of listening is very good. I listen to it when I go for evening walks and it has also helped develop my confidence in me.”

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Vanshika Agarwal MA in Psychology

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9

“It’s more entertaining than reading a book because it has a voice modulation system in it.”

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10

Anchal Thakur Third-Year Physiotherapy Student

“Not a frequent listener, only twice a month but when I get time I prefer listening to audiobooks as it’s more convenient.”

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Design Research Closing the Survey & Interview Round Way forward to conducting other research methods After conducting a survey through Google forms, in total 35 responses were received and an interview session was carried out between 10 respondents who were keen on the world of audiobooks. Both the design research methods opened up ways to move forward and started giving ideas on how to go about designing the app. Both the methods helped in understanding the users’ pain points while using the existing audiobook apps.

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Discussion with Timbre Media

The recording for a commercial audiobook depends upon the total word count of the book.

Revenue Model

When the book is completed, one has to reach out to them and then:

- 35% attained by platforms and the company

- The narrators with them help in the conversion.

Time

- They’ll share the voiceovers for the voice selection part.

- Production happens.

- Once done with the production, distribution starts where they share with their partners.

Cost - For 1 hour of conversion, Rs. 12,000 + taxes (including distribution services) - Distributing it to all the audiobook platforms - Tie-ups with 43 audiobook platforms (covers all the major cities in the world & majorly to English speaking population)

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- 65% goes to the Author

- Totally depends on the total word count of the book - Roughly a month’s time is taken to make the whole audiobook Services by them to make the Audiobook for their Customers - Narration (Narrating the story) - Production (Editing happens, hygiene of the voiceover, all the technical parts) - Editing (Final touches to the audiobook) - Distribution (Selling it on the platforms)

“One of the reasons I have working in voiceover (and audiobooks) so much is that I’m an old soul, and every time I go up to the microphone, I feel like I’m doing a classic radio play or something. I really like that.”

Jason Frazier

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Field Study Dyal Singh Library, Delhi

Fig 1: The main entrance of the library

Fig 2: Way to the library

Fig 3: Inside the library

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About the library Dayal Singh Library Trust Society was registered on 2nd August 1948 and is responsible for carrying the legacy of Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, 1848-1898.

Book Genres available in a library: 1. Generalities 2. Philosophy & Psychology 3. Religion 4. Social Sciences 5. Language 6. Natural Sciences & Mathematics 7. Technology (Applied Sciences) 8. The Arts 9. Literature & Rhetoric 10. Geography & History

Fig 4: Sitting area inside the library

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Fig 5: Parking for officials working in the library

Fig 6: Backside of the library

Fig 6: The park inside the library

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Talk with the librarian: 1. It remains open six days a week from 9.30 AM to 5.30 PM except for Sundays and gazetted holidays.

2. The number of visitors per day is between 80-100.

3. There are 2 floors in the library. The ground floor contains books for people above 18 years and the first floor is for children’s books.

4. The library doesn’t source any audiobooks as of now.

Observations: 1. The 86th person came to the library around 4:30 pm in the evening.

2. 10 people were present in the library by the evening time.

3. Few were reading books issued from the library, studying for their exams and the rest were reading newspapers and magazines.

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Pain Points Finding Audible

Plus Point

Downside

Plus Point

Multiple categories to choose from.

The price is too high. Plus to listen one has to get a 30-day free trial and then can cancel the subscription anytime.

Every category is well sorted.

Downside While searching for the book there is only one other option i.e. voice search. Camera search can also be considered.

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Downside

Plus Point

Downside

Lot of unwanted details.

Clear and transparent details about the payment.

Too much text regarding the publisher’s summary and critic reviews.

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Libri Vox

Downside

Downside

Homepage not properly designed.

No inbuilt suggestions were given for the search option.

Downside The cover page of audiobooks is missing.

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Spotify

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Downside

Plus Point

No voice search is given but a camera search is available.

Special code system to directly take the user to the desired listening.

Downside Since it’s a music listening app, one has to type the name of the audiobook or simply type audiobook to listen to the one.

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Plus Point Clean interface with the required amount of instructions.

Plus Point

Plus Point

Can listen to the whole audiobook without signing up for any trial or subscription.

Users can adjust the speed of the narration according to their own comfort.

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investigation & analysis Qualitative and quantitative data gives the direction for the decision making to make the design according to users’ needs. Understanding what the data is telling helps in building the user personas, user flows, information architecture and customer journey mapping.

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Affinity Mapping A glimpse of the bigger picture Beginning it with the hand-drawn post-its Forming of questions that were asked from the users and then similar answers were put in a differentiated category.

Users prefer free audio listening services more Placing of post its with similar answers in under one category.

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The most exciting thing about audiobooks because of they prefer to listen to it

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Affinity Mapping Stage 1 - Questions separation for affinity mapping

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Stage 2 - Building the Categories

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Stage 3 - Analyzing the Categories

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Analysis Searching for positive aspects from the research Coming up with the positive aspects (from survey conduction & interviews) that users experience while using an audiobook: 1.

The age range of audiobook users lies between 18 - 70 years old who belong to different professions like business owners, students studying in school and colleges, and people working in the corporate sector.

2.

The biggest advantage of using an audiobook is that it helps users to multitask which means they don’t have to take out time from their schedule for sitting down and reading a book.

3.

Using it helps in increasing the speed of understanding the nuances of the book while listening to it.

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4.

For a few users, it is entertaining and knowledgeable to listen to because it has a voice modulation system that connects the user to the narrator in a better way and makes the book more engaging, moreover, the speed of the narration can also be adjusted.

5.

It’s convenient and relaxing to use as some people who wear spectacles can actually rest their eyes by closing them and at the same time listening to an audiobook of their choice.

6.

In terms of genre, people’s interest lies in Entrepreneurial books, UI/UX Design, Motivational books, Social Issues,

Adventure, Murder, Mystery, and many more.

7.

Few users have seen confidence build up in themselves after listening to books related to Entrepreneurship and Motivational Books.

8.

For a small number of users the gender of the voice narration matters because the user can relate to a story in a better way but for others, both male and female narrators work.

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Gap identification from affinity mapping Searching for the gaps/pain points generated from the research to come up with a design solution. After observing and studying all the research the conclusion came to be like: 1.

2.

3.

Although people love to listen to audiobooks for multiple reasons due to the long duration its usage time decreases to either 45 mins/day or used during evening walks as it helps to multitask or it’s used twice or thrice a month.

The main purpose to use it is because people can multitask and it’s easy to listen rather than read a whole book.

Almost all the users prefer the free version of the app to listen to an audiobook but do not get access to the latest collections for which they have to opt for subscriptions.

4.

The conversation with the employee at Timbre Media (Helps in Audiobook Creation in India) helped by understanding things like: - A layman cannot create an audiobook independently as it includes the copyrights of the author and the publication.

- Also creating one audiobook takes one month of time starting from the voiceover to the editing part which makes the process tedious for a simple person.

- The cost to create is also very high which lies between Rs. 11,000 to Rs. 13,000 excluding the taxes.

- Lastly, the revenue generated from the audiobooks is also not 100% as 65% comes to the author and the rest 35% goes to the distributive channels.

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Major insights from the research Audiobooks are too long to listen to which decreases their usage.

Users are not able to access the latest and premium audiobooks because of existing subscription blocks.

Users find current audiobooks very cluttered and not easy to use as no proper information is provided.

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While listening to audiobooks people often do other tasks alongside like travelling in a car for work, going for walks and many more such things.

The current process of audiobooks creation is prohibited in terms of time, effort and money which limits the access to selective individuals.

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The Solution First Draft of Project Brief So as to make it a habit in people and make the usage more frequent something can be done around the concept similar to the Instagram reels where the creator creates 30 - 60 sec videos and publish them on the app to gain likes, views, and comments.

An idea similar to this can be considered where in this new app the creator will create audios based on their interest area whose time limit will be a minimum of 3 minutes and the maximum can be up to 15 - 20 minutes.

Here the main concept is to convert the readable blogs and writings into audio to give rise to a completely new platform for the listening community. Plus the procedure to make it will be effortless and both the parties i.e. creators and listeners can earn incentives based on their performance.

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User Personas Representing the user base segments of the app Listening Habits & Goals:

- Spotify - Goodreads - Kindle - Audible Personality: Extrovert Listener Creator Analytical

Device Usage: Computer

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Chahat mostly listens to audiobooks through Spotify.

Avid Reader & Listener

2.

She’s an ambivert but likes to share her opinions with her friends.

3.

She has kept a goal of finishing one book in two months but so far hasn’t kept to it.

Age Location Family Occupation

Favourite Apps:

Intovert Reader Learner Creative

Chahat Khanna

1.

Mobile Phone

: : : :

22 years Delhi Single Psychology Student

Bio:

Frustrations:

Chahat is a psychology student who loves to read and listen to new books to enhance her knowledge. Since her subject asks for a lot of reading that’s why she has developed a hobby of listening to audiobooks while she’s multitasking. She’s also a member of the library club from where she issues books and reads. Listening to books and reading has become her favourite hobby in the past few months!

1.

Since she’s an ambivert, sometimes it becomes difficult to validate your opinion in front of people who have more knowledge than her.

2.

Due to the online medium, her schedule has become hectic so she prefers listening to audiobooks more now.

3.

She sometimes has trouble deciding what to listen to next.

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Listening Habits & Goals:

Favourite Apps: - Spotify - Kindle - Audible - Google Play Books

Richa mostly uses Spotify or downloads the book from the internet to listen to.

Loves to Listen to Audiobooks

2.

She’s an extrovert and never steps away to express her opinions in front of audiences.

Age Location Family Occupation

3.

She usually finishes one book in two to three months due to the medical field study.

: : : :

23 years Himachal Pradesh Single Medical Student

Bio:

Personality: Intovert Reader Learner Creative

Richa Agarwal

1.

Extrovert Listener Creator Analytical

Richa is a medical student who’s passionate about listening to audiobooks while she’s helping her mother with household chores.

Due to the medical field, she has to give her maximum time to study but whenever she gets time she prefers to listen. Her favourite genre is romance and murder mystery.

Frustrations: 1.

Due to her medical field, she doesn’t get much time to listen to books and that’s why she listens while multitasking.

2.

She sometimes faces problems while listening as she tends to miss a few words which make her press the reverse button.

3.

She wants to finish her books early but doesn’t get time to do so.

Device Usage: Computer

Mobile Phone

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Saksham Hira Enthusiastic Listener Favourite Apps:

Age Location Family Occupation

- Spotify - Kindle - Audible - LibriVox

Extrovert Listener Creator Analytical

Device Usage: Computer

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35 years Delhi Married Businessmen

1.

His love for listening to audiobooks makes him finish one book in one month.

2.

He chooses a book to read based on the reviews received on the particular book as it helps in making the decision faster.

3.

He loves to listen to the latest audiobooks which have come up on the market.

Bio:

Personality: Intovert Reader Learner Creative

: : : :

Listening Habits & Goals:

Mobile Phone

Saksham has a business of stones and goes daily to his shop. During his free time, he loves listening to audiobooks as it helps in the enhancement of his skills. He doesn’t feel like wasting a single minute and that’s why keeps himself busy with such activities. He has also motivated his co-workers to listen to audiobooks as they’re really helpful plus one can multitask.

Frustrations: 1.

Faces difficulty sometimes finding the book that matches his interest.

2.

A bad interface makes the process of listening more tedious.

3.

Have to pay for a subscription to listen to the latest audiobook.

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Listening Habits & Goals:

Tarun Sharma Voracious Reader & Listener

Favourite Apps:

Age Location Family Occupation

- Times of India - Audible - Spotify - Wynk

Extrovert Listener Creator Analytical

Device Usage: Computer

45 years Uttar Pradesh Single Service

Bio:

Personality: Intovert Reader Learner Creative

: : : :

Mobile Phone

Tarun is an employee in an architectural firm and believes in gathering knowledge from anywhere and everywhere. Before leaving for the office he reads his newspaper and while driving the car he prefers to listen to audiobooks related to business and motivational genres.

He believes that reading and listening can make a person stand out from the group and that is what he follows in his life too. He thinks listening is better than reading the whole book because it’s convenient and time-saving.

1.

Easy way to discover books as per his interest.

2.

Play audiobooks anywhere i.e. the offline mode.

3.

Simple and easy navigation of the app.

Frustrations: 1.

Audiobooks are very long and that’s why he can’t finish them in less time.

2.

The latest collection should also be available for free to promote listening activity.

3.

Newspapers or other magazines should also be in the audio version as it would be really helpful.

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detailed design brief After studying the data extracted from qualitative and quantitative research the design brief has been moulded according to that so it meets the users’ needs and expectations.

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the design Brief ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

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Creating a mobile application for audio blog creation and consumption for readers who like to hear content while multitasking.

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design development It includes the beginning of design iterations starting with the user flows, customer journey mapping, revenue model study, low-fidelity and high-fidelity wireframing, feedback from industrial professionals and the design details.

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User Task Flow Depicting a path that the user will take to reach its end task while using the app The user flow depicts how easy and simple the navigation is for the users when they come across the app. The flow has been designed in such a way that it explains the path a creator and a listener will take as two individuals. The creator flow explains how the user will record the audio using the in-built microphone option present in the app and the listener flow tells how the users can listen to their favourite audios.

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Information Architecture The organization, structuring and labelling of the content in an effective way for the users The information architect depicts how the organization, structuring and labelling have been done for every step so that the user easily meets their demands while using the app.

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Customer Journey Mapping Creating a map with an essence of a visual story of the customers’ interactions with the application The journey map has been divided into six different stages wherein it tells how users will take their journey beginning from the first step to the end of the task.

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Hand Sketch Concept The beginning of design ideation Beginning with the rough sketches to build the concept for the app that has two categories to explore and be a part of that is the listeners and the creators’ community.

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User Interface Development Beginning of building the wireframes in Figma Wireframing Version 1 The first version consisted of very basic steps that need to be involved in the app so that users can easily navigate through it. It doesn’t include any written content or formatting but rather just a rough idea of how the app might take a shape in the future.

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Wireframing Version 2 In the second version gradually the number of screens doubled in comparison to the previous version due to the project guide feedback wherein it was told to make changes in the screens in such a way that it looks modernistic yet very user friendly.

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119 Wireframing Version 3 The third and the last version is the last low fidelity wireframe where everything has been finalized starting from the screens to the typography and the outlook of the app. The next step is to now build these wireframes in high fidelity considering the real-time factors which are going to make the app even more sustainable to use.

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Revenue Model Study Studying the revenue models of famous apps Spotify

Google Pay

Spotify is a music streaming platform that has access to an outsized catalogue of music. It uses a freemium revenue model that provides a basic, limited, ad-supported service at no cost and a limitless premium service for a subscription fee.

Working of Google Pay business model in simple steps:

Its premium subscriber base has grown from 10% of total users in 2011 to 46% in 2018.

Payment to their labels - Spotify pays a big portion of its revenue within the type of royalties to music labels. It’s paid nearly $10 billion in royalties since its launch in 2006.

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- It makes use of scratch cards, gift cards, and other exciting offers to stay its users intrigued, many of those may be obtained by bearing on friends, which very conveniently and cleverly provides exposure to the app.

- It collects the users’ data and uses it for research and development purposes of providing its users with the simplest products and services most appropriate for them.

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YouTube

Apple

- YouTube’s main source of revenue is advertising.

- Apple priced its streaming video service, Apple TV+ at $4.99 per month, which is cheaper than the other major service.

- Additionally, they earn money from monthly subscription businesses such as Youtube Premium.

- They’ve also developed tools to help eligible creators earn money in a variety of other ways, such as Super Chat, Channel Memberships, and Merchandise.

- It’s also giving customers a year of Apple TV+ at no cost if they buy a replacement iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV box.

- The company was forced to stay the value low as more competitors prepare to launch their own services with larger video libraries stuffed with popular shows and flicks.

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Revenue Model of the App Creation of revenue model to earn income Key Partners 1.

2.

3.

4.

Audio Blog Creators UI UX Designers App Developers Advertisers

Key Activities 1. Platform optimization 2. Connecting avid listeners and creators 3. User acquisition through marketing

Key Resources 1. Loud blog content 2. Talented & experienced creators

Value Proposition 1. Easy access to unlimited Loud blogs 2. Content is generated by users 3. Community platform

Customer Relationship 1. Community generated feeling 2. Connection between users

Customer Segments 1. Mass Market 2. Creators 3. Listeners

Channels 1. Word of mouth 2. Mobile app

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

1. Creators generating Content (Incentives) 2. Listeners dedicating their Time (Incentives)

1. Advertisements 2. Subscription Fees

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“Ad revenue is important, but we want to be self-sustaining.”

Dave Portnoy

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Mood boards for the App Gathering inspiration from the resources available on the internet Moodboards related to emotions Multiple words were taken into consideration before coming up with mood boards related to emotions. It depicts what an individual can go through/ feel or imagines while reading a book or listening to an audiobook. For every individual, it holds a very different emotion and that is what these mood boards depict.

Words depicting the mood board on the right are: Happiness Soothing Harmony Cool On Other Planet Unexplainable Feeling Energized Free Deep Relaxation Inner Peace & Calm Knowledge Light-Hearted Enlightening Yourself Aware Emotions Imagination Curiosity

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Words depicting the mood board above are:

Words depicting the mood board above are:

Portable Handy Enjoyment Multitask Dark Comfortable Family time Sharing

Time Saving Speed Narration Voice Skill Development Listening Comprehension Brain Power Language Proficiency Learning

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Gathering inspiration from the resources available on the internet Mood boards for UI inspiration For UI mood boards the inspiration was taken from multiple resources Google images, Pinterest, Behance and Dribble. It was created to get an idea about how to design an app by keeping in mind the colour and typography part. Moreover visual part on the screens played an important role to understand what type of images go with such apps.

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Typography

Lato

Poppins

Bold Medium Regular Light

Bold Medium Regular Light

The struggle to finalize between multiple fonts Multiple fonts iterations While designing the app, typography plays an important role as it sets the tone of the app.

Firstly it promotes legibility and secondly it helps communicate the messaging, tone, and sentiment of a design piece. Another function of typography is that it revolves around the word aesthetics which gives a user a wonderful experience while using the app.

We’re drawn to visually attractive designs that are clean and easy on the eyes and that is why typography plays an important role.

The fonts that were explored to finalize the one were Lato, Poppins, Roboto, Montserrat, PT Sans and Noto Looped Thai. The font that was selected as a go-to font was Montserrat.

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Roboto

Montserrat

PT Sans

Noto Looped Thai

Extra Bold Medium Regular Light

Bold Medium Regular Light

Bold Regular

Extra Bold Semi Bold Medium Regular

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Visual Drawings Experimenting with the visuals to put on the screen Visuals screen design iterations Just like typography and colour selection, the visuals like images and illustrations also play a very important role while designing an app.

The main of focusing on it was that it helped in improving the app’s design’s aesthetic appeal and usability of it. In the end, the main goal is to satisfy the user and make the process simple and easy for them.

The image on the right depicts the visuals on the login pages to attract more user groups.

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Colour Scheme Experimentation with colours

CS 1

CS 2

CS 3

CS 4

CS 5

CS 6

CS 7

Playing with the colour physcology Understanding colour psychology is important too because it helps in creating a positive image for the targetted customer segment.

This is why colour plays a leading role in interface design. It helps in stimulating all senses by delivering a message instantaneously like no other method of communication. It also helps in reflecting the personality of the brand. It can attract users, and they can better communicate your message.

The colour palette on the right has been extracted from the emotional and UI mood boards stated in previous sheets so as to create a desired colour scheme for the app. *Colour Scheme - CS

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Colour Scheme 1

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Colour Scheme 2

Colour Scheme 3

Colour Scheme 4

Colour Scheme 5

Final Colour Scheme

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The colour scheme testing was done on various multiple screens to check which colour a user likes.

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Screen Design 1 Converting the wireframes into proper screen using Figma The first version of the screen design includes the app having proper typography, colours and use of buttons and icons. With the help of these tools, the design took a better shape.

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Screen Design 2

Coming to the final stage of screen design The current screen design includes 74 screens in total which include everything starting from splash screens, sign-up and login pages, home screen page, hamburger menu functions, users’ profiles, the revenue model for the app development company, recording option for the first time creator and a frequent creator, notification screens explaining how it’ll work, the library screen, turn off commenting mode for the creator, widget design for the app when not opened in the foreground and lastly the currently playing part while the user is on a different screen.

In the upcoming pages, detailed screens can be seen explaining the functionality of every step.

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Guide’s Feedback at Every Step The constant bi-weekly meetups helped the project reach this degree Project Guide: Puneet Chhikara Mr. Puneet Chhikara is a Senior Faculty in Product Design at Anant National University, Ahmedabad.

The project began on the 21st of January 2022 and from that day till the completion of the project the constant feedback from the guide bi-weekly helped the project take the shape the way it was imagined at the beginning.

At every step, crucial and critical feedback was provided to make the research more authentic and the design better. Changes were told to do on each and every step where the deviation from the target was noticed. While working on this project there were lots of learnings were made during the journey like how to carry out research, how to connect with people and gather insights from them without making them feel uncomfortable, and how to make a design better using current modern UI trends, how to set layouts and do formatting and get inspired by other people’s work to start the documentation process. Without constant feedback, this project couldn’t come this far and the way it has taken shape is simply amazing.

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Feedbacks from Professionals

Nupur Sharma Senior User Experience Designer at Publicis Sapient Connected via: ADP List

Feedback provided: - Research competitor apps like Clubhouse, Facebook Audio Rooms, Spotify Green Rooms, and SoundCloud.

- Know why you’re building the app. Is it for: 1. Promoting the work of avid writers?

2. Promoting the talent of avid writers?

3. Or are you building a community of creators and listeners?

- On the home screen, the first time user won’t be having any preference for listening so the app cannot suggest the user to listen to any particular audio blog so look into it.

- If you’re building a healthy community, you should reconsider the rating and reviews part because sometimes people make nasty comments which can be disheartening for the creator.

Company: Publicis Sapient

- Initially should not add the rating system at all.

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Vanshika Agarwal Audiobook User ; Human resource executive at FlexAbility - ABC Consultants Connected via: Friends since School

Feedback provided: - The final design should look like the existing audiobooks so that the user really likes to use it and can share it with their circle too.

- The overall design is good, I don’t feel anything is missing. It’s matching the standards of existing apps though it’s completely a new platform for listeners.

- The design is very detailed and I didn’t get confused in any of the steps.

- I liked the features present on the home screen i.e. popular audio blogs and handpicked for you which is specifically focusing on one’s listening patterns.

- The expanded narration for the audio is very good.

Company: ABC Consultants

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- In terms of the creator’s point of view, I liked how there are two separate options to trim your audio and add the write-up for your audio to address the users who might take notes while listening to it.

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Sabitha Shree Audiobook User ; User Experience Designer at Peepal Design Connected via: Senior from MIPD Product Design Batch

Feedback provided: - In-Home Screen, What is the difference between handpicked for you and Based on your listening? If there is a difference we have to communicate it, If no difference we can combine this.

- How to let the user upgrade the account without making them wait for an ad?

- Can we have the about section on the global navigation bar? Or even if you have it inside a hamburger, try to draw a difference on what we show inside Accounts and My publishing. I know the heading looks completely different, but when looking into the menu inside these two, it is mostly similar except for the edit profile option. Maybe add the upgrade plan option inside the about section.

- In the record section, let the users share their recordings with their friends and family via other apps at the end.

Company: Peepal Design

- Is there a way to filter or sort the recommendations on the home page?

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Orijit Bhattacharya Audiobook user; App Developer at Accenture

Feedback provided:

Connected via: LinkedIn

- Sign up/sign in: Colour scheme is great but the gap below the text is way too much.

Maybe find a way to fill it out. The orange circle on the login/signup looks bland.

- View the Narration: the text is a little hard to read with that colour scheme.

- The adjusted speed list looks a little wonky.

Maybe look into how apps like Spotify and Apple did for podcasts.

- Have you tried using rounded corners for album arts as well?

- Listening Time & published audio: looks good but could do with slightly more content.

- Track your progress: too much gap left on the RHS, kinda hits my OCD for symmetry.

- Widget Design: Can it adapt to the album art like playing youtube songs does on android.

Company: Accenture

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- Enter card details: Check the checkbox.

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Abhijith Nair User Experience Designer at Accenture

Feedback provided:

Connected via: LinkedIn

- Lo - fidelity doesn’t mean that you don’t name anything. Briefly write what’s present on the screen otherwise it’s very difficult to understand the content.

- The graph should be more detailed because right now it’s depicting something related to statistical data.

- The placement of the play button should be changed because users don’t adjust the screen and then click on the play button.

- The timer should be reconsidered because I don’t think it’s necessary because the audio is going to be of a minimum of two minutes so it won’t be of much use.

- Edit volume part is invalid, look into it.

- Create a new category option that should be highlighted because everything is in one order, single font and colour. Because the user is also in a hurry.

Company: Accenture

- Both the criterias are covered.

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Blog Writing for Recording Writing a blog to start with the recording The blog writing and publication Published a blog titled ‘The Birth of Audiobooks and How it became Famous’ on Medium on March 2, 2022.

Click on the link to view the blog on Medium “The Birth of Audiobooks and How it became Famous” https://medium.com/@srishtiverma2000/ the-birth-of-audiobooks-and-how-it-became-famous-79b9487cf5cf

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Audio Recording Experimentation Experimenting by recording the written blog using an in-built microphone of the phone Different versions of the recording The starting of experimentation with the blog recording to see how it is going to work in the app when the user will use either create it or listen to it.

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Learning how to Record an Audiobook The starting of experimentation with the blog recording to see how it is going to work in the app when the user will use either create it or listen to it.

First Try

Second Try

Third Try

Experience while recording:

Experience while recording:

Experience while recording:

- Lack of voice modulation

- Pronunciation of words

- Too fast

- Few words were wrongly read out as they were difficult to pronounce in the first go.

- While reading a few lines, the speed increased in comparison to other lines which made the recording not so appropriate to listen to and understand.

Click on the link to listen to the “Loud Blogs Recording”

Click on the link to listen to the “Loud Blogs Recording 1”

Click on the link to listen to the “Loud Blogs Recording 2”

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1enPGJTMo3vrzhhmf8KRHeIVM2wRz3GY1/ view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EwAHxB44EOsyqiyAVDfCrGX3DHoDYSZO/ view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v2SWrXD34GpVSiHXvO1jZUEERyRRWClK/view?usp=sharing

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Fourth Try

Fifth Try (The Final)

Experience while recording:

Experience while recording:

- Fumbling of words

- In the 5th attempt, there was finally a properly recorded loud blog that is suitable to publish on the app and the listeners will love to listen to it. All the mistakes done in the previous recording were taken into consideration and a listenable loud blog was produced.

- While reading the sentence out there was a fumbling experience 2-3 times which made the audio not so good to listen to.

- Total Recording Time: 3 min 28 sec

Click on the link to listen to the “Loud Blogs Recording”

Click on the link to listen to the “Loud Blogs Recording 1”

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZA5_S6dDqNQwMAQs4fgLOP5lhk9aEvxe/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SLe2X7jgr0LiPF96uYsaYThXiDQhgsZr/view?usp=sharing

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Design Detailing Web structure of the app There are 84 screens in total which were finalised after getting the final user feedback from all the people. No further changes were made to the screens.

Tap on the link to view the “Design Detailing” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cA4Qn0WpFDt8BXm4qGAL9ADQI6BSnd2_/view?usp=sharing

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Users get into the app by viewing the splash screen, then signing up and login and lastly getting onto the home screen.

Users can read the reviews before getting started with listening to a loud blog.

The speed can be adjusted according to the user’s listening preferences.

The user can select the paragraph and can continue listening from that part.

Explaining the features of the 3 dot menu.

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The hamburger menu shows the user’s publishings and insights gained from it in total.

The profile section shows the user’s listening to time and published audio along with a track of your progress where the incentivization concept has been added.

The revenue model shows how the plans have been created for the user to opt to avoid advertisements in between listening to a loud blog.

The revenue model shows how the plans have been created for the user to opt to avoid advertisements in between listening to a loud blog.

The user can see the current plan that they’ve opted for and can cancel it anytime.

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Standard requirements needed to go on to the next step and record the audio.

Steps to follow to record the audio.

Standard requirements needed to go on to the next step and record the audio.

Contains all the downloaded loud blogs.

The creator can turn off commenting mode to avoid negative comments on their publishing.

The currently playing loud blog can be seen at the bottom of the screen even when the user is exploring the app.

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creating design systems This section includes the finalized typography, colour scheme, components and illustrations used in the app.

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Design Systems Typography: Montserrat

Heading 1

,

Bold

,

20 px

Heading 2

,

Medium

,

20 px, 16 px

Heading 3

,

SemiBold

,

16 px

Body Text

,

Bold

,

14 px

Body Text

,

Medium

,

12 px, 14 px, 16 px

Body Text

,

Regular

,

12 px, 14 px, 16 px

Body Text

,

Light

,

12 px, 14 px, 16 px

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Colour Scheme

Primary Colours

Organ 103, 55, 35 #673723

Orange 239, 123, 15 #EF7B0F

Desert Sand 236, 204, 175 #ECCCAF

Egg Shell 245, 230, 215 #F5E6D7

Dark Salmon 229, 156,125 #E59C7D

Rajah 255, 165, 82 #FFA552

Mellow Apricot 254, 186, 123 #FEBA7B

Peach Puff 255, 219, 185 #FFDBB9

White 255, 255, 255 #FFFFFF

Light Silver 214, 214, 214 #d6d6d6

Secondary Colours

Cosmic Latte 255, 251, 232 #FFFBE8

Tertiary Colours

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Components Call to Action Button

Icon with Label Button

Primary Action Button

Navigation Bar

Secondary Action Button

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Tertiary Action Button

Icon Button

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Illustrations The illustrations were created by the owner of the project for the app in the theme decided for it. The main idea behind these illustrations was keeping an eye on modern trends and this is how the aesthetics were carefully designed to match with the concept of the app.

Onboarding Screen 1

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Onboarding Screen 2

Onboarding Screen 3

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Payment Done

Verified Creator

Share

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Branding Name Ideation

Final Name

Limitless Loud Blogs Buzz Writes Bloggista Crealis Blaudio Readio Blogue Blogosfera Edittor

Loud Blogs

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Preference 1 Preference 2

It holds meaning as ‘Blogs that Roar’ that will help people to express themselves through blog writing and later it can be recorded in their own voice and can be published on the platform.

This will help in reaching the mass audience who are interested in the field of reading and recording content.

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Logo Iterations Multiple iterations were done to create a logo for the app. In the very first go the word BuzzWrites was taken into the consideration to start with the ideation phase.

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Other shapes were also explored for example a headphone with a recording mic inside, a book with a mic on top to depict the curiosity of recording the blog, and lastly a freehand sketch of a headphone with the vibrations coming out of it that is attached to a microphone.

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Experimentation with the sound waves designed to depict the waves produced while recording the blog on the phone.

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The Final Logo The final logo includes the headphone with the microphone depicting the world of blog writing followed by recording it and publishing it on the app.

Organ & Orange Scheme

Organ & Orange Scheme

Black & White Scheme

Organ color scheme - 103, 55, 35 Orange color scheme - 239, 123, 15

Organ color scheme - 103, 55, 35 Orange color scheme - 239, 123, 15

Organ color scheme - 0,0,0 Orange color scheme - 255, 255, 255

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"Introducing the Showstopper”

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loud blogs 'the app' Consists of the app, its features, the flow of the app and lastly the prototyping.

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Loud Blogs Blogs that roar

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For Listeners & Creators A very different concept where people can convert their written blogs into a recorded one just by recording it on the app available on the phone and later publishing it on the app to gain likes, views and comments. This will help avid writers express themselves in front of the world and help them gain the attention they deserve.

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Read & Consume Latest Audio Content The home screen or a landing page includes three different titles to choose from and listen to a Loud Blog. Categories like ‘Most Popular on the App’, ‘Recommended for Today’ and ‘Top Loud Blogs’ give a wide variety of Loud Blogs that have been previously uploaded by the creators’ community.

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Recording your Ideas The user has to click on the record icon on the screen (screen on the left) to record the Loud Blog and the (screen on the right) shows that once the audio is recorded it can be edited according to one’s preference i.e. by trimming the audio and attaching the writeup.

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Create your own Profile In the ‘My Account’ screen, the user can check their Listening time, Published Audios and lastly can Track their Progress to earn the incentives by being a part of this app and contributing to it.

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Revenue Generation through Premium Model The user can avoid advertisements that play during the Loud Blog playing which can be avoided by upgrading to a premium plan.

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Browse through any Page while Listening While the user is exploring other pages, currently playing Loud Blog can be seen in a small displayed box and the bottom of the screen with which it can be paused or played.

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Track your Progress Users can track their progress by checking how many rewards they have earned over time and so they also continue to earn it by focusing on the listening and creating part of the app.

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My Library It has a collection of all the downloaded Loud Blogs done over time and a user can listen to it without worrying of a stable internet connection.

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Widget Design Designing a widget design to give a look at how the main screen would look like when the app is playing in the background.

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The Flow of the App Once the user signs in

Splash Screen

Onboarding Screen 1

Onboarding Screen 2

Onboarding Screen 3

The first screen would be this when the user will open the app

Telling about the app part 1

Telling about the app part 2

Telling about the app part 3

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Login A frequent user will have to enter their username & password

Home for Frequent User Various recommendations will be given to choose from

Tap to Open Click on the image with a play button and it’ll be played

Listen Listen to the loud blog you selected LOUD BLOGS I APP FOR CREATORS AND LISTENERS

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View all reviews

View the Narration The user can view the whole narration while listening ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Home Navigate to any page while listening to the selected loud blog

Tap to Open Once opened the desired loud blog, one can read all the reviews

See all Reviews Click on the view all button in the previous screen and read all reviews

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Adjust speed

Adjust Speed By tapping on the ‘speed’ icon, one can increase or decrease the speed of the loud blog

Adjust Speed 1 Speed decreasing to 0.5x by tapping on the icon

Adjust Speed 2 Speed decreasing to 0.75x by tapping on the icon

Adjust Speed 3 Speed increasing to 1.5x by tapping on the icon LOUD BLOGS I APP FOR CREATORS AND LISTENERS

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Select paragraph

Adjust Speed 4 Speed increasing to 2.00x by tapping on the icon ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Select paragraph Click on the ‘select para’ icon

Choose the Title In the box all the titles will appear & the user can select it to continue listening from that

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3 dot menu function

Click on the Icon Click on the ‘3 dot menu’ icon

3 Dot Menu will Appear A box saying ‘add to categories’ will appear

Add to Categories By clicking on the box a whole display will appear where the user can build categories LOUD BLOGS I APP FOR CREATORS AND LISTENERS

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Hamburger menu

Home Screen Click on the ‘hamburger’ icon on the top left corner of the screen ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Hamburger Menu The box will appear with certain information

My Publishings Users can check their publishings if they’ve uploaded any loud blogs

Insights Users can also check their insights on their overall publishings

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View Downloads Click on the ‘downloading option’ to check the progress

Downloaded The downloading is done

Downloads in Progress View the downloads in progress and already downloaded loud blogs

Apply Filter By applying the filter the user can view the old downloads too LOUD BLOGS I APP FOR CREATORS AND LISTENERS

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Profile

Account View my ‘profile’ by clicking on the icon below ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Listening Time Here all the months, days, hours & minutes will be covered of the user

Published Audios User’s total published loud blogs will be visible here

Track your progress The user can track their progress through incentivization move

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Revenue model

Home for Frequent User Switching to the home screen

Listen (Ads) The ads will come up in between the listening to promote ad-free listening

Select the Plan The user can select the plan to upgrade to premium model for ad-free listening

Payment Methods Multiple payment methods to choose from to do the payment LOUD BLOGS I APP FOR CREATORS AND LISTENERS

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Revenue model 1

Enter Card Details Enter the card details of the card to proceed with the payment ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Payment Done Once the payment is done, a message like this pop up on the screen

Account To opt for ad-free listening the user can select the option in the profile section too

Select the Plan Select the plan according to one’s preference

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Payment Methods Multiple payment methods to choose from to do the payment

Enter Card Details Enter the card details of the card to proceed with the payment

Payment Done Once the payment is done, a message like this pop up on the screen LOUD BLOGS I APP FOR CREATORS AND LISTENERS

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See current plan

Account Go to ‘my current plan’ in the profile section ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Record (First time creator)

My Current Plan Check your current ongoing plan

Home The user will click on the middle icon on the home screen to start with the recording

Standard Requirements Few list of standard requirements needed to be looked upon

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Standard Requirements Rule number 2 of standard requirements

Standard Requirements Rule number 3 of standard requirements

Standard Requirements Rule number 4 of standard requirements

Audio Record The first time creator will start recording the audio

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Save Audio Save the audio in the given name format once recorded ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

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Upload the Audio Upload the audio in the space provided to get a verified creator tag

Share Once the audio has been shared with the team a message like this will appear

Verified Creator Once the audio has been reviewed a message like this will appear on the screen

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Record (Frequent creator)

Home For a frequent creator the user will click on the center icon of the screen

Record Audio Start recording by clicking on the icon

Pause Audio Pause the recording by clicking on the icon

Warning The warning sign depicts that the app has identified a background noise LOUD BLOGS I APP FOR CREATORS AND LISTENERS

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Click on Preview Click on the preview button to make the changes in the recording ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

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Preview Edit the audio by clicking on the button

Edit the Audio The user can trim the audio according to their preference

Trim the Audio The audio can be cut from the middle to make the perfect audio

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Attach Write Up The users can attach the writeup of their audio

Attach Write Up Add the full writeup along with hashtags to make it more visible

Save as Draft or Publish Either the user can make a draft of the loud blog or they can publish it directly

Select Thumbnail Select a cover photo for the recorded loud blog

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View your Published Audio Once published the user can see their loud blog on the feed ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

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Currently Playing Part The user can then go to home screen and can browse the app

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Notification

Home Click on the notification icon to access the screen

Notifications View all the activities on the notification screen

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Library

Home Click on the library icon to access the screen ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

View Options To view the whole created categories, the user can choose apply filter option

Apply Filter The filter has been applied

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Turn off commenting

Turn off Commenting To avoid negative comments on the publication the user can turn off the comments

Reviews will be Off now Then the reviews won’t be seen on any of the publication

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Currently playing part

On Home Select any loud blog to listen first ANANT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

While Searching While searching the audio will continue playing no matter what the user is doing on the app

My Library The currently playing part will also be visible on the library screen

Notifications It’ll also be visible on the notifications screen

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Widget design

When the Phone is Locked The colour has been adjusted according to the theme of the app

While the Phone is Unlocked Pause, play or listen to any other loud blog while not accessing the app LOUD BLOGS I APP FOR CREATORS AND LISTENERS

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Prototyping The Flows There are in total 16 flows in the prototyping stage depicting the navigation from one screen to another when the user will use the app.

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“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

- Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Inc.

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epilogue Consists of critical reflection, learnings and future directions for the project, image credits and the bibliography.

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Critical Reflection Taking a step back and examining the thinking for the project This five-month long graduation project gave me a unique opportunity to undertake a design brief independently. It was a wonderful experience by working on a self-sponsored project that opened many avenues for me during the journey. This project helped me to learn various things that are required to meet the deadlines on time. From the beginning of the project till the completion the deadlines were carefully set and the work was divided in such a way that categorisation was done so that equal time is devoted to every stage. This is how this project included a very different way of doing things. The development of the app made me aware of all the possible industrial errors that might have existed if I hadn’t gotten in touch with the industrial professionals during the design development phase. Before this graduation project, I was unaware of how to get in touch with users and content creation companies to extract the information. The exposure that I got by independently working on the project paved the way for a new design process.

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Being a product designer I realised how important communication plays a role as I connected with a few of the people on LinkedIn and ADP List because of whom the design reached a certain stage. I also got the chance to work under the guidance of Mr Puneet Chhikara as he helped me follow a strict design process for my project. My passion for reading made me understand more about the audiobooks world which eventually helped me come up with the Loud Blogs App. Various design research methods helped me understand the different designs and models in the same sector so that the new app doesn’t have many similar features in it.

The graduation project started with secondary research followed by primary research and then the design development stage where multiple iterations for the screens were created. And this learning helped me to think through things and come up with a better design at every new stage. Most of the concepts were based on the techniques that I learned over these years at the college. Mr Chikkara corrected, supported and encouraged me in all the stages.

The development of design helped me to learn about so many new things and new designs that I discovered on this journey. The whole project exposed me to a whole new world. This project taught me how one has to work on things in such a way that one doesn’t miss any crucial steps in between that will eventually help the design make it more practical. These five months gave me so much confidence and experience and all the lessons I learned will become the milestones of my life.

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Way Forward Taking a new feature into consideration

Conducting workshops

A timer can be added into the design wherein the user can set the timer to a certain time when they want the app to shut down so that if the user doesn’t want to listen after a certain time so the timer can help in such a way.

Workshops can be conducted in book fairs, libraries and other reading and listening places that’ll help the users to gain the knowledge about the service this app is offering that will eventually help in the preservation of this new art.

Gathering professionals to develop the app

Participation in competitions

Until now the app has only been designed and prototyped in a design software but to make it user friendly and more sustainable it has to go through a coding stage where errors might come up but it’ll help in taking the design to a different level.

The project can be entered in several designs and reading completions which will publicize the work at a national and an international level and start a dialogue.

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Image Credits Pg 1

Photo by aboodi vesakaran on Unsplash (speakers) Salem, Tamil Nadu, India Published on January 3, 2022 NIKON CORPORATION, NIKON D5600

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people PNG Designed By ngupakarti from <a href=”https://pngtree.com”> Pngtree.com</a>

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https://in.pinterest.com/pin/311029918008380820/

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https://anu.edu.in/

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Photo by Med Badr Chemmaoui on Unsplash Moncton, Canada Published on April 14, 2018 Canon, EOS 5D Free to use under the Unsplash License

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Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash 817 S Main St, Las Vegas, United States Published on February 22, 2017 FUJIFILM, X100T Free to use under the Unsplash License

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Credit: Olha Kostiuk Largest size: Vector (EPS) – Scalable to any size Stock illustration ID: 1159363620 Upload date: July 01, 2019

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Credit: Natalie Largest size: Vector (EPS) – Scalable to any size Stock illustration ID: 1215303126 Upload date: March 28, 2020

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Credit: Ponomariova Maria Largest size: Vector (EPS) – Scalable to any size Stock illustration ID: 1268431525 Upload date: August 25, 2020

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https://www.freepik.com/vectors/bookcase

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https://unsplash.com/collections/199825/bible-photos

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https://purehealthyliving.com/blog/when-do-you-listen-to-audiobooks-great-times-to-listen

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiobook https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiobook

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https://scroll.in/article/972585/audiobooks-may-bejust-what-readers-needed-during-the-pandemic-willthey-change-indian-publishing

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https://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/audiobook-creation-exchange-has-generated-160000-audiobooks https://www.tolkiensociety.org/2021/07/new-lord-ofthe-rings-audiobook-with-andy-serkis/ https://gladreaders.com/why-are-audiobooks-so-expensive/

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https://www.pngaaa.com/detail/4277535

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chirp_Book_ Logo.png https://99designs.com/logo-design/contests/help-audiobooks-logo-229697 https://billericalibrary.org/database/overdrive/overdrive_logo/

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https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-make-an-audiobook/

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https://www.timbremedia.in/audiobooks/#2

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https://www.searchenginejournal.com/instagram-reels/430673/#close

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https://sharingstories.in/publishing/audiobook-publishers-in-india/

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https://in.pinterest.comin/732116483164787424/

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https://www.timbremedia.in/

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Photo by Angshu Purkait on Unsplash Photo by Dollar Gill on Unsplash Photo by Puvvukonvict photography on Unsplash

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https://png2png.com/spotify-logo-png-transparent/ https://1000logos.net/google-pay-logo/

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https://www.freepnglogos.com/pics/youtube-logo-png https://www.freepnglogos.com/pics/png-apple-logo

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https://www.publicisgroupe.com/en/services/services-publicis-sapient-en

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https://www.infinitecourses.com/placement-consultants-in-india.aspx

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https://in.linkedin.com/company/peepaldesign

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https://1000logos.net/accenture-logo/

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https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/drawingof-a-stick-figures-walking Credit: Zdenek Sasek Largest size: Vector (EPS) – Scalable to any size Stock illustration ID: 1324335966 Upload date: June 19, 2021 Categories: Stock Illustrations | Directional Sign

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Bibliography Anant national university - Google search. (n.d.). Google. https://www.google.com/search?q=anant+national+university&rlz=1C1CHBF_enIN852IN852&oq=&aqs=chrome.0.69i59i 450l2.245198978j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Overview. (2022, March 16). Anant National University | Best Design college/ Institute in Ahmedabad-India. https://anu. edu.in/about-us/overview/ Best bachelor of design college/University - Ahmedabad India | Top B.Des. Courses - Anant national University.

(2022, March 22). Anant National University | Best Design college/ Institute in Ahmedabad-India. https://anu.edu.in/ programme/bachelor-of-design/ Importance and benefits of reading skills in communication.

(2021, August 3). Harappa. https://harappa.education/harappa-diaries/importance-of-reading/ 17 reasons why reading is important for everyone. (2021, July 4). GladReaders. https://gladreaders.com/importance-of-reading-books/ The importance of reading: Click here to read more. (2021, May 27). University of the People. https://www.uopeople. edu/blog/why-its-important-to-read/ The importance of reading. (n.d.). Nord Anglia Education | International Day & Boarding Schools. https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/our-schools/al-khor/parent-resources/ our-school-enewsletter/primary/the-importance-of-reading Why is reading important? (n.d.). Learn To Read. https:// www.learn-to-read-prince-george.com/why-is-reading-important.html 10+ best Audiobook apps in 2022. (2021, September 21).

Peter Abraham - Voice Over Artist in Mumbai, India. https:// peterabraham.in/best-audiobook-apps/ Hamilton, J. (2022, April 6). How to make an Audiobook Everything you need to know. Kindlepreneur. https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-make-an-audiobook/

Audiobook. (2005, January 27). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Audiobook Dashrath, Y. (2020, September 9). Audiobooks may be just what readers needed during the pandemic. Will they change Indian publishing? Scroll.in. https://scroll.in/article/972585/ audiobooks-may-be-just-what-readers-needed-during-thepandemic-will-they-change-indian-publishing Hear we grow! Audiobooks witnesses a rise as more users join the bandwagon. (2021, September 7). Business News: Business News India, Business News Today, Latest Finance News, Business News Live - The Financial Express | The Financial Express. https://www.financialexpress.com/ brandwagon/hear-we-grow-audiobooks-witnesses-a-riseas-more-users-join-the-bandwagon/2325233/ With 25 million audiobook consumers, India takes third place behind USA and China. Might Storytel be eyeing an acquisition? (2021, September 27). The New Publishing Standard. https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2021/09/08/ with-25-million-audiobook-consumers-india-takes-thirdplace-behind-usa-and-china-might-storytel-be-eyeing-anacquisition/ India: Going the audio way, a look at Audiobook market in India. (2012, June 15). nextbigwhat. https://nextbigwhat. com/audiobooks-in-india/ Can I create an audiobook from a book published by someone else? (n.d.). Quora. https://www.quora.com/Can-I-create-an-audiobook-from-a-book-published-by-someone-else Is it legal to record and publish on YouTube an audiobook of any known book? (n.d.). Quora. https://www.quora.com/ Is-it-legal-to-record-and-publish-on-YouTube-an-audiobookof-any-known-book How do I legally make audio books? (n.d.). Quora. https:// www.quora.com/How-do-I-legally-make-audio-books What are Creative Commons licenses? (n.d.). WUR. https:// www.wur.nl/en/article/What-are-Creative-Commons-licenses.htm

Bueno, L. (2021, June 24). How to know if recording an Audiobook is illegal or not. Audio Product Creators. https:// audioproductcreators.com/how-to-know-if-recording-an-audiobook-is-illegal-or-not/ Hamilton, J. (2022, April 6). How to make an Audiobook Everything you need to know. Kindlepreneur. https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-make-an-audiobook/ Bueno, L. (2021, June 18). How does an Audiobook work?

Benefits, formats, and opportunities. Audio Product Creators. https://audioproductcreators.com/how-does-an-audiobook-work-benefits-formats-and-opportunities/ Yes, you can record your own Audiobook. Here’s how. (2020, September 21). Rob Dircks | Author, Copywriter, Designer. https://robdircks.com/yes-you-can-record-your-own-audiobook-heres-how/ How to make an Audiobook (Video tutorial + tips). (2021, September 15). Self Publishing School. https://self-publishingschool.com/make-an-audiobook/ Record your own Audiobook for audible. (2018, October 21). Instructables. https://www.instructables.com/Record-Your-Own-Audiobook-for-Audible/ Hamilton, J. (2022, April 6). How to make an Audiobook Everything you need to know. Kindlepreneur. https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-make-an-audiobook/ How long does it take to record an Audiobook? Real data analyzed. (2020, September 22). Sound Adventurer. https:// soundadventurer.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-record-anaudiobook/ Audiobook production and recording services in India.

(2021, June 14). Timbre Media. https://www.timbremedia.in/ audiobooks/#2 How to use Instagram reels: A step-by-step guide. (2022, January 18). Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/instagram-reels/430673/#close

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Way Forward after the Jury’s Feedback

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Things that need to be worked upon to make the project more finer Understanding the journey of users

Hosting and creating library books

This can be done by usability testing of masses of people to know the pain points of listeners and creators separately while they use the app. By doing so it’ll help in understanding the users more deeply.

Is another way to build a community of readers, creators and listeners. It’s a delightful way to bring people together to talk and share about reading and listening and nurture a community.

Building a community of listeners and creators

Promoting the app on social media platforms

Sharing what one is reading or listening to with friends and family. It’ll help in circulating the knowledge that one has gained by doing the same. People will start to experience the curiosity to learn new things.

The app can be promoted by making it available on the play store so that people can download it, use it and then on a platform like Reddit or Quora can put their reviews. This will help multiple people connect through a common app and is going to help build the community of listeners and creators.

Conducting focus group discussions in offline mode by gathering people in a certain environment where it feels easy to talk and share things. This discussion will help people develop the skill of reading new books, and magazines and listening to good content that’ll help enhance their skills overall.

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