Freelance project · AI products
Turn any article into audio you can listen to on the move
Pocket turns any article, blog or text into high-quality audio narration. It’s for people who want to keep up with their reading while commuting, working out or multitasking. I designed the mobile app, from saving a piece to listening to it.
01The problem
People save more articles than they ever read, because reading needs both eyes and a free moment. Audio fits the time they do have, but a listening app has to work one-handed, at a glance and often with the screen off.
Who it’s for
Daily commuters
Saved reading turned into listening for the journey.
People working out
Controls they can use without stopping or looking for long.
Busy readers
A queue that clears their reading list while they do other things.
02The main flow
01
Find an article
02
Share to Pocket
03
Audio is generated
04
Listen on the go
05
Resume later
03Structure
Library
Add
Player
Profile
04Key decisions
Decision 01
A library of saved articles is a reading list in disguise, and it grows faster than anyone clears it.
Considered
A home screen of saved articles in a grid, like a reading app.
Chosen
Pocket opens on a listening queue: the next piece is ready to play, and the rest line up behind it.
Why it works
Listening is linear. A queue removes the choice of what to play next, which is what people want when their hands are busy.
Decision 02
People listen while walking or training, when they can’t look at the screen for long.
Considered
A standard media player layout with small controls and a fine scrubber.
Chosen
I made play, skip back and skip forward the largest targets, kept speed and voice one tap away, and moved everything else out of the player.
Why it works
In motion, a missed tap costs more than a missing feature. Big targets in fixed places work by feel.
Decision 03
If saving a piece means opening the app and pasting a link, most pieces never get saved.
Considered
Adding articles only from inside the app.
Chosen
Pocket appears in the system share sheet, and links or text pasted in the app go to the same queue.
Why it works
The moment to save is when someone finds the piece, not later. Meeting them in the share sheet catches that moment.
05What’s inside
Saves any article from the share sheet straight into the queue.
Reads articles, blogs and pasted text aloud in a high-quality voice.
Lines up saved pieces so the next one is always ready.
Lets listeners choose a voice and set the reading pace.
Shows the text in step with the narration for people who want both.
06Outcome
Delivered
What I learned
Designing for audio meant designing for moments when people aren’t looking. Fewer, bigger controls did more than extra features.
The share sheet was the real front door of the app.
Next step
Pick a time that suits you. You'll leave the call with a clear next step, whether we work together or not.
