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Shelfy
A physical-book subscription concept built solo in four days, from idea to an investor-ready prototype.
[ OPEN IN FIGMA ↗ ]ROLE
UX Research, UX/UI Design, Brand Identity
YEAR
2026
INDUSTRY
E-commerce
PLATFORM
Mobile App / Prototype
TOOLS
Figma
OVERVIEW
Shelfy lets people subscribe to physical books and pick them up from branded boxes around the city instead of ordering delivery. I developed the concept solo in four days, from idea to a high-fidelity prototype in Figma. I wanted to show how fast I can take a project from zero to a clickable product.
CHALLENGE
I set myself a 4-day goal: take a project from idea to a clickable prototype. Build a product I could present to an investor. Physical books are having a new wave of popularity, especially among Gen Z. Young people are picking up analog hobbies instead of scrolling social media. I also wanted to tie the concept to the growing relevance of reusing things.
APPROACH
I worked in three stages: research, user flow, and design.
RESEARCH
I started with a market analysis. There were no direct competitors, so I studied 10 comparable apps for their strengths and weaknesses. Then I surveyed 30 people from the target audience through Google Forms. The results confirmed the concept was interesting and viable, and showed what people expect from an app like this.
USER FLOW
I mapped the main user journeys. For the MVP I picked three key scenarios: onboarding and subscribing, finding a book and picking it up from a 'shelf', and returning a book by scanning its QR code.
DESIGN
I moved from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity screens. Alongside that, I designed a logo, chose fonts and a color palette, defined the tone of voice, and built a basic design system. After that, I put together detailed, clickable prototypes.
IN THE MVP
- Core subscription flow
- Book discovery and availability
- Pick up and return
- QR-based actions
- Basic account and access logic
NOT IN THE MVP
- Smart recommendations
- Community and social features
- Automated condition validation
- Advanced analytics
- Custom pricing tiers
FUTURE IDEAS
- AI-assisted book condition scoring
- Reader profiles and history
- Partner expansion
- Dynamic subscriptions
I cut every non-essential detail and saved it for later. This version holds only the core concept.
OUTCOME
A complete MVP concept, from research to a high-fidelity, investor-ready prototype, built solo in four days with a design system that can scale.
RESULTS
- Built the MVP in a short window: from concept to a dev-ready handoff
- Surveyed 30 people and analyzed 10 comparable apps before designing
- Built a scalable design system: logo, palette, type, and components
- Ran research, design, and prototyping solo end to end
PROTOTYPE WALKTHROUGH