Building a community-driven publishing platform for young adult fiction
Swoon Reads was a young adult fiction imprint from Macmillan built around an ambitious idea: letting readers help decide what gets published. Aspiring authors could upload manuscripts while the community read, commented, and voted on their favorites, giving emerging writers a direct path to publication.
As Group Creative Director, I led the development of the brand system and oversaw the design of the digital platform. I also designed the companion e-reader experience that allowed readers to discover and engage with manuscripts directly on their devices.
The work included a vibrant brand identity, a community-driven website for manuscript discovery and feedback, and a customizable e-reader designed to make reading and sharing stories seamless across the platform.
We began by developing a brand system designed to resonate with young adult readers while supporting a wide range of story tones, from contemporary romance to darker drama. The identity featured a vibrant color palette, playful illustrations, and expressive elements like doodles and handwritten touches, creating a visual language that felt creative, personal, and community-driven.
The platform allowed aspiring authors to upload manuscripts while readers discovered new stories, left comments, and voted for their favorites. The experience encouraged participation from both sides of the community, pairing manuscript discovery with editorial insights, writing challenges, author interviews, and social engagement.
We also created an e-reader inspired by Kindle, with customizable fonts, themes, highlighting, and library tools, which made it easy for readers to discover and engage with new manuscripts.
