CHAPTRS
Evolving an audiobook app for Muslims from an early MVP into a growing subscription product.
OVERVIEW
Chaptrs is the world's first audiobook app for Muslims, making authentic knowledge more accessible through audio.
As Chaptrs’ sole designer, I owned the design of product features across iOS, Android and web, working directly with the founders, technology lead and software engineer from initial requirements through handover and internal release testing.
Roadmap priorities were agreed by the founders and technology lead. I influenced the design direction and translated those priorities into flows, interface designs and reusable product patterns.
WEBSITE
My Role
Design Lead
CORE OWNERSHIP
Product design
Design system
Brand and visual identity
WIDER SCOPE
Marketing website
Email and social campaigns
Investor and event materials
COLLABORATED WITH
Software Engineers
Audiobook Production
Head of Social
Founders
TIMELINE
2025 - Present
CONSTRAINTS
Small start-up team · Roadmap set collaboratively with leadership · Customer evidence primarily via support feedback · Cross-platform delivery.
Over 18 months, I helped evolve Chaptrs from an early credit-based app into a growing subscription product.
1M+
downloads
APP DOWNLOADS
200+
Covers
Designed
AUDIOBOOK COVERS
Credits → Unlimited
Subscription model evolution
App + Website
End-to-end design ownership
THE OPPORTUNITY
Less than 5% of Islamic books are available in audio format, limiting access to knowledge for busy Muslims who increasingly rely on audio-first content.
Before Chaptrs, there was Sawti.
Sawti was the original name used to test the audiobook concept. To create a clearer and more accessible proposition for a wider audience, the start-up was renamed Chaptrs.
Within 3 days of joining the team, I established an uplifting and nourishing visual language that appealed to a wide age group whilst avoiding cliché Islamic aesthetics. This visual identity later became the foundation of the product.
Built a lean design system to launch the MVP quickly, but it wasn't designed to scale.
I established Chaptrs' first design system from scratch. I started with a lean foundation comprising a core colour palette, typography, grid system and iconography, while designing for both light and dark mode from day one. Although this approach was fine towards building the MVP, maintaining the component system became challenging.
Act 1: Building the Core MVP. The MVP's goal was to get users from sign-up to their first audiobook with minimal friction.
Core MVP
Download App
Onboarding
Account creation
Subscription options
Home
Select audiobook
Redeem 1 credit to unlock
Play audiobook
Entry
Setup
Core product
Journey One: Helping users reach their first audiobook with minimal friction.
Journey Two: Helping users discover and listen to audiobooks.
Act 2: Early user feedback revealed that the credit model didn’t match user expectations.
Recurring support tickets, relayed by the customer success manager, revealed repeated confusion around credits, renewals and purchasing additional access.
Image: Representative customer feedback themes gathered from support tickets.
Problem: Users were unfamiliar with credits leading to confusion and friction.
Response: We simplified the experience and clarified how credits worked whilst introducing the ability to buy extra credits.
Insight: Better UX couldn't resolve the underlying expectation mismatch.
These recurring feedback patterns validated the decision to replace the credit model with an unlimited streaming subscription.
Act 3: User feedback led us to replace credits with an unlimited subscription and redesign the product experience.
Image: Subscriber and non-subscriber flows affected by the transition to unlimited streaming.
Credits → Unlimited access
Removed credit allowances from the proposition and made unlimited access the core subscription benefit.
Redeem a credit → Play instantly
Removed the credit redemption step so subscribers could start listening directly.
Track available credits → No credits to manage
Removed credit balances and renewal messaging from the library experience.
As the product evolved, I rebuilt the design system around design tokens, making it easier to scale and maintain.
Outcomes
Scalable design system supporting future product growth.
Consistent UI across light and dark themes.
Faster creation of new features using reusable components.
Reduced maintenance through semantic variables.
Where Chaptrs is today: a more mature product built around discovery, listening and accessibility.
I used ChatGPT to challenge product decisions, explore solutions and build tools beyond my traditional design workflow.
Stress-testing product decisions
I used ChatGPT as a critical second perspective to surface usability issues, edge cases and alternative approaches before progressing designs.
How AI supported a real product decision
PROMPT
Asked ChatGPT to critique the Listening Profiles flow for usability issues and edge cases.
RESPONSE
Surfaced considerations around switching, profile management, permissions and account hierarchy.
EVALUATION
Assessed each recommendation against Chaptrs' product, constraints and user needs.
ACTION
Applied relevant recommendations and adapted others into the final experience.
Turning a repetitive workflow into a working internal tool
Used AI-assisted development to build Chart Studio in Python, a working internal tool to generate consistent, production-ready charts for performance reports.
Disclaimer: All metric names, dates and figures have been replaced with representative data for confidentiality.