Looking things up interrupts reading.
Readers wanted context without leaving the book.
“I have to switch context and I really don't want to because I want to just immerse in the book”
Helping readers understand cultural context without leaving the story page
The starting point
Understanding the words didn’t always mean understanding the story.
As a non-native speaker, I could understand the individual words and still miss cultural references, implied meanings, or why a moment mattered.
Looking up definitions helped with vocabulary, but not always with the story. Before AI tools, I kept an album of dictionary screenshots.
Speaking to readers · five interviews
01 · Staying in the flow
02 · Seeing the setting
03 · Everyday cultural details
04 · The research detour
Readers wanted cultural context without the detour.
A definition is not a picture.
Unfamiliar settings needed visual context as well as words.
“pictures... to visualize it a little”
Make the unfamiliar tangible.
Even a reference to food could call for an image.
“Just food. We love food... pictures of food cuisines will help.”
A small question can take readers away.
External research became part of understanding the story.
“I often just end up on Wikipedia, honestly”
How might we help readers understand books rooted in unfamiliar cultures without interrupting their reading flow?
Lumi / Exploration
I narrowed Lumi from discovering books to understanding a passage.
I explored three directions. The passport and map supported discovery; the in-page reader addressed the moment someone got stuck. I continued iterating on that third direction.
Exploration 01 / Set aside
Literary passport
Reading stamps give discovery a sense of progress and collection.
The reward sits after finishing a book, not at the moment a passage becomes confusing.
Exploration 02 / Set aside
World map
Geographic browsing makes cultural discovery tangible.
It overlaps with the passport and adds scope without resolving on-page comprehension.
Exploration 03 / Chosen direction
In-page explanation
Keep cultural context beside the passage, then refine how much space the helper should occupy.
Context is available without sending the reader away from the passage.
A persistent assistant column takes space before help is requested.
Decision 02 · defining the agent’s role
A quick explanation comes first; deeper analysis stays optional.
I didn't want Lumi to become another thing readers had to manage. I focused on when the agent should step in, how much help it should offer, and what the reader should control.
That led to a three-level progressive disclosure model: a quiet reading state, quick context for a small question, and deeper analysis only when the reader chooses to explore.
- Default
The page stays a page.
Keep explanations closed so the story remains the focus.
- Quick
Footnote-level help.
Request context for a phrase and get a short explanation beside the text, easy to dismiss.
- Deep
Study mode, opt-in.
Follow-up questions open deeper analysis when the reader wants more, not by default.
Other artefacts
A reading experience with a way in, and a place to return.
The reader is the core. The library and discovery pages support the rest of the journey.
Library
A library that keeps your place
The library organizes books by reading progress. Genre tags let readers narrow the shelf without losing their place.
Discovery
Discovery-led reading
Discovery cards lead with context tags and a short hook, helping readers find a way into an unfamiliar book.
Prototype testing
Eight readers completed the task; deeper analysis felt like study mode.
8/8
understood the core value and stayed immersed
7/8
found the in-text explanation helpful
8.6/10
average satisfaction score
Usability tested with 8 target readers on Figma prototypes. These findings describe the tested tasks and reader feedback, not long-term reading outcomes.
- Readers understood the value on sight: staying in a story while getting cultural context on demand.
- The quick footnote-style cards felt natural, like something they already did by hand.
- The deep-analysis panel read as “study mode,” so it stays opt-in rather than automatic.
Reflection
A few things that I learned
The reading moment worked; the wider journey still needed attention.
Support the whole journey, not only the reading moment.
I focused so closely on in-page explanation that I missed a basic library filter. That exposed a gap between designing an immersive moment and supporting the whole reading journey.
Make help useful, and predictable.
Next, I would test finding a book, resuming a chapter, asking for context, and returning to the library as one journey. I would check whether readers can find help and predict when it appears, not just whether the explanation is useful.
That's the end of this story. If you're still curious, here are two more.