Overview

Dolby Labs asked our team to research the emerging space of user-generated audiobook content and identify opportunities to support non-professional creators.
Through primary and secondary research, we examined creator behavior, workflow pain points, and the potential role of generative AI in narration, editing, and production.

 

Problem

UGC audiobook creators often lack the tools, guidance, and confidence needed to create high-quality audio content. Key challenges included:
• Difficulty navigating recording tools without tutorials
• Low confidence in narration and performance skills
• Time-consuming annotation and prep work
• Limited editing knowledge and inconsistent audio quality
• Fragmented workflows across multiple tools

These barriers prevent creators from efficiently producing and distributing audiobooks.

 

My Role

I contributed to multiple phases of research and early concept development:
• Interviews with UGC creators (writers, narrators, podcasters)
• Competitive analysis of AI audio tools
• Reddit-based audience insight gathering
• Workshop facilitation and synthesis
• Sketching interface concepts and brainstorming design solutions

 

Key Insights

• Creators rely heavily on YouTube tutorials due to unclear tool onboarding.
• Narration prep (annotation, pronunciation guidance, tone decisions) is slow and manual.
• Writers want AI support that offers recommendations, not replacement.
• Editing is the most overwhelming step for beginners.
• Confidence, not capability, is the biggest limiter for first-time audiobook creators.

 

Solution

We produced research-backed design directions focused on simplifying the audiobook creation journey:

Onboarding Flow
Guided setup that explains tools, expectations, and step-by-step workflows.

Narration Helper (AI-Assisted)
• Upload manuscript
• AI generates annotations, tone suggestions, character cues, and pronunciation help
• Creators can add their own notes to build confidence before recording

Editing & Quality Assurance
• AI-driven cleanup, noise reduction, and error detection
• Real-time feedback for pacing, consistency, and clarity
• Tutorials embedded inside the interface to reduce reliance on external videos

Platform Exporting
One-click export to formats optimized for Spotify, Audible, YouTube, LibriVox, etc., lowering the barrier to publishing.

 

Impact

Our findings helped Dolby identify high-value opportunities in:
• AI-supported narration prep
• Confidence-building onboarding flows
• Simplified editing pipelines
• Multi-platform distribution tooling

These insights now serve as the foundation for future prototyping and product exploration.

 

Next Steps

High-fidelity design exploration, expanded user testing, and validation of the proposed AI features with larger creator groups.

 

Documentation

• Research Report
• Persona & Journey Mapping
• Concept Screens & Feature Recommendations