«Listay» — a media platform for books chosen based on mood and atmosphere
«List» is a media platform dedicated to books chosen by mood, atmosphere, and visual aesthetic. The project helps users find a book not only by genre, author, or plot, but also by the feeling they wish to experience through reading. Collections are built around specific moods and aesthetics: a rainy evening, summer romance, cozy home life, dark academia, or a small European city. Visual mood boards, short recommendations, interactive selections, and «if you’re in the mood for…» formats help users first sense the book’s atmosphere, and then decide if they want to read it.
Problem
Traditional book recommendations are usually structured around genre, author, plot, rating, or popularity. But sometimes a person doesn’t know exactly what they want to read. They only know what kind of mood they want to get from the book:
want something cozy and rainy;
want to feel like it’s summer;
want to dive into dark academia;
want romance and first love;
want to be in a small European city;
want something unsettling and dark.
Therefore, readers independently search for visual book collections on TikTok, Pinterest, and social media. They first try to grasp the book’s atmosphere visually before deciding whether they want to read it.
Goal
To help the audience select books by considering not only the plot and genre but also their current mood and desired atmosphere. «List» translates the abstract desire—“I want something cozy, melancholic, or romantic» (or something else)—into specific book recommendations.
The project helps make choosing a book more intuitive and visual: through curated collections, mood boards, and atmosphere descriptions, the reader can first imagine themselves within the book’s world before deciding if the story is right for them.
Theme
Focus Area: A book lifestyle media platform centered on reading and book selection.Niche Topic: Curating books based on mood, atmosphere, and visual vibe—ranging from a specific emotional state to an aesthetic one that the reader wishes to immerse themselves in through literature.The focus of «listicles» is the emotional and visual dimension of books: mood, atmosphere, aesthetics, space, season, colors, and imagery associated with a particular narrative. Specific books are used as the basis for these collections, grouped not just by genre or plot, but by a shared feeling.
A specific thematic element explores the connection between a book and everyday mood and visual culture. «List» helps translate a vague request like, «I want something with this vibe, ” into a concrete book recommendation, showing how visual imagery, mood boards, and short descriptions allow one to feel the book’s atmosphere even before reading it.
Topics
If You Feel Like… — a selection of books curated for a specific mood or desire. «If you want to escape the city, ” „If you want first love, ” „If you crave autumn and rain.“
A Book as a Moodboard — a visual portrait of a book using colors, objects, settings, clothing, music, and atmospheric details.
One Vibe—Five Books — several books united by a single mood or aesthetic. „Five books for those who love dark academia.“
Choose a Mood — an interactive feature where the reader selects an image, color, object, or situation and receives a book recommendation.
Book in Detail — an atmospheric breakdown of a single book through small elements: the setting, season, colors, interior design, music, scents, and objects.
What to Read Today? — quick recommendations tailored to the reader’s current state. „Tired and want something light“ → three books.
Subscriber’s Vibe — the reader describes a mood or sends a visual selection, and „Lisay“ curates books based on it.
Distribution Channels
Telegram — our main platform. This is where we share curated book lists, visual cards, interactive content, and mood recommendations. Telegram is becoming a space for regular engagement with our audience: subscribers can suggest their own books and associations.
Content Adaptation
The material is presented through short visual collections, mood boards, book recommendations, interactive surveys, and thematic segments where books are explored through atmosphere, visual imagery, and associations.
Visual Style
The «swipe» visual style is crafty, warm, and slightly imperfect—like a personal journal or sketchbook.
It is built around hand-drawn graphics: handwritten notes, sketched arrows, underlines, borders, small illustrations, and margin annotations. Elements might appear as if cut from a magazine, pasted into a notebook, or lightly drawn over a photograph with a pencil.
Photographs of books and atmospheric imagery are combined with hand-drawn elements: sketches, collages, paper textures, stickers, and small visual commentary.
The color palette is muted and bookish: shades of aged paper, cream, brown, dark green, burgundy, and dusty blue. Accent colors may appear for specific collections, corresponding to a particular mood.
The core principle of the visual is not a perfect image, but the feeling of a personal collection. Every post should resemble a page from someone else’s sketchbook—one that makes you want to examine and save it.
Tone of voice
«Browse» feels like a recommendation from a friend who loves books and knows exactly how to select one for your current mood.
The tone is vibrant, friendly, slightly wistful, and highly visual—unacademic and free of pretension.
The media doesn’t speak to the reader from a position of authority, nor does it lecture on how to read books correctly. Instead, it suggests:
«Feeling like this right now? Then try this book.»
Target Audience
Segment 1. «I choose a book based on the vibe»
People often pay attention to covers, photographs, aesthetics, and mood boards on Pinterest or TikTok. They may not know the book’s title, but they immediately grasp if its atmosphere appeals to them.Jobs to Be Done (JTBD)
«I want to first feel the book’s atmosphere to understand if it’s right for me right now.»
Segment 2. «I want to read, but I don’t know what.»
A person has a list of unread books, but choosing the next one is still difficult. They don’t want to search by genre, ratings, or popular lists again. JTBD «I want to find a book that matches my current mood so I can quickly decide what to read.»
Segment 3. «I liked the aesthetic»
A person saves visual mood boards, develops an interest in specific aesthetics, and wants to find books that match a favored vibe—such as dark academia, summer romance, or a small European town.JTBD «I want to find books that will immerse me in a favorite aesthetic and let me experience it through reading.»
Segment 4. «I Read According to My Mood»