Engagement Declines with Age
By age 9, 40% of children report not enjoying reading
Developing Readers Need Support
Many children struggle with comprehension as text becomes more complex
Purposeful Illustrations Make a Difference
Relevant Illustrations help children understand stories
Reading Enjoyment Declines with Age
Many beginning to disengage from reading during the transition toward longer-form books.
1.
Research & Discovery
Before developing Max Planet, I explored a central question: Why do some young readers begin disengaging from reading as books become longer and more text-heavy, and how could the reading experience better support that transition?
Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report found a marked decline in reading enjoyment and frequency beginning around age nine. In its survey, 46% of children ages 6–8 reported reading books five or more days per week, compared with 32% of children ages 9–11. Scholastic also found that enjoyment of reading decreases as children grow older.
This suggested that designing for this age group was not only about reading ability. The experience also needed to make longer-form reading feel enjoyable and approachable.
Developing Readers Still Need Support
In 2024, 40% of U.S. fourth graders performed below the NAEP Basic level in reading, highlighting the broader challenge of keeping developing readers confident and engaged with increasingly complex text.
Purposeful Illustrations Can Support Understanding
Research suggests that illustrations can help children understand stories and form inferences when the visuals reinforce what they are reading. Max Planet’s use of strategically placed illustrations to establish characters, environments, and important story moments while still allowing readers to imagine portions of the story independently.
Designing for Different Reading Preferences
Readers engage with stories in different ways. While some enjoy detailed descriptions and extensive world-building, others may prefer character-driven dialogue and action-oriented storytelling. Research into narrative styles suggests that the way information is presented can influence the reading experience.
Max Planet embraces dialogue-driven storytelling, shorter passages, and strategically placed illustrations to create an engaging reading experience for children transitioning toward longer-form literature.
Max Planet User Persona
A Closer Look at the Typical Max Planet Reader
Max Planet was designed for transitioning from picture books to chapter books. By combining engaging storytelling, exciting adventures, relatable characters, and vibrant illustrations, Max Planet helps make longer-form reading feel more approachable, enjoyable, and rewarding.
4.
Defining the Product
Turning research into a clear design direction.
Make longer reading feel approachable.
Use Illustrations as visual anchors
Break up dense text with intentional spacing
Create memorable reoccuring characters.
5.
The Readers Journey
From curiosity to confidence
Discover
Curiosity
Bold cover creates interests
Begin Reading
Excitement
Immediate Action
Settle in
Relief
Dialogue Reduces Friction
Reorient
Understanding
Illustrations Reinforce context
Engage
Momentum
Races + Action
FInish
Pride
Satisfying ending
Official Max Planet Book Trailer
6.
Character Development
Built to Be Remembered
Character development focused on creating a cast that felt distinct, memorable, and consistent across the series.
Each character was shaped through recognizable colors, silhouettes, costumes, expressions, and personality cues so readers could quickly identify them and understand their role in the story.
Personality was just as important as appearance.
Each member of the cast was designed to contribute something different to the larger story. Rocket brings the confidence and perspective of Max’s slightly older sister, Dazzle approaches problems through intelligence and creativity, Razzle adds humor and heart, while Max provides the curiosity and determination that drives the adventure forward.
The wider cast adds emotional range and narrative tension: Max’s mother, Maya, provides warmth and stability, while her relationship with Officer Rick develops across the series and eventually leads to marriage by Book 3. The story also introduces multiple antagonists, each with a different personality and motivation, giving the characters new types of conflict to face. Together, the cast creates a balance of family, friendship, humor, romance, rivalry, and growth that allows the series to evolve beyond a single adventure.
As the series developed, I also explored how the characters could evolve over time while preserving the visual traits that made them recognizable.
7.
Design Exploration & Iteration
Each iteration focused on improving clarity, composition, and the overall reading experience.
Image Editing
Refined for the Story
Each illustration went through multiple rounds of refinement to improve composition, visual hierarchy, lighting, and storytelling. I experimented with placement, scale, and environmental details to create a stronger sense of movement within each scene.
Some elements were repositioned, removed, or adjusted when they competed with the focal point. The final goal was to create imagery that felt cinematic while still supporting the story and making each moment easy for the reader to understand.
Layout Refinement
Designed to Guide the Eye
I experimented with both split-page and full-page compositions throughout the book.
For major story moments, I chose larger illustrations to create stronger visual impact, while smaller layouts were used for quieter scenes.
This helped establish pacing, hierarchy, and a more cinematic reading experience.
8.
Final Product
Max Planet Book Series
A three-book illustrated sci-fi action-adventure series for readers ages 8–12.
Max Planet grew into a cohesive children’s book series that combines longer-form storytelling with purposeful illustration, recurring characters, and a distinct sci-fi visual identity.
The final product brings together the books, character system, website, promotional artwork, and supporting materials into one consistent experience designed to make reading feel adventurous, approachable, and memorable.
Max Planet: Race for Tomorrow
Max Planet: To the Furthest Galaxy
Max Planet: The Fading Eclipse
Extra: Max Planet Activity Book
9.
Marketing Collateral
10.
Reflecting on the Max Planet Experience
Max Planet taught me how to take an idea and turn it into a real, finished product. Bringing the project from concept through design, production, and publication gave me confidence in my ability to apply design principles while also working within real-world constraints and publisher specifications. More than anything, the project showed me that I could take something that existed only as an idea and build it into a complete experience that people could actually hold, read, and engage with.
It also taught me that good design is not only about creating something visually strong, but about solving problems, making decisions, adapting to constraints, and carrying a product all the way through to launch.
What did I learn?
I learned how to build a product that could be entertaining, valuable, and imaginative while still being guided by intentional design decisions.
What worked well?
I found that full-page layouts created stronger visual moments, helping capture the reader’s attention and giving the book a more cinematic, immersive feel.
What would I improve next time?
If I continued developing the project, I would conduct usability testing with children in the target age range to validate whether the reading experience, pacing, illustrations, and text density feel appropriate for readers ages 8–12.
Overall satisfaction?
Overall, I’m proud of how Max Planet turned out. The final product feels visually engaging, imaginative, and true to the tone I wanted to create. Seeing the project come together as a complete published product was one of the most rewarding parts of the process.
