Manga, built for touch
Manga: a global phenomenon with no digital home.
Manga and anime have transcended their Japanese roots to become a global cultural force. Millions of fans don't just consume these rich narratives: they live them through cosplay, art, and community. This project aims to address the need for a digital home that matches the scale of this booming passion.
The need for a digital place tailored for manga fans.
SUGOI evolved from a thesis project into a scalable startup. We are building a mobile platform that aims to bridge the gap between physical fandom and daily digital habits of fans. Our goal is to digitize the manga and anime lifestyle through a unified app for iOS and Android.
A space where fans belong.
While fans have conventions and other physical events, they lack a dedicated digital space for daily interaction. Behavioral trends suggested a gap: users needed a platform to connect, enjoy, and organize their hobby every day, anywhere. The challenge is to centralize these fragmented experiences into a single digital platform in every fan's pocket.
Data and UX at the core.
We conducted a quantitative survey with
over 200 targeted participants. This data revealed deep insights into consumption
habits, validating our hypothesis: fans need and want a specific solution
tailored for them. The strategy focused on "empathy," designing a
product that speaks the specific language of fans.
By placing the user before the features, we made sure to build a product that
actually
serves a true purpose.
A brand that speaks manga.
We named it SUGOI (japanese for "Awesome") capturing the thrill of discovery. The
visual identity was a major challenge because it had to feel authentic to the manga
aesthetic: bold, dynamic, and expressive but also artistic and carefully crafted.
The
result is a powerful brand system that gracefully stands between a digital look
and feel, and the handcrafted realm of manga art.
A digital companion for your daily manga and anime needs.
The app acts as a digital companion with three pillars:
- A collection tab allows deep tracking of anime/manga progress and physical collections.
- A community area enables content creation and sharing, and discovery based on taste.
- An events section ensures fans never miss a release or a physical event.
Our recipe: built by fans, for fans.
As Founder and Lead Designer, I led the vision from academic concept to startup reality.
I executed the full design spectrum: research, branding, and digital product design.
Today, I design, code, promote, and manage the product roadmap, working
closely with my partner to bring these designs into a live, market-ready product, aiming to
launch very soon.
Going live very soon
Our next big milestone is to take SUGOI into the real world and build a community of
passionate manga and anime fans who can share their passion together, in a platform
specifically designed for them.
Aiming to launch very soon highlights just how much
a design-driven project can accomplish, especially considering SUGOI was only a
thesis project just a couple of years ago.
VISIT SUGOIAPP.ES
Getting recognized before even launching.
Spain's Art Directors and Graphic Designers Association annually presents ADG Laus design awards since 1964. In 2023, with the 53rd edition of the contest, SUGOI was recognized with an ADG Laus Award for its branding and digital design!
In a world where nowadays everything moves so fast, we truly believe to have found a blue ocean opportunity in the market for a carefully designed and handcrafted mobile app, and we cannot wait to release and get it in the hands of fans.
This is just where the fun begins.
This is just the beginning for what we believe is a viable, necessary and awesome digital product. Manga fans are waiting out there for the perfect place to enjoy the content they love most anywhere, anytime.
After successfully conceptualizing, we are growing up a passionate team committed to continue developing this project and getting it into users' hands in the near future. You can keep up to date with the project in our website:
VISIT SUGOIAPP.ES
Teamwork makes the difference.
When I created SUGOI, it was born as a student thesis and it was only me against uncertainty. To be able to scale the idea into a professional, real-life app that actually makes sense from a business standpoint, building a small team was just as important as the app itself.
Yet the hardest role I encountered was leading and managing people. When done right, it brings great results, but it requires a lot of organization, empathy and attention to detail. This project has allowed me to put these skills into practice in a deep and meaningful way.
Unifying a global digital ecosystem
Uncover my role in redefining Iberdrola's new multiplatform Design System, enabling faster scaling, better governance, and accessible experiences across all products.
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