Private demo · Human in the loop
LitDio
MeditationsMarcus Aurelius, tr. George Long
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.
Voice
Preview first. Apply it to change the book.
Private demo. Sound starts off.
A typographic player for a public-domain sentence. Your place is a word in the line, and a new voice is previewed before it changes the book.
The book is Meditations, Marcus Aurelius, tr. George Long (public domain). This is the private demo already on the home page. It is not a launched product, and no outcome is claimed.
What the concept shows
The sentence is the player. The current word is highlighted, and you can drag or click the line, or the scrub bar, to set your place. Play advances word by word. Under reduced motion, play does not auto-advance.
Voice is a separate decision from place. Three options sit under the line: Warm, Clear, and Low. The prompt reads, “Preview first. Apply it to change the book.”
Tapping a voice starts a preview. The status says which voice is previewing, and that the current voice stays on the book until you apply. An “Apply this voice” action commits it. Until then, the book does not change. If Warm is already applied, the status is “Warm is on the book.”
Sound starts off. The footer says, “Sound is off. Previews stay quiet until you turn it on.” After you turn it on, previews use a short, abstract tone — not recorded narration.
Design questions the concept answers
Where you are: rather than a time code standing in for the text, the current word in the sentence is the playhead.
Changing a voice: rather than switching instantly on tap, you preview first and apply it to change the book.
Sound on a public page: rather than autoplaying, sound stays off until it is turned on, and previews stay quiet until then.
Calm reading focus: rather than a scenic player or a cover-led stage, the sentence stays in front, in type.
Not shown in this concept
A library or chapter list, skip controls, playback speed, saved position across visits, a cancelled preview, and recorded narrators. Those belong to a fuller listening product, not to this home-page demo.
A related UI study of listening controls on a phone — play, pause, skip, and change speed or voice without losing your place — is already live at Designing an audio-first mobile experience. That page is a different concept.
This is a private demo. No outcome is claimed.