tcheina

prototype ios bookclub app

Inspired by Fable, GoodReads, and Clubhouse. Community through books and conversation.

IOS
Swift
Base44
BookClub
Community
Growth
Reading
Books
Tue Jul 29 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

First, the eye candy, screenshots of my rudimentary design skills.

I used a mix of color schemes from Material Design, inspiration from apps like Fable, GoodReads, and Clubhouse, to create a simple, clean, and functional design.

HomeViewHomeView2ClubViewBookShelfViewChatViewProfileViewStatsProfileViewSettingsProfileViewCreationsProfileViewCreationsReviewsProfileViewCreationsVideos

Architecture Overview

SwiftUI Structure

  • Main App: TheEnchantedQuillApp.swift - Entry point with login state management
  • Navigation: MainTabView.swift - Tab-based navigation system
  • Views: Modular view structure with main sections:
  • HomeView.swift - Feed and recommendations
  • BookshelfView.swift - Digital book organization
  • ClubsView.swift - Book clubs and communities
  • ChatView.swift / ChatScreen.swift - Messaging functionality
  • ProfileView.swift - User profiles and statistics
  • Authentication: LoginScreen.swift, CreateAccountScreen.swift

Design System

  • Color System: Comprehensive dark academia theming in DarkAcademiaColors.swift
  • Color.DarkAcademia.* - Dark theme colors
  • Color.LightAcademia.* - Light theme colors
  • Pre-defined gradients for consistent styling
  • Typography: Custom text field styling in DarkAcademiaTextFieldStyle.swift
  • Fonts: Custom fonts loaded via Info.plist (Beachwood, Beachwood Sans, Parisienne, etc.)

Dependencies

  • StreamChat: Chat functionality via Swift Package Manager
  • StreamChatUI: UI components for chat interface
  • Local package reference: ”../stream-chat-swift”

Configuration

  • Credentials: Config/Credentials.swift for API keys (see Credentials.swift.example)
  • Bundle ID: com.theenchantedquill.app
  • Deployment Target: iOS 17.4+
  • Custom fonts: Automatically loaded via Info.plist UIAppFonts array

Media Assets

  • Fonts: Located in TheEnchantedQuill/fonts/ directory
  • Images: Logo variants and book imagery in media/ and Assets.xcassets
  • Video: Background teaser video (teaser.mp4) for login screen

Theme Management

  • Environment-based color scheme detection using @Environment(\.colorScheme)
  • Consistent theming through colorScheme == .dark ? Color.DarkAcademia.* : Color.LightAcademia.* pattern
  • Gradient support with predefined academic color schemes
  • State-based navigation with @State private var isLoggedIn
  • Tab-based main interface after authentication
  • Full-screen covers for modal presentations

Video Background

  • AVPlayerViewController implementation for background video playback
  • Auto-looping video with proper resource handling
  • Graceful fallback for missing video assets

File Organization

  • Main source: TheEnchantedQuill/ directory contains all Swift files
  • Configuration: Config/ subdirectory for credentials and settings
  • Assets: Assets.xcassets for images, fonts/ for custom typography
  • Documentation: Root-level markdown files for project planning and setup
  • Screenshots: screenshots/ with light/dark theme examples