Empty State of an Educational App

I like your choice to use an illustration. Illustrations are great for setting a vibe and communicating the brand. However, I think the illustration you chose is of a relatively poor quality and drags down the look and feel of the design. The image seems a little rough around the edges, literally.

One observation I have about the copy is that it comes across as very matter-of-fact. I see that your intention is to create a sophisticated, focused space for reading. What I come away with is a deflated feeling. It sort of feels like I'm getting ready to read a stuffy article.

Books are creative, thoughtful and emotional; I think the design would benefit from an illustration with more emotion and accompanying copy that speaks that same language. I suggest leaning into the literary aspect of the subject matter: "Your bookshelf is waiting for its first story." I just generated that using Claude, but you can see how much different that feels. It makes the experience exciting. Pair that with some powerful imagery and you have some good brand communication.

The type you selected also reinforces sort of a clinical "I'm about to read a textbook/medical journal/peer-reviewed article" vibe. That slightly condensed look brings a governmental/industrial aspect to the design that, to me, feels quite cold. A serif typeface would communicate the literary nature of the app really well.

On the button design, navy blue feels pretty austere for something artistic like literature, whereas a brighter blue like the one you chose for the dark mode button isn't very memorable. I would definitely add at least a small radius to the buttons as well. I think a muted/tonal palette could work well for this product.

The spacing looks pretty good. It could just be more even. I would probably do something like 24px between the illustration and text, and the text and button.

You have a good sense of composition. Keep it up!