Mobile app design - ux design

BOOKED

November 2023 - January 2023

BOOKED is your go-to space for discovering, reviewing, and buying your next great read—powered by community, built for book lovers.

Jump tO IMPLEMENTATION
Role
UX Designer
Methods
Journey Maps
Affinity Mapping
Storyboards
Prototyping
Context
Solo Self-Initiated Project
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Problem
Users want a simpler and more accessible alternative to visiting their favourite bookstore
Solution
To let users browse and order books online and allow them to easily browse for their next read and deliver a book to their doorstep
RESEARCH & INSPIRATION
Understanding the User

The user research included competitive audits, and interviews with participants who had purchased a book or visited a bookstore in the past 6 months. I then created user personas, user journey maps, and storyboarding. Using these methods, I focused on user-accessibility, and modifying iterations to respond to common pain points, and user testing to optimize the user flow. 

User Pain Points

Using these insights, I mapped out a customer journey with key pain points. The areas with low satisfaction that arose in my interviews became the areas with greatest opportunity for a design solution.

  1. Difficulty in Finding Books That Match Interests and Past Reads – Users struggle to discover new books that align with their preferences due to overwhelming choices and a lack of personalized recommendations.
  2. Limited Genre-Based Browsing and Trustworthy Reviews – Users cannot easily browse specific genres or receive curated recommendations, and existing platforms often have unreliable or unhelpful reviews, making informed decisions difficult.
  3. Disconnected Reading Communities and Inconvenience of Physical Bookstores – Users want a seamless way to engage in meaningful discussions and connect with like-minded readers but find existing options scattered. Additionally, time constraints make it difficult to visit bookstores to explore new reads in person.
"How might we make book discovery easier with personalized recommendations, trusted reviews, and a connected reading community?"
IDEATION
Story boarding

Identifying challenges in book discovery, including personalized recommendations and community engagement, led me to explore potential solutions. To ideate, I storyboarded different concepts to inspire creativity and envision the final experience.

DESIGN ITERATIONS
Paper Wireframes

Starting from low-fidelity prototypes allowed me to get feedback on the data flow and information architecture. I experimented with different iterations of each screen to find the most desirable design.

Mid-fidelity prototype

After a first round of user testing, I moved to digital wireframes.

In user testing with mid-fidelity screens, it was clear that potential adopters wanted more simplicity and organization like more clear review page. In addition, 80% of users mentioned that the information organization was not clear, and can be simplified.

Round 1 Findings
  1. Users needed labels for icons
  2. Font was difficult for visually-impaired 
  3. Requested categories on home page
Round 2 Findings
  1. Users requested a more simple homepage
  2. Users wanted a more reliable search feature
Style Guide

When designing the style guide, I aimed to create a brand identity that feels engaging, community-driven, and reader-first. To enhance book discovery and social interaction, I drew inspiration from existing design languages used in platforms like Goodreads, Letterboxd, and DuoLingo.

IMPLEMENTATION
Prioritizing community and personalization
A homepage that is personalized for the user, that showcases books based on their behaviour, as well as book clubs and communities to join to encourage consistency and expand networks
Review-focused browsing
A browse that is review-focused, in which you can follow other book lovers, and find your next read based on their opinions and ratings.
Designed and Developed by Suzan Sadek