Project duration
8 weeks
Project type
This was a portfolio project and it was carried out solely by me.
Tools used
Figma, Miro, Google docs, Notion
Owned in its entirety the ideation, user
research, UX Design, and visual design of the project.
Moving between bookshops or stores can be very time-consuming and draining. With the onset of the pandemic, we don’t have the leisure of moving around as much as we used to, for our own safety and the safety of others. When you shop online, you can conveniently shop anytime and anywhere. Shopping online gives you the benefit of assessing customer reviews which can give you more insight into the books you are trying to purchase.
What I did
This is my first ever case study, this is a documentation of my UI/UX process, reasoning and learning from designing a mobile bookstore application.
Under a timeline of 4 to 6 weeks, I applied my knowledge of research, Information Architecture, Wireframes and Visual Design to create interactions for this mobile bookstore application.
Goals
Itawe is a mobile application that creates a smooth bookstore experience on your phone screen. The goal of this app is to make shopping for books easier and more convenient for users. At the beginning of this project, I made a list of the things that I wanted to achieve for this application.
1.
Minimalist Interface and concise copy for clear visual communication
2.
Smooth checkout process to avoid drop-offs
3.
Easy and efficient ways to locate books with as little effort as possible.
4.
Easy and straightforward navigation all through the app.
Value Propositions
1.
You can easily search for books by; author, genre, title and/or rating
2.
You can save books that you are interested in, but intend to purchase later.
3.
Easily create a wish list that you can share with friends.
1.
I went through 4 popular e-commerce apps; Amazon, eBay, Jumia, and Asos to get an understanding of what the user flow will look like and to also get a sense of what was familiar to all 4 applications.
2.
I also went through websites like Goodreads, Amazon Kindle, Wattpad and Blinkist, which are directly related to the application I am trying to develop to gather information on how to properly categorise the books
User Research
The target users are people across all age groups, who are interested in reading books. Narrowing this down;
1.
A user that knows the exact book that they want to purchase
2.
A user has a rough idea of what they want, for example; they know what genre of book they want to buy but they are not sure of what author they want to read from.
3.
A user who has no idea what book they want, so they explore the different books listed and go through the recommended books and newest books suggested to them.
User Interview
I interviewed 5 users to find out their opinions. The questions were centred on various key points common to books, bookstores and e-commerce apps.
For example, I asked questions related to;
1.
Searching for books to read
2.
Making purchases online
Key findings from the interviews conducted:
1.
There are usually frustrations from the lack of filtering in some apps
2.
The check-out process needs to be as easy as possible
Kasope is an avid reader who knows exactly what book she wants to buy. She opens the Itawe app, types in the name of the book in the search bar, and the app quickly locates it. She checks the book details, reads some reviews, and decides to buy it. She adds the book to her cart, proceeds to checkout, selects her preferred payment option, and confirms the order. Kasope receives a notification that her order is confirmed and she will receive the book in a few days.
Asher enjoys reading romance novels, but he's not sure which author to read from next. He opens the Itawe app, selects the "Romance" genre, and scrolls through the list of books. He reads some book descriptions and checks out the author profiles. After a few minutes, he finds a book that he likes and adds it to his cart. He proceeds to checkout, selects his preferred payment option, and confirms the order. Asher receives a notification that his order is confirmed and he will receive the book in a few days.
Rola is a new user of Itawe and she has no idea what book to buy. She opens the app and sees different categories of books listed. She selects the "Recommended Books" category and starts scrolling through the list. She finds a book with an interesting cover and clicks on it. She reads the book description and decides to add it to her cart. She proceeds to checkout, selects her preferred payment option, and confirms the order. Rola receives a notification that her order is confirmed and she will receive the book in a few days.
Ade loves to keep up with the latest books and is always on the lookout for new releases. He opens the Itawe app and selects the "New Releases" category. He starts scrolling through the list of books and finds a few that he likes. He clicks on a book to read the description and checks out some reviews. After a few minutes of browsing, he finds a book that he wants to buy and adds it to his cart. He proceeds to checkout, selects his preferred payment option, and confirms the order. Ade receives a notification that his order is confirmed and he will receive the book in a few days.
Low-Fidelity Prototype
I decided to sketch out what I wanted the main screens to look like
