Library Experience Design

UX Design Challenge

#app design #ux #prototyping #Figma #XD #accessibility

Role

Background Research

User flow design

UI & UX Design

Timeline

Feb 2021 (one week challenge)

Design Tools

Figma, Adobe XD, Illustrator

Context

Library was meant to be a place where people collect and exchange knowledge. University libraries, in particular, also serve as a working space for scholars to study and progress.

However, there has been an ineffective interaction between the library users and the space they occupy. More and more libraries nowadays become crowded and unorganized - an environment which scholars tend to avoid.

Also, most libraries lack the sufficient guide or information for people with special needs. A good university library should form an inclusive and welcoming environment.

Significance

The main goal is to improve the interaction between users and the limited space in the library, so that everyone can work comfortably and efficiently.

Design Approach

Since there is time limit set for this project and the topic is about people's feeling and experience, I employed the Design Thinking process by Stanford Design School. I did not include testing process due to time limitation, but testing will be my goal going off with the project.

Empathize & Define User Pain Point

After background research, I started to send out surveys to my fellow students and faculties. I want to use the survey to understand their experience with the library and identify potential problems. Below are the initial personas based on the results from my user research.

Ideate

After identifying user’s pain points and their needs, I started brainstorming possible solutions. As a result, I come up with a user flow system that can cover 3 main user needs for library experience.

Prototype

Crafting the details of functions and prototyping mobile app, desktop web page, and touch screen page. Design tools used: Figma and Adobe XD.

Thought on Accessibility

Libraries face a large and complex user population, therefore, I want the using experience to be accessible and convenient for everyone. Hence, I adopted the similar functions to desktop and on-site touch screen, so that people who are not comfortable using mobile apps can always find a substitute. Also, considering users with disability, I want the app to have the option to turn on reading mode.

Reflection

Due to time limitation, the design process needed to be short, quick, and simple. Going off with the project as a starting point, I will implement testing and deploying in the future. Testing is a critical process for user experience to see whether the products meet expectation.

Also, during the process, I faced multiple choices of how this project would proceed. I ended up choosing app design, but there are many more possibilities out there. Similar situation also applies to real work projects since UX Designers are often given so many options, but they also need to balance different opinions and figure out what is the most optimistic.

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