Roots' Bookstore
A CELEBRATION OF BLACK WRITERS, CULTURE AND DIVERSITY
An Independent bookstore needing purchases
Big Retailers in book world is like going to Costa for a coffee
User interview
Context
Project overview
As an Independent Bookstore, Roots are proud of its wide variety of World books and connection to the local community. They have a lot of online visitors but these have not converted into purchases.
For this reason, they want to improve their search optimisation to rival big retailers while maintaining their small shop appeal and celebration of Afro-Caribbean literature.
Project details
Client: Prose and Poetry (name changed to Roots to reflect Caribbean literature))
Year: 2021
​
Project Type: E-Commerce, Solo
​
Role: UX Student Designer
Duration: 2 weeks
Tools: Miro, Marvel and Figma
Success criteria
The overall objective of the redesign was to identify the problem areas and propose solutions to improve the overall customer’s experience.
My role
As a design student I was responsible for the user research, visual design, usability testing and high fidelity mock ups.
Process
I began by researching current book buying trends online and in-store. Stats gathered highlighted e-books as the most popular choice for buyers. So is there still a market for bookstores?
I then focused on the 'whole book buying experience' which led to further research on indirect competitors who provide live readings and performance spaces, reaching out to a larger audience. I interviewed 5 pro bookstore supporters, gathered insights and designed the 'Roots' experience' based on new features highlighted including the Roots' podcast.
The rest of my case study takes readers through my design explorations and discoveries and final high fidelity design.
Book Buying Trends, UK
Statistics
45%
E-books
27%
Paperback
Bringing books to life
User interview insights
I carried out 9 user interviews to determine the key features users look for when buying books.
Insights:
​
1. Local bookstores should celebrate local writers while promoting culture through theatre and live performances
2. Online streaming and talks are great but its by having a place to hand out chat, drink coffee and meet local authors that the real book buying experience comes to life
3. Bookshops is still a relevant space to browse, discover books relevant to what you are looking for. Unlike online buying, you can ask questions to knowledgable staff.
4. The global experience of writing is much bigger bookstores. It should shine a light on writers who otherwise might not be seen
5. bookstores are still valuable to reading enthusiast given the online takeover.bookstores are still valuable to reading enthusiast despite the online takeover.
I Statements
User needs
1. Flexible search and quick step buying process
2. A World Book Category as user valued ‘shining a light’ on aspiring world authors
3. Live readings and events to bring the book buying experience to life
Competitive Analysis
User flow
The needs for a quickly buy and check out service featured heavily from user interviews. With this insight, I looked at the user flow of Amazon’s book purchasing process; from an initial landing page through to Check Out, buying a book took under 30 seconds if you use your account where information such as your bank details and delivery address automatically appears.
My thoughts on auto functions
Ethical dilemma or useful function to aid key need for quick buying process?
Bringing books to life
Trends
Waterstones, Daunts and Hive who specialise in World Authors revealed:
​
1. There are patterns of following random bookstore users that they find having similar pattern of browsing, reading extracts but not buying
2. E-books and book downloads dominant the market for their cheaper prices and quick access
3. Users have the tendency to follow a selected genre of books. Si-Fi, Non Fiction, History and Biographies occupy the top searches.
4. Interaction between authors and fans are mutually found insightful and very enjoyable, especially in a form of live question and answer session.
This allowed me to uncover opportunities where Roots can truly stand out from its competitors and provide a unique experience for users. I was ready to create my persona.
Persona
Scenario
Paige is an avid reader who has a passion for self discovery books. As a teenager she grew up reading Toni Morrision - both had a shared experiences of feeling different and both immigrated to England not knowing English. Paige wants to reconnect with her Caribbean routes and has decided to write her PHD on women's duel identities. Paige loves the intimate setting of her local bookshop and enjoys having a coffee while browsing through the books she has picked up.
Problem Statement
Paige is a busy full time student and her time is precious. She would like access to World authors who write about Caribbean and African roots and identity but often struggles with the limited and unhelpful search options in walk-in and online bookstores.
How Might We Statements
Colour exploration
Moodboards
Organic Roots
Earthy tones building on the project title 'Roots'.
Colour Palette
Choose colourful images and typography to illustrate the rich vibrancy, energy and culture of music, literature and life
Defining & prioritising features
Optimiser and Roots' Hub
The main idea of the Roots’ Experience feature is to provide users with a unique book buying experience which combines cafe culture, live readings and book purchases. This experience would touch on the key findings from user interviews and encourage those who might have previously avoided bookstores, to step inside. Additionally the Roots’ Hub experience will allow users to find like-minded people inside and connect authors and fans on a deeper level, increasing user engagement.
New features
Low fidelity wireframes highlight the 3 key features based on the user persona
The 'whole' bookstore exerience including live events
The podcast our persona, Paige needs for her PHD studies
Podcast reviews
Usability Testing and Iterations
Tests
Two user journey tests were held with four participants. The feedback provided led to the following two iterations:
Functionality
Wireframes to take users through a consistent flow from one frame to the next rather than frames presented as a slide/deck.
Feedback
Participants stated that the podcast features inc the transcription sync mode served a clear purpose and was easy to understand. All who tested were able to get the goal of the feature right away and found it very useful. There were a few key problems from the first sessions which i then captured into a map.
High Fidelity
Final Designs
Final thoughts and reflections
I loved working on this project as I felt the brief lent itself well to storytelling (not in the literal sense of reading books but in the stories of the people I interviewed, what they valued about independent bookstores and why spotlighting Caribbean literature was important). This enabled me to put together a persona which felt rooted (excuse the pun) in the subject matter while identifying key needs and motivations for design considerations such as a podcast feature which allows user to sync as study notes.
​
Thanks for taking the time to read my case study
Next Steps
After considering few recommendations, I broke down what is the higher priority and worked my way down from there. These are the focus points for changes:
​
Redesign product page section using ‘Closed Card Sorting’
Expand in-house user experience
Prototype sync transcription option as this was a key motivation identified in the Persona