Bookbarter

CLIENT
Self-Initiated

SECTOR
Community Outreach, Design, Sustainability, Literature

MY ROLE
Entire Project Design from Research to Conception, Visualization to Testing

PROJECT TIME
October 2024 - November 2024

TOOLS
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Canva

Project Background

Books have been a cornerstone of culture and knowledge for centuries. In today's digital age, the convenience of online book acquisition has surged. Users are increasingly interested in trading used books, often connecting through various platforms to exchange titles. This trend not only promotes sustainability by encouraging the reuse of books but also fosters a sense of community among readers who wish to share their love for literature. Book Swap is an application aimed to assist users in buying, selling, or trading used books.

Problem

Goal

Despite the growing interest in buying, selling, and trading books, users face significant challenges such as trying to find the right platform, communication barriers, and lack of trust regarding the quality of books. Additionally, there is a need for a simple and effective way to recycle books within communities, fostering a space where people can easily share and exchange books with others, creating a stronger sense of connection and reducing unnecessary waste.

Design an intuitive and seamless user experience that simplifies the process of buying, selling, and trading books. Develop features that foster communication, trust, and interaction, helping to build a strong book-loving community centered around the exchange and sharing of books.

Research

Competitve Analysis

A thorough competitve analysis was conducted to review the current book purchasing/trading resources in the market. These websites tended to have niche functionality, with Pango Books being the most thorough resource. However, each site tended to lack a certain functionality that would only be built through BookBarter. A more comprehensive solution was brainstormed during the making of BookBarter.

User Interviews

To gain background information on the topic and to create insights. I conducted 4 user interviews with pupils.

Goals:

What features would be most useful in a book trading site?
What are some concerns that users face when trading books with strangers?
How important is it to have a community aspect (like messaging or a feed) implemented?

Based on the responses received, I formulated 12 questions that would allow me to understand the users point of view and gather insights.

Quantitative Statistics

Qualitative Findings - Affinity Diagram

Insights

Insight #1

Assessing Trustworthiness

Users feel that viewing a profile, with photos or reviews is a sufficient way to verify if an individual is who they say they are.
- “I assess the trustworthiness of someone I might trade with after seeing if their profile looks real and if their reviews are good."

Insight #2

Simplicity

Users would like basic, easy to use interface.
- “I like apps that are simple, not too many features because that can be overwhelming.”

Insight #3

Condition

Users are concerned about the condition of the book and consider it to be one of the determining factors to whether or not they would purchase.
Viewing pictures is one way that people feel comfortable confirming the condition of the book.
- “Pictures of the books would be nice so that you can judge the condition yourself inside and outside.”

Insight #4

Finding Community

Users find a community aspect important in terms of sharing books, learning recommendations, and building a connection.
- “I usually go off of word-of mouth recommendations, but that also means that i don't get a ton of books recommended to me.”
- “A community aspect would make it more enjoyable to some people and help traders be more willing to trade since they know the people.”

Insight #5

Reviews

Users would like to see reviews to help them judge if a book is worth getting or not.
Reviews are another form of a recommendation to help the buyer.
- “I would like reviews about what they liked about the book that they read.”
- “In the case that people aren’t available for live messaging, reviews provide a great stand in.”

Building Empathy

Using the insights from the data analysis, I created 3 target group profiles Michel (student, 20), Gracie (bookstore owner, 35) and Daria (school librarian 27) that represent the needs, feelings, and beliefs of our users.

The personas guided my design decisions throughout the project. They helped in prioritizing features, designing intuitive user flows, and creating solutions that address the actual needs of the users. By referencing the personas, I was able to maintain a user-centered approach in my design process.

Information Architecture

Key goals are highlighted in red and secondary goals in tan.

Wireframing, Prototyping and Usability Testing

Digital Wireframes

I continued to explore my concepts visually by sketching out wireframes digitally based on the core tasks and feedback from my initial user interviews. Feedback was implemented in my sketches based on key analyses.

Newsfeed allows users to view recent sales, purchases or trades.

Newsfeed

“I would like to see a newsfeed showing what other trades have happened around the world.”- User 2
I decided to include a minimized news feed on the home page that regularly updates based on new sales, purchases, or trades that have occurred.

Daily book feature would recommend new books to users.

Recommendations

“Would be cool if when you open the app, theres a different quote that shows up from a book thats available for trading every time/day.”- User 4
I opted to include a section on the home page that would showcase a book quote and change everyday.
The idea is to entice users to new books by providing recommendations daily.

Condition and publication of the book easily viewable under each book's description.

Video Implementation

“Maybe include short reels of someone talking about the book like reading rainbow."- User 1
Out of all the apps analyzed in my competitive analysis, all lacked the opportunity to provide video reviews or videos proving the condition of the books.
Users would be able to upload videos of their choosing to provide a review or to show their books in another light.

Videos, along with photos, would be able to be uploaded to an individual's listing.

Book Details

"Condition and publication of the book is important.”- User 2
In addition to providing visual proof of the condition of a book, users found it equally as important to have the condition and publication of the book listed as well.
These two prompts are included under each listing for validity.

Design System

Hi-Fidelity Wireframes

To bring the Bookbarter app’s vision to life, I created hi-fidelity wireframes that visually represent the final product, highlighting key interactions and the overall user journey. These wireframes showcase the app’s layout, ensuring an intuitive flow for users as they buy, sell, and trade books within their community. Each screen focuses on key features, such as book listings, search functionality, and user profiles, with a design that prioritizes ease of navigation and accessibility.

By refining the app’s visual structure, these wireframes not only illustrate the app’s core functionality but also serve as a tool for gathering feedback and making user-centered improvements. This process helped me identify areas for further refinement and alignment with the needs and preferences of the target audience, ensuring that the app would be both functional and engaging upon launch.

Mock-up Prototype

Conclusion

Throughout the design process, I successfully addressed the primary goal of creating an intuitive and trustworthy platform that makes buying, selling, and exchanging books easy for users. The user interface was carefully crafted to ensure a seamless experience, while features like in-app messaging and a personalized newsfeed help foster a sense of community among users—an essential aspect for a platform built around sharing and connecting.

A competitive analysis revealed that, currently, there are no apps in the market that offer the same combination of features as Bookbarter. With unique elements like the ability to upload videos for listings and an integrated book trading system, Bookbarter stands apart as an innovative solution for book lovers looking to engage with their local community. The app not only meets the practical needs of buying and selling but also creates a social space for readers to connect, making it a standout in the growing digital book marketplace.

If there was more time available...

Development of an app to complement the website.
Implementation of more community-like features.
Can always use more iteration/testing.