Overview
I have seen many parents diving into same thought at the end of every academic year ,“oh ! I have to clean the bookshelves .There are lot of books getting piled up”. and also “Where can I find good reading books for my kids ?” . So are you one of them ?
“So, I have decided to come up with something to solve the following problem statements.”
Problem statement
1)One common problem is figuring out what to do with used books, whether they be academic or for general reading. Most of the time these books end up being recycled or thrown away, leading to unnecessary waste.
2)Parents are searching for age-appropriate good books that their kids can read and, once they finish reading them, can donate the books back so that they remain in circulation.
Design process
Target audience
1)Parents of children who may want to sell both academic and general reading books
2) Parents of kids who could potentially become buyers of academic and general reading books
Goals
1) To find out how useful parents think a platform for donating and buying books online for their kids will be, we need to conduct a survey or focus group to gather their opinions and feedback.
2) The goal is to build a platform where parents can purchase age-appropriate reading books for their children while also having the option to donate used books. There will also be additional benefits for those who donate, such as discounts on future purchases.
“Now before we start designing, we need to understand the pain points and expectations of our targeted audience, i.e.,To Empathize.
To better understand our targeted audience, I decided to conduct online surveys and in-person interviews.”
Insights from survey
Almost 60% of parents are still unaware of online platforms for buying and selling books. This indicates that a platform fulfilling their needs would be welcomed by them.
Almost 100% of parents feel the need for a platform to sell and buy used books online.
User persona
Customer journey mapping
Ideation
Brainstorming
Now that we understand who our target users are, what are their needs? I had a brainstorming session and jotted down whatever ideas came to mind.
From all the ideas presented, I have decided to focus on the features and ideas that are considered most essential for users. I have rejected those that do not solve immediate pain points of users and can be considered at a later time. Therefore, I am rejecting the ideas written on orange sticky notes, as they can be added features or considered as additional features for the next phase of the project.
User flows
Flow 1: Users can donate their books online in just a few clicks, and the items will be picked up from their home.
Flow 2: Here, the user has an option to buy or borrow books. The diagram below shows the flow for buying and borrowing books, similar to a library.
Sketching,Wireframing
Initial Paper wireframing
Mid-fidelity wireframe
Design system
Hi-fidelity wireframe
Test:validation, usability and feedback
With the first prototype version ready, I decided to validate it and get feedback from some of the parents. Below are the scenarios I gave them to complete. While they were completing the tasks, I noted down the time they required to complete the task, their success rate, their pain points, and got some good insights.
Testing insights
- There is no need of keeping both down menu bar and hamburger menu .
- To improve the cart design to make it more aesthetically pleasing
- Merging Borrow and Buy option to “Explore”. As flow is almost same , option of borrow and buy can be chosen in cart, adhering to minimalistic design principle.
Based on the testing feedback above, I have redesigned the screens as shown below.
Conclusion/summary
This platform will have main motive of keeping used books in circulation .There will be 2 potential USERS of the platform
1)Donate their books online by filling add request form
2)Buy the books or borrowing the books
Benefit for 1st type of user
1.If User donates more than 10 books in one month, he will get credit points , and he can use them for buying books online from same platform
2)Free pick up for book.
Benefit for 2nd type of user
1.Easy access age-appropriate books for their kids
2..User getting upfront choice of either buying the book or borrowing the book less than actual market price
Phase2
To extent the service to good condition games and toys