Designing for Bookstore Communities: Green Apple Books
The objective of this conceptual project was to improve the digital experience at Green Apple Books, an independent bookstore located in San Francisco. I focused on accommodating the design for a behavioral segment I have called the Active Reader. The Active Reader is already motivated to buy a book at Green Apple and their purchasing decisions are determined by quality: they spend their time reading and writing reviews and comparing product details.
Duration
2 weeks
Tools
Paper and Pencil, LucidChart, Figma
Methods
Interviews, Competitive/Comparative Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation, Information Architecture, wireframes
Overview
One of the several reasons people shop at Green Apple Books is to experience personalized recommendations from staff members. The current primary navigation at Green Apple features a Shop for Books option with several subcategories, one of them being the Staff Picks section.
There are many opportunities to connect with the Green Apple community and keep readers engaged. How might we translate this physical experience digitally?
Tell me the last time you…
I interviewed active readers already interested in purchasing physical books from local proprietors. To qualify as an active reader, you must have read five books over the course of the last year and purchased at least two of those books from a nearby bookshop.
The responses were mixed on why they have or haven’t written reviews after finishing a book but there was consensus that they would be more apt to read a review if it was recent and came from a compelling source.
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"Sometimes I’m not even interested in the book, but if I follow the author, I will read their reviews."
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“I have never written a review because there is too much to unpack and say in very public space.”
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“I would definitely read more reviews if they were written by people that I knew.”
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“I’ll only consider reviews written within the year of its publication date.”
The Active Reader is comprised of relevant attributes derived from the transcripts of five interviews.
Competitive Analysis
I conducted a heuristic evaluation of bookstore competitors similar in demographics, size, and location as well as other eCommerce sites in different industries known for their comparison tools and strong review sections.
This synthesis revealed a few common denominators as potential opportunities for improvement.
Design Strategy
I mapped out essential interactions for my behavioral segment by diagramming three user flows that would create the most value for my persona and Green Apple’s bottom line. The user flows illuminate the paths the user will take to read and write reviews and purchase a book.
Next, I mocked up some essential frames including the home page, staff picks, product detail, and check-out pages.
After identifying opportunities to connect with the Green Apple community, I designed high-fidelity wireframes with clear affordances for writing and reading reviews.
Buy a book
Write a review
Read a review
Opportunities for Connection and Next Steps
Initially, I thought that I would be designing for active writers and reviewers but it turned out that actually writing a review was more rare than I anticipated. Instead, I would design an interface for current staff members and contributors to showcase their reviews more easily so that readers could access fresh reviews from relevant sources. This appealing new design that encourages employees and verified customers to review books quickly and easily will allow Green Apple to maintain its appealing personal touch, digitally.
I believe that if I create clear affordances for the Active Reader to read product details and current reviews, they will find satisfaction in connecting with their community on their way to a successful purchasing experience.
Fresh Reviews from Relevant Sources
Given this pivot, I created a new flow with simple interfaces and clear affordances to maximize engagement. Here is an iteration of what writing and reading a review may look like.
