Amazon Kindle
Objective: integrate book club functionality and community into existing Kindle app design
Context
The Kindle app is a digital book reader that utilizes versatility and convenience for an overall enjoyable reading experience.
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The lock downs caused by COVID-19 created a stronger need for book clubs and online community.
Team: Jason Fisher, Michelle Kwon, Sohee Bae
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My Role: Research Synthesis, Wireframing, Prototyping
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Duration: 2 weeks
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Software: Figma, Google Suite, Zoom
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*This is a concept project done under the UX Design Immersive Program
Problem
Users need a more efficient way to find book clubs of like-minded people in order to create meaningful connections.
Solution
How Might We...
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Make the process of sharing thoughts intuitive and engaging in a virtual setting?
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Organize and simplify the search process for onboarding new users?
Research
Our first task was to understand why users join book clubs and what frustrations they face when navigating the current market of virtual book clubs. After interviewing 5 book club members about their experiences, here are our Key Takeaways…
After synthesizing our research using affinity mapping, we were able to identify what users needs were: sense of community, engaging discussion, discoverability of books and clubs, and finally a safe space that accommodates differing needs.
Who is the user?
Nai V. became our main persona that addresses the duality of differing needs and wants our user responses depicted. Our user persona’s main goals are to be able to discover book clubs that cater to her slow reading speeds while having the option to have discussions with other members even with her tight schedule.
Sketching and Ideation
After user interviews, we had sketch studios for the onboarding process and how to integrate privacy control throughout the app.
First iteration: integrating privacy when creating lists
Second iteration: privacy settings in onboarding and app settings
Final Sketches
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After discussion, our team settled on this final sketch as the combined framework for all our best ideas.
Wireframing and Prototyping
I was in charge of creating the mid-fi prototype where we implemented the live streaming and discussion forums within the club pages. Before creating the live streaming functions, I referenced popular mobile apps that have live streaming (Twitch, YouTube) while also following Amazon Store’s live streaming layouts. For the discussion forums, I created a layout combining components from other book club apps like Fable, Bookclubs, and more.
Usability Testing
We had the users accomplish the following task and took feedback on what we did well and how we can improve.
Task: Go through the on-boarding process, join a Fantasy book club, comment in a live stream, and leave a comment in the club’s lobby forum.
Positive Feedback
“I liked that you could organize the clubs by genre.”
“I love how the chapters are split up. I love that I can read at my own pace.”
Negative Feedback
“The transition to join the club felt very fast, I’m confused if I’m in the club now or not.”
“I’m really confused on how to join the livestream.”
Results: Users found the flow intuitive for the search process of the desired book club. Not only that, but they were also appreciative of how accommodating the community aspects were like different forums for different chapters regardless of timeline. However, some improvements can be made for call to actions for the live streams and creating better confirmations for the user to understand they are part of a club.
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After applying changes based on the first round of usability results, we completed usability testing for the hi-fi prototype with slight adjustments to the task while still following the same user flow. As a result of feedback we:
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created animation confirming club registration
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improved actionable button visibility, especially for joining livestream
What are the next steps to development?
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Give users a clear understanding of the benefits and features before they join Kindle Book clubs.
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Help users understand what time commitments to expect before joining the club.
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Give users clearer indication on what features are offered, and where to find them.
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Allowing users to view past live streams if the host records them.
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You can play with the full prototype here!