Due to COVID, a growing area of stress was apparent in book-lovers lives - the lack of the “book club,” or communal reading, unable to meet in person to discuss books. A unique opportunity comes with Kindle’s worldwide appeal. While other platforms have attempted to connect readers socially, none have secured the devoted user base of Kindle.
Figma, Google Doc, Trello, Zoom, Slack. (Remote)
My role was the design lead of the team of three. I supported the user research, took lead on designing and creating the final social reading features while maintaining Kindle’s existing brand identity.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have required book clubs to change course and do things differently. After discovered readers’ reading habits and series of interviews, we discovered that: many readers feel pressured by the traditional book club structure. Readers were interested in social reading as a more fun and collaborative way to learn, but they struggled to find time for book clubs, and often felt unenthused by the books chosen.
In response, we set out to design an online reading community. Kindle community is a mobile app platform that enables Kindle readers to engage their communities via sharing or commenting on readers' notes and online real-time chatting.
Users can search or join a conversation from their library. Pick one conversation based on the book they want to discuss, and it will bring users to the conversation page.
Users can see the group preview intuitively. Members, reading notes, and the last post, three prioritized info upfront based on our usability testing.
Offer users making notes while reading. They can also sharing notes to the group or keep it personal with simple taps.
Chatting room allows users discuss books, sharing sparkling insights or ask questions in real time.
Using the design thinking process to define and solve the problem. I worked closely with my team over the course of 2 weeks. This diagram is a snapshot of the process I followed.
We find that our users are intimidated by the rigid schedule and expectations of a traditional book club, preferring to set the pace and context of their own discussions. Despite these less positive associations.
Our team conducted a series of user interviews to learn more about today’s readers. We discovered that : Readers have trouble finding time to join book clubs and are struggle to keep up with the rigid schedule and expectations of a traditional book club. But they still want to communicate through books, as a way to learn, as a way to increase the pleasure of reading.
The competitive analysis gave us an insight into what features other platforms offer, We noticed that while Kindle shines in the realm of e-reading capabilities, there is actually a lot of opportunity in the growth of its social space.
35 yrs old | Denver, CO | Master’s in C.S.
Together with the client, we spent a good proportion of the time iterating over the user flow in detail. It’s super important to build a strong foundation before even thinking about the layout. We would go on to use the final flow diagram throughout the whole project to aid conversation, support the developers and act as a springboard to quickly produce the final wireframes.
Kindle Community was imagined as a new feature for an existing app, so we created a proposed sitemap to outline each element we were considering from a topdown view. This helped us visualize the design structure more accurately and ensure we included key elements and excluded unnecessary ones.
Users can make notes to the group or keep it personal with simple taps while reading.
Users can discuss the insights in real time by chatting feature.
We designed features informed by our discovery methods - user formed groups and a chat room - into our Figma mid-fi prototype and performed remote monitored usability testing with 6 users via Zoom to assess ease of use, efficiency and user assumptions of the navigational flow.
Based on usability testing, the app should:
Given more time, We would focus on improving the visual contrast of our prototype, conducting additional usability testing, and expanding the range of personas. We would also consider adding more color to the UI to enhance the overall user experience.
Throughout the project, I developed my collaboration skills as a UX designer and learned to work effectively with my team to achieve a shared vision that incorporates diverse perspectives and individual strengths. I also emphasized the importance of prioritizing user needs and accessibility, while adhering to Kindle's established design system. Additionally, I demonstrated a commitment to iteration and advocated for user-centric solutions throughout the project.