Nexus Books — Buy, Sell and Exchange
your Books
Introduction
A second hand book market will be provided through this online platform, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade books.
I created this project as a part of my UI, UX design course at Designerrs. The problem statement for this projected was provided by designers and this project was completed under the guidance of a mentor.
My Role
The role I played in this project was that of both UI and UX designer, as I handled everything end-to-end, from researching users to creating final designs and testing them.
The Problem
The average person likes and wants to read books, but sometimes they don’t want to purchase a new copy because they are costly and worth more than they are willing to pay for them.
People would like the opportunity to get a book in exchange for a book they already own, while others would like the option to sell the books they no longer need. As of right now, all of these activities are done offline, causing people to shop from store to store in search of the best deals.
Business Goals
Essentially, the purpose of this product is to offer a platform for buying, selling, and exchanging second hand books online.
Type of Device/Technology
Mobile — Android
Desktop — Website
Target Audience
Who — Wants to buy a second-hand book, sell a pre-owned book, or buy a book equal value.
What — Buy, Sell and Exchange books
When — Whenever a book is required
Design thinking process
Design thinking process helps us to come up with the best possible solution for our users by following a set of methods, that is-
1. Discover
2. Define
3. Ideate
4. Prototype
5. Test
Starting with research
As part of the process, I interviewed some family members, classmates, and friends who share my interest in reading.
The interview allowed me to notice some interesting patterns concerning how books are researched and eventually disposed of after they have been utilized. As a result of these patterns, I was able to proceed to the next phase of my UX research. , I conducted one-on-one interviews with six people, between the age groups of 20–50. Which gave me a clearer picture of what my user wants and needs.
I asked them questions like -
What challenges are you facing while purchasing books through online?
What are your top priorities in purchasing books?
Do you ever purchase second-hand books from the online store? If so, what challenges are you facing?
What do you think about selling your books to someone?
What do you typically do when you are finished with a book?
What you think about exchanging books? Would you have any experience with that?
In the first question people answered that are commonly issues related to product quality, Products are often lost or damaged while in transit, and order tracking systems are unable to accurately locate the product,Issues with online shopping have been increasing at a rapid rate, Issues with online shopping have been increasing at a rapid rate, sample pages to liberty to buy.
In the second question people answered rating and review.
In the third question people answered Shipping charges are sometimes higher than the overall accounting rate, quality issues and complicated return policy, required seller contact to chat.
In the fourth question peoples replied difficult to find stores , i can get money out of it so helpful and trust issues with seller to buyer.
In the fifth question they answered give it to friends, family members and school or college juniors. Selling to near books store.
In the sixth question, they answered sometimes they exchange with their friends and give it back, the exchange of books is a good thing for people who can’t afford high-priced books.
In conducting the user research, I learned about the user’s approach, expectations, concerns and sensitivities that helped me define the functionality and move to the second step.
Affinity mapping
After speaking with potential users and writing down their answers, I wrote them down on post-its and grouped them into an affinity map that helped me identify recurring themes and issues. I chose the most recurring themes or issues among the interviews to be the focus of the mobile app.
I divided the data into 10 categories, comprising of User statement, Age, motivation, goals, pain points, personality traits.
User Personas
On the basis of pattern discovered in affinity map, I created only two persona named Majji Vani Gayathri and Ishwarya. They are 22 year old and 30 years old who like to work a lot and likes to keep to herself.
Creating this persona will guide me in making decisions for my app considering the goals and needs of my user.
Empathy map
An empathy map will help you understand your user’s needs as you develop a more in-depth understanding of the people you are designing for. This empathy mapping is based on Majji Vani Gayathri.
User Journey
I created a journey map for my personas that would help me understand the interaction touch points and emotional scale while performing a task.
Journey mapping is a process that provides an overview of the customer experience by uncovering moments of frustration and pleasure throughout a range of interactions. With success, it reveals opportunities to address customer sensitivities, mitigate fragmentation, and ultimately create a better experience for your users.
Analyzing the journey map, I can see at what points my user would feel angry or frustrated, so I could find a way to improve experience at those phases.
User Flow
As a buyer, I want to browse books and buy them in an easy way with minimal charges and reliable security assurance.
As a seller, I easily want to list my books and sell books that make the most money and the least discomfort when selling.
As an exchanger, I can easily list my books and trade books without money.
Site Map
As the main feature is Buy, Sell and Exchange Books, I have created two levels of hierarchy in my sitemap to keep things simple and straight. When user goes to sell or exchange there books they can purchase through option and also through chat page.
Wireframing
After defining the requirements, we will examine the wireframes (Low fidelity) for the app.Using my user flows as a guide, I started to build my wireframes in figma.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Right after finishing the User Flow, I was ready to start prototyping my low fidelity wireframes of the app on paper.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes (version 2)
Low-Fidelity Wireframes (version 3)
Heuristic Evaluation
I created some low fidelity wireframes to see how the information would fit into screen.
To see if the information placement would work, I conducted Heuristic evaluation of my wireframes and these are the test results. Heuristic evaluation is a thorough assessment of a product’s user interface, and its purpose is to detect usability issues that may occur when users interact with a product and identify ways to resolve them.
Heuristic violated
Visibility of system status
Match between system and the real world
User control and freedom
Error prevention
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors.
Creating Final Screens
Typeface
For my project, I chose Nunito Font. Nunito is a superfamily of sans serif typefaces with rounded terminal sans serifs for display type. A full set of weights and a non-rounded version of the regular terminal are provided.
Color
I researched the colors and how their connotative power can be leveraged to make the app’s experience a breeze. In the end, I came up with a brighter hue of blue as the primary color of the app.
Final Screens
Usability test
After creating the final screens, I created a usability test of my feature on Maze. I wanted to see how my users perceive this added feature. Most importantly,
Will they be able to figure out how it works?
How will they buy or sell the books?
I shared my test link with 5 people and here are the results-
Users liked the idea of being able to add books for sale and exchange because the process was easy and fast. They like color, and everything is understandable and easy to use.
Prototype
This is how my application looks like working. You can also interact with live prototype on this link — Prototype
Conclusion
NEXUSBOOKS is useful to the average person who wants to read books, but does not want to spend a lot of money on them, and would like to receive a book in exchange for one they already own.
Design thinking process helped me alot in understanding people. I learned how to empathized with people and how to always put the user’s needs first. In the usability testing, I discovered that people were not able to realize the swiping action for which I would find a way to make it more obvious. Overall, I liked the challenge of working for the user and would be implimentig this thought process to all of my projects.
This is my first user experience case study. While working on this project, I learned how an app is developed from scratch to reach our fingertips. Every step was explained to me thoroughly. I will be able to use these concepts later in my future case studies because I have a clear understanding of them now. For guiding me and clearing my queries at each stage, I am deeply grateful to Designerrs Academy and our mentor Mr. Durga.
