Overview

SAN FRANCISCO’S LITERARY LANDMARK
Founded in 1953, City Lights Booksellers & Publishers is a bookstore and independent publisher visited by tourists and SF locals alike—loved for its literary selection and quirky displays. However, being a bookseller, publisher, and foundation with a rich history, their website is overflowing with information.

PROBLEM
With the growing number of online stores, shopping online has become expected to be simple and quick. Digital experiences requiring more effort and time than expected usually lead to abandonment. How might we redesign their website to create a more effortless shopping experience?

Final Prototype Sneak Peek

Research + Problem Scoping

EVALUATING THE CURRENT WEBSITE EXPERIENCE
Through using the website, I identified potential areas of improvement and contemplated who would use the site and for what purpose? (But, more on that later)

Based on my task analysis, I generated questions and usability tasks to interview 6 participants (male, female, ages 21-61). Then I analyzed the results to determine which areas to address for my first iteration.

DEFINING TARGET AUDIENCE
Based on user research, I decided to narrow down the scope of our audience. Majority of users stated that people probably use the site for information about the physical store and most people searching for books online would probably use big online retail giants like Amazon Books.

The target audience would consist of:
1. People looking for information about City Lights—history, events, readings, publishing, directions, etc.
2. Patrons who know about and want to support City Lights but want to shop online

UX Design Process

Keeping my goals in mind, I aimed to address the pain points and user needs at each stage, incorporating feedback for each new iteration.

Design Decisions

To jog your memory, my design goals were:

1. Allow for users to browse and search for books easily

2. Provide shorter shopping and checkout interactions

3. Allow users to learn and engage with the store’s rich history and events.

Each design decision I made directly addressed one of these goals and the pain points pointed out by users during my research phase and usability tests.

Design Validation

Once I completed the final prototype, I tested it one last time to with another group of 6 participants.

Final results and feedback:

1. 100% of Users found adding books to cart to be simple and familiar.

2. 100% of Users found the checkout to be clear and quick.