Figma
Tools
Type
Platform
My role
Mobile
UX Design
Course Project
Project Overview
BooKit is an advanced search engine for books and academic articles. As well as students and lecturers, it is also open to the general public. You can read online books and articles on the site.
The challenge
The main challenge is to develop an academic search engine that enables quick and easy searches, thereby saving time.
Another challenge is to create a friendly, accessible interface while focusing on the users and their academic needs.
Research
To get a better understanding of the goals, pain points and needs of the potential users, I've interviewed them and collected market data. As a result, I have been able to examine existing sites and determine where failures have occurred.
These are the main issues that came up:
"I don't have much experience searching for articles, and I don't have much time."
"As I am not always near my computer,
I would appreciate having access from any computer."
"To save time,
I prefer to pay for a reliable academic source."
"While reading,
I hate it when there are too many distractions and I can't concentrate."
"It is difficult to navigate the website."
Personas
My next step was to create personas based on the results of the user research.
Based on the pain points and needs of users, I've created two main personas:
Work proccess
Empathy Mapping
In order to create a wide understanding of the users needs, their decision making and prioritize their needs I decided to use Empathy Mapping.
User Flow
According to the research and personas, I designed the user flow that illustrates the journey the user takes from entering the site to reading the book.
I believed it was crucial that the user could search and view books before registering on the site, so that he could determine whether it was right for him.
Site Map
Sketches
Prototype
Today I want to read...
To find more suitable results, you can search for books or articles by different and more specific parameters in the BooKit advanced search.
You can see a summary of the book and various other details in the search results view.
With this page, users can find all the data they need to decide if this book is right for them or if they need to search again.
In online reading mode, the reading page is minimal and clean to prevent distractions.
The side menu of the text offers options like marking and sharing. This creates an educational environment and helps the user read.
In the personal profile you can see the books that have been saved and downloaded.
You can also view book recommendations based on your search history.
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