Unnameable Books
Unnameable Books is a small, independent bookstore in Prospect Heights, selling new and old books.
-
Home Page
-
About Us/Contact
-
Product Page
-
Product Category
-
Events Page
-
Hours and Location
-
Shopping Cart
-
Check-out
-
Order Confirmation
The Assignment:
Help Unnameable Books improve their website while maintaining their unique identity and providing the functionality to help the business grow and better serve its customers.
UX Audit
I began this phase of the project by re-assessing Unnameable Books’ current website. Here are some of my findings:
Home Screen
Location and hours are at the top. You need to scroll down to see clickable images of current inventory.
Listings
There is no search bar. “Rare and Medium Rare” and “Speculative Fiction” are charming, but it’s hard to find titles.
Covers Are Cropped
Covers are shown in a square format, cropping off either the title, author’s name, or both.
Events/Blog
Clicking on the events takes you to a outside blog.
Research/Surveys, interviews, and affinity mapping
This phase of the research consisted of two surveys, five interviews, and a comparative analysis of other independent bookstores based in NY.
The respondents all had one thing in common: a passion for books. They also liked going to events — key for a business that holds monthly readings featuring new and established writers.
“A good bookstore is like a good wine store – you read the blurbs.”
—interviewee, 60s, Museum worker, on staff recommendations
“Authenticity is important. I like to look in odd places, for things that are hidden”
— Interviewee, 20s, UX/UI Designer
“A friend told me that Pete Hamill was speaking at the Ethical Culture Society – wow! Now that was memorable.”
— Interviewee, 60s, retired HVAC technician, on book readings
“Out of print – rare to me!”
—survey respondent, on used and rare books
Key Takeaways
Local
Respondents love independent book stores and want to support them.
The Buying Experience
They look for specific books, but they also like to browse.
Social
They like going to poetry and book readings.
New vs Used and Rare
They buy used books because they’re cheaper, and they’ll seek out out-of-print books – what UNNAMESABLE BOOKS refers to as “Rare and Medium Rare.”
Enhanced Book Listings
They like staff recommendations, book reviews, and descriptions.
The Dilemma
Even though it lacks a personal touch, buying online is easy and cheap.
Persona
I created the persona, Megan, from my research. She didn’t fit all the demographics I interviewed or surveyed. But as a composite, it was a good representation of their customer base.
Problem Statement
How can we make the shopping experience easier for Megan and effectively connect with more customers?
Next Steps:
How can we deliver a better shopping experience, connect with customers, and grow our business while keeping costs down?
Ideation
After determining the problem, I held an ideation session with locals from different backgrounds interested in buying books. The most enlightening finding was that buying online was cheaper, but they valued this independent bookstore as an integral part of the community.
How might we make it easier for Megan to find and browse titles, subjects, descriptions, and recommendations from an independent bookstore?
online recommendations pop-up for her based on her profile, and prior purchases
include reviews from publications she trusts on the website
follow people she admires on Facebook and Instagram to learn about new books
like/follow bookstore on Facebook
have more books in the store window
Customer Facing Features
I selected the features based on the feedback from the ideation session and after reviewing what other local, independent bookstores' websites offered.
About/Contact Info
Location and hours, phone number hot links, email hot links
Search Bar
Author, title, subject, isbn
Meeting Business Needs
Using a CMS (Content Management System) will provide Unnameable Books the infrastructure to help run and expand their business
Product Listings
Location and hours, phone number hot links, email hot links
SEO & Social Media
Intergrations with more social media platforms in addition to more robust SEO capabilities.
Expanded Listings
Book covers are shown in their entirety, with space for descriptions, and additional images
Mailing List
Simple opt-in, separate from creating an account
Collections
Book covers are shown in their entirety, with space for descriptions, and additional images
Reduced Shipping Rates
Discounts up to 77% for basic plans
Suggestions Listing
New and recommended inventory shown on the home page
Blog/Events Page
Blog exists to list upcoming events, along with thoughts and musings about new content, etc
Inventory
Automatically updates inventory and
Cheaper Transaction Fees
Cheaper in store transactions could easily pay for difference in plans
How might we make it easier for Megan to find readings and other events sponsored by the book store so she can support them?
put book store calendar on the website
subscribe to the bookstore’s mailing list
advertise on Twitter
partner with organizations that hold events
speak with the store owner about events, put a flyer in the window
Comparative Analysis: Square vs Shopify
Unnameable Books has a free website through its payment portal, Square. Square is excellent for instore purchases and popups but has limited web features, especially for e-commerce. I checked out Shopify, another affordable option to scale up their online business.
Benefits of using Shopify:
It has more design flexibility–I used the free template, but there are many pleasing designs to choose from.
Shopify has more shipping options at a much steeper discount than Square.
A blog template keeps all the event information and blog musings within the site.
Shopify has more social media integrations and better SEO.
Shopify allows them to expand their business during winter months when there's less foot traffic.
Metafields allows business to create industry terms to allow for a robust search function
Responsive design
Easy to add and track new inventory
Mood Board
The store and inventory had a mid-century aesthetic, so I chose items from their stock as the basis for the mood board. I also drew inspiration from artists and institutions from the same period.
Style Guide
Shopify has a selection of Google fonts to choose from. I picked a serif, Cardo, and a sans-serif, Quattrocento Sans for the body. The red, yellow, and blue colors were sampled from their existing logo.
Photography Guide
All books should have a clear image of the book cover. For art books, photographing them open on white gives the customer a preview of what they’ll see in the book.
Anatomy of a Listing
Shopify uses metafields, variants, and search engine listings to make running the business smoother while giving customers the information they need to purchase.
Content Management & Database
-
Custom Metafields
Custom metafields allow businesses to create unique fields specific to running online bookstores.
-
Product List
Products are easy to add, check inventory status, and more.
-
Collections
Create custom category lists with the collections feature.
-
Content
Upload and organize images for book listings, event posts, and more through their integrated content portal.
High Fidelity
The high-fidelity prototype combines
Tools used: Figma, Miro, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Chat GPT, and Google Forms.