SUMMARY
This UX study aims to bridge the gap between literary enthusiasts and create a space that encourages togetherness without physical presence. With added smart features for convenience and to enhance the digital experience, this site would offer the total book club atmosphere.
PROBLEM
As an avid reader and social person, I would find myself craving interaction mid read and after. All of the gasp moments, the question marks, and even the mid character building gossips- but it’s been difficult to find a cohort. I found this especially true if you do not have a singular genre preference. I was looking for a true social experience that could connect me without having to search my local community, that would recommend new books and circles, and even provide access to ebooks.
GOALS and OBJECTIVES
Enhance readers social outlets by creating space, both private and public, to discuss books without the worry of spoilers.
The idea of preventing spoilers felt key to a successful experience and there are two methods for how it would function.
1. If the reader is reading a physical book or ebook/audiobook outside of the LitClub site- they must manual update where they are in the book by chapter. The site would have a database of books. Using an AI to skim the material , the site would blur, block, or otherwise prevent you from seeing comments or notes from the club regarding later chapters.
2. If the reader is reading a book/audiobook accessed through LitClub, you would simply mark your page and it would automatically block comments and notes starting with the chapter you are on.
Culminate community- curated ebooks and audio books.
Having access for members to books and audiobooks enhancing the sites effectiveness and the users experience. One of the fun things about community and physical book clubs is being able to share and trade books. So many readers purchase their own ebooks and audiobooks already, having a feature to be able to share them digitally in a public or even private cloud based library would save the user money and storage space while building the AI database to be more effective at blocking spoiler content.
Create a nostalgic and intuitive social experience that invites participation and organization.
Some book sites feel clunky. The goal with LitClub is to make it feel familiar and easy to use in an effort to extend those cozy vibes you want from your book reading environment. The primary focus is an engaging community to discuss and share insights as well as a hub to access actual books with a secondary function of recommending and searching titles. No longer will we need several tabs to have one experience: 1 site to find titles and recommendations with ratings and reviews, 1-3, or more, to find access to the book (need to check new and used book stores, the library, the major conglomerate for all things material, and of course the apps for ebooks and audiobooks), and your chosen messaging platform so discuss the then, now and later of your reading endeavors. Why not have it all in one place?
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Interviews with readers
I sat down with people who are avid readers and enjoy the social aspect of conversing about books as well as people who do not. I wanted a fair spectrum of ideas, opinions, and thoughts. The breakdown in demographics:
10 people
6 females. 4 males. Studies show about 60% of readers are female
Ages ranged from 16-46
Ethnicities were varied and irrelevant to the research
I wanted to glean what was wanted from a book sharing experience vs what could be avoided. I also thought it was interesting to note the differences in each personality and what they seek in social interactions as a whole.
Ethnographic studies
For 4 months I observed select people from my interviews in our they read, discuss and interact with others about what they are reading, and how they purchase or access their books.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Polls- How do you access your books?
Popular Book Stores: Barnes and Noble, Half Price Books, Amazon
San Antonio Public Library, Libby App (free access to the libraries collection of ebooks and audiobooks with library card)
I specifically looked at each website and app as well as visited any physical locations I could. I wanted to understand layouts, navigations, successes and pain points.
SWOT Analysis
GoodReads.com- this site was most closely related to the focus of LitClub.
Early Sketches, Notes, and Research for LitClub