Ann Arbor Book Society
Ann Arbor Book Society
For my senior capstone project, my team partnered with a local literary non profit, the Ann Arbor Book Society. Our task was to help foster book culture and appreciation for all book lovers alike. The organization had already started building an online forum as an initial solution, however through extensive user research, we found the costs of building a digital forum ultimately outweighed the benefits it would bring to its users. Our findings allowed us to pivot to a more effective solution, rather a bundle of smaller solutions that work in harmony, to unite Ann Arbor’s literary voices and uplift the community. This is not a typical UX case study with wireframes and a fancy prototype at the end, but instead a case of truly advocating for users and our client.
CLIENT
Ann Arbor Book Society
(Local non-profit)
MY ROLE
User Research
Branding/Marketing
DURATION
8 months
Sept 2023 - April 2024
THE TEAM
Me + 3 others
(flex roles)
Miro
Figma
Canva
TOOLS
THE PROBLEM…
The Ann Arbor Book Society (AABS) is a non-profit and volunteer based organization that celebrates and sustains Ann Arbor’s dynamic book culture and connects local readers. However, especially after the pandemic, readers in the area felt generally detached and the society felt its existing resources were not effectively reaching their audience.
OUR PROCESS
We tackled this project through three main phases:
RESEARCH
Problem definiton
Competitive analysis
RESEARCH PHASE
PROBLEM DEFINITION (KICKOFF CALL)…
THE GOAL…
We collaborated with AABS to create digital artifacts that foster regular engagement within Ann Arbor's literary community. This initiative seeks to bring together readers, authors, bookstores, and literary nonprofits with AABS at the community’s core. We set out to implement solutions that satisfy all these stakeholders while prioritizing feasibility for the already thinly-stretched volunteer team.
DESIGN
We had our first of many weekly Zoom calls with the president of Ann Arbor Book Society on Oct. 09th, 2023. Prior to this kickoff, my team and I’s only exposure to the project was from a one-page overview, written by the organization. Therefore, this call was critical for my team to establish a solid understanding of who AABS is, what they want to accomplish, and what problems currently stand in their way. It was a crucial to thoroughly define the problem at hand in order to lay a solid foundation and dictate the direction for the rest of the project.
With more clarity on the problem, we moved into conducting a competitive analysis, looking closely at similar organizations to AABS that have found success in fostering book appreciation. We focused on direct, indirect, and analogous comparators to help us consider possible solutions from different perspectives, which led us to insights including…
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS…
SURVEYS + INTERVIEWS…
The next couple weeks were dedicated to conducting user surveys and interviews, with the intent to better understand how users presently engage with AABS as well as their attitudes and expectations of AABS products. We launched a survey targeting current members of AABS through the monthly newsletter and also a broader, more general survey for any book lover in the greater Ann Arbor area. We reached this external population by posting recruitment flyers in various literary locations around the Ann Arbor area including local libraries, bookstores, and student spaces. We then interviewed 9 survey participants which proved useful for delving deeper into the habits and motivations that we discovered in the user surveys. Based on both data collection methods, here are some quantitative and qualitative findings…
Our next step was to code the interview transcripts and survey written responses and begin affinity diagramming.
After dividing up the coded statements into broad categories, we further refined the affinity diagram to find more specific themes.
And we did the same for the survey written responses.
This exercise helped us identify prominent themes based on user information.
Our team took all of this information and created three user personas based on survey and interview data to represent major the AABS user groups. We were cautious not to use generalizations in this exercise and pull only real data directly from users. These personas will guide the design phase by keeping us mindful of our audiences' habits, goals, and frustrations.
We delved further into two of our personas, Nadia and Phil, creating user journeys to provide more context to our users and how they presently feel and behave. “Nadia” encapsulates individuals who desire synchronous events with the opportunity to build community through open discussions. “Phil” represents people who personally favor digital events for their convenience and have a strong desire to connect with local authors. These maps outline key user steps, emotions, and pain points in completing a specific goal, which will help us identify areas where an individual's progress may be hindered.
Presented below is a list of design requirements crafted from our extensive user research and persona insights. Each of the requirements above are classified with either low, medium, or high priority level, based on criteria including alignment with user needs and impact on user experience. This tiered prioritization approach enables a streamlined focus on critical aspects of the project while allowing for flexibility in the creative execution of the solution, in the design phase.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS…
USER PERSONAS + JOURNEYS…
DESIGN PHASE
IDEATION…
We started our initial ideation process by individually brainstorming solutions for AABS in two main categories, digital and non-digital. We realized from our research that the problems AABS currently endures may not be solvable solely through digital technology but rather through a combination of digital and non-digital efforts that encourage community engagement and interaction. We then came together in a collaboration period and shared our solutions that we individually thought of, making sure to note ideas that repeatedly came up in multiple people’s ideation. These ideas that recurred are valuable and therefore were moved to our brainstorm “parking lot” so that we could further flesh these ideas out and delve deeper into how they would work.
We stopped attempting to hone in on a singular solution and began entertaining the idea of combining multiple smaller methods as part of a greater solution. We believe there are too many separate design requirements we wish to satisfy that cannot realistically be encompassed in one approach. By remedying separate requirements through smaller solutions, these smaller solutions will amass to a greater solution that address the society’s overall goal of fostering its community. This will be far more feasible and realistic for our client, a local volunteer-based non-profit organization, to implement and maintain.
Our smaller solutions became the AABS Community Engagement Strategy Packet. This packet is a collection of digital tools, like templates and guides, that AABS can utilize to strengthen digital engagement throughout the website, newsletter, and social media channels. It is intended to create and grow a community within a digital space with the eventual goal of hosting in-person and asynchronous community events.
Option A
Newsletter Redesign
From our survey, we found that the majority of members interact and engage with AABS through the monthly newsletter. Since it is the main contact point, we want to optimize this form of communication to promote as much engagement as possible and funnel it towards other, more in-depth connection points to grow AABS’s community.
Our newsletter redesign highlights call to action buttons that were previously not as visible to users, while adding more chances for users to engage and interact with what AABS has to offer and additional community building opportunities such as the Community Spotlight and the AABS Facebook Group.
LinkTree
Community Spotlight
Social Media Calendar + Guides
Social Media Templates
FINDINGS + ADJUSTMENTS…
In order to consolidate the various channels that AABS has, and to push new and returning members towards the newsletter and Facebook Group for discussion, our team thought of the idea to use a tool like Linktree and have it present on all of AABS’s social media platforms.
This would not only give AABS a consistent information hub to have on their social media profiles, but it would also allow for AABS to utilize that hub to push their most popular form of communication, their newsletter, and encourage people to join and engage in their Facebook Discussion group.
Through these means of guiding users to the AABS Facebook Group, we hope that users will able to find value and continue to use that digital space to share and talk about books, local literary events, and more.
Two of the primary design requirements are to encourage user engagement with AABS itself and other members of AABS. During the ideation stage, we identified a community spotlight as a way to allow members to make themselves known and to get to know other members.
Information about members can be collected through a Google Form, and linked on the newsletter and Facebook Group. In an effort to tie all of AABS contact points together, we aim to feature the community spotlight in as many different places as possible, but initially the newsletter (how most people interact with AABS) and the Facebook group (which offers features for engagement and discussion with others). Simply by recognizing a name or a face, individuals can develop latent ties with others that can be further built upon through other means of engagement, like an in-person event.
Currently, AABS provides a link for those interested to share their involvement in a book club through a form on the website. However, the information obtained by the forms is rarely shared in the newsletter or elsewhere. We believe this can be improved by expanding the groups of interest to general community members, not strictly those in book clubs, and showcasing the community member and their interests both in a primary location on the newsletter and as a post within the Facebook Group to generate interest and promote discussion.
To support our client’s social media engagement efforts, we created administrative tools that would help the volunteer AABS social media team.
In order to help with the consistency of content posting and AABS branding, our team devised a social media calendar that the AABS social media team can utilize together in order to see what content to post on what days and on what platforms, providing a better overview of what everyone on the team is doing to support online engagement. The calendar also includes sections that hold useful information such as Monthly Discussion Topics, Snapshots of the Past, Trivia Questions and Answers, so that the team is able to obtain all necessary information in one place. Additionally, having all this information easily accessible in one place allows new volunteers to understand where to start and what to do, allowing for a more sustainable and easily maintained model for AABS’s social media team.
Our client asked us for guidance on effectively setting up and using channels that we proposed such as the Facebook Group, as it is relatively new for them to manage. We compiled information and outlined steps to help them set up their Facebook Group as well as use the other digital tools we created such as the social media templates.
We created social media templates, friendly for AABS to use on all channels they are active on. The templates were made using Canva, software that the volunteer team are familiar with using.
These templates for book spotlights, book related events such as author talks, and featured events could also help AABS to generate content for social media faster and could become a point of discussion on their various social media platforms as they can be easily shared across platforms. We ensured to follow the new style guide to help develop their digital presence and strengthen one’s ability to identify the community.
Social Media Templates
SKETCHING AND STORYBOARDING…
By taking the time to storyboard and sketch our ideas, we were able to think through our solution as a whole process composed of multiple pieces. This was also an opportunity to fill in logistical holes that we originally missed when brainstorming ideas. All of these steps shed light on how each solution can act as a piece contributing to our overall goal of helping AABS create an active and engaged community.
INITIAL ARTIFACTS…
EVALUATION PHASE
EVALUATION STUDY…
Now that we have brought to life several digital artifacts, our focus shifts towards evaluating these solutions through a preference testing survey and interviews. By conducting our evaluation study, we learn how to tailor our final digital artifacts to best serve the Ann Arbor Book Society in fostering a thriving literary community.
Our evaluation study is composed of a survey with 17 total respondents, including 5 AABS members, and interviews with 7 participants. We felt our study did not need to be restricted to only AABS members and would benefit from the outside perspectives. During our evaluation, we remained cognizant of participants who are AABS members and those who are not, keeping this in mind during our analysis.
The table on the right outlines research questions and metrics that we examined in order to evaluate each of our digital artifacts.
REFLECTION
IMPACT…
After partnering with AABS, the social media presence across all three channels have been more united and consistent in engagement. They are using templates from our recommendations to this day and can be seen on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
TAKEAWAYS…
A key takeaway from this project was the importance of truly listening to research findings, rather than bending them to fit preconceived solutions. Initially, the Ann Arbor Book Society (AABS) aimed to build an online forum website, dedicating substantial resources toward its completion. However, our research indicated that the forum would provide minimal benefits to society members and could be replaced by more cost-effective alternatives. While the client had envisioned the forum as a viable solution, our team advocated for options that were simpler, supported by research, and more sustainable for the future. This experience underscored the value of looking beyond conventional solutions and reinforced that effective answers don’t always need to be a fancy digital prototype.
Option B
MailChimp Newsletter Redesign
Social Media Calendar
Events Calendar Plugin
Based on the preference testing conducted between the current calendar and the proposed events calendar, there is not a significant difference between the current calendar and the proposed calendar. Participants generally found both calendars usable, with successful completion of most tasks. We struggled to collect meaningful data from this round of user testing, as all users were immediately successful at completing tasks, or did not succeed at all. Again, we had to rely on qualitative data and user responses to inform our evaluation. Participants expressed mixed preferences between the calendar versions, with some finding both calendars equally usable and others noting both positives and negatives of each. Overall, the preference testing highlights the importance of intuitive navigation in enhancing the usability of the calendar.
As a result of this evaluation, we will provide Ann Arbor Book Society the option of whether or not to switch, but recommend the addition of the calendar to the navigation bar.
Surveys + interviews
Thematic analysis
User personas + journeys
Design requirements
Ideation
Sketching + storyboarding
Style Guide
Option C
We preference tested 3 template designs: Option A is content in paragraph-form, Option B had quick and digestible facts, and Option C was focused on an interactive prompt. Out of these, 62.5% of participants elected Option B as their first choice, 25% elected Option C and none voted for Option A as their top choice. Further explanation of these votes were provided in short open-responses. Most of them praised the short and digestible content of Option B and the engagement aspect of Option C. The feedback for Option A can be properly summed by this direct quote “ain’t nobody wanna read no paragraphs”. This qualitative feedback combined with individual Likert scores the led to the final iteration of our social media template design, the template furthest to the right.
This design came together from many pieces of user feedback. One survey respondent stated that they appreciated having a little bio or description about the spotlighted member, as seen in Option C. Several respondents explicitly mentioned enjoying being able to read Option B the fastest. Another individual suggested having the spotlighted member recommend a book because that respondent takes joy in hearing recommendations from friends or peers. All of this feedback along with the creation of our proposed AABS style guide was incorporated into the final iteration of this design.
A style guide is very important for our client to develop their brand identity and social media presence. The style guide also helps us unify the rest of our digital artifacts so that the social media presence of AABS is cohesive across all platforms.
The only request from the client was to maintain the signature green color from the AABS logo and website. Everything else in the styling guide was curated by our team to compliment this request and further enhance the society’s aesthetic.
Final
From our 7 interviews, both our qualitative and quantitative data suggest that users prefer the proposed newsletter redesign to the current newsletter layout when looking at perceived navigation ease, layout clarity, design appeal, and overall preference among respondents.
Although we collected task success and time to complete tasks, we found that, due to the fact that the newsletter is one page and users can find information in 1-2 (and sometimes zero) scrolls, all interviewees successfully completed the tasks in negligible time. Looking at SEQ scores, the majority of respondents rated the difficulty of the current newsletter as "Moderately Easy" (5) or "Easy" (6), with an average score of 5.43. In contrast, the proposed redesign received higher ratings, with most respondents indicating "Easy" (6) or "Extremely Easy" (7), resulting in a higher average score of 6.43. Combined with Likert scores and key quotes from interviews seen below, this seems to suggest a higher ease of use of the proposed redesign.
We took the opportunity to meet with one of the AABS social media managers during a weekly client meeting and collected qualitative feedback on how we can best tailor the social media calendar that we made to their preferred use. After some initial questions and going through the basic layout, our participant reported that the tool’s format and populated content are greatly helpful as is. They provided us with some additional information on how the current social media schedule operates which we were able to take into account through minor adjustments. The only changes made were incorporating existing scheduled content such as event highlights on Wednesdays and snapshots of the past on Fridays. The structure and layout of the spreadsheet remained essentially the same as before, since our client reported no desired changes and high satisfaction already.
Initial artifacts
EVALUATION
Evaluation study
Findings + adjustments
