Project Objective
Research on digital story telling applications for users which makes the consumption of popularly available books easy and engaging to consume.
Current Situation Analysis
I planned a quick study with four people within the target group audience and asked them questions like:
- Do they read books
- Do they read books
- How often do they read
- Which platform do they use for reading
- Why and which platforms on digital (if digital)
- Why physical & why not digital
- Any issues faced when reading books on both platforms
- What time of the day do they generally read
- How much time do they dedicate to reading
- How do they chose a book to read, etc.
User Persona
Based on the results of primary research, I created a generic user persona of
potential users. Afterwards, their story was mapped with different product phases. Design and communication opportunities at each stage were identified.
potential users. Afterwards, their story was mapped with different product phases. Design and communication opportunities at each stage were identified.
Storyboard & User Flows
After considering user behaviours, I outlined project scope based on user needs and research results:
• Videos for book preface, in between chapters, as push notifications for engagement
• Story scripted images like comic strips or illustrations (for terminologies,complicated chapters,etc.)
• Glossary for terminologies for a particular chapter
• Multilingual audio narration (can chose language while onboarding)
• Digital e-books for all the books available — user has the option of viewing customised or non- customised versions (for people preferring traditional methods of reading)
• Bookmark the last read line
• Skip to further chapters (good for thriller stories)
• Save pdf versions offline, if resources available for those
• Storyboard adding or creation option for not available books or segments of books
• Share books, lines, quotes, videos, story images, etc. within the app or as media
• Discussion or a feedback board with people reading the same book.
• Story scripted images like comic strips or illustrations (for terminologies,complicated chapters,etc.)
• Glossary for terminologies for a particular chapter
• Multilingual audio narration (can chose language while onboarding)
• Digital e-books for all the books available — user has the option of viewing customised or non- customised versions (for people preferring traditional methods of reading)
• Bookmark the last read line
• Skip to further chapters (good for thriller stories)
• Save pdf versions offline, if resources available for those
• Storyboard adding or creation option for not available books or segments of books
• Share books, lines, quotes, videos, story images, etc. within the app or as media
• Discussion or a feedback board with people reading the same book.
Below are some snapshots of possible user flows and initial architecture brainstorming.
Wireframes & Digital Prototypes
Based on the key findings and generated user flows, I came up with following key app prototypes, following the possible IA solution. It helped me arrange the interface elements easily and alongside I focused more on the functionality of the app. Moreover, the wireframes allows me to quickly test ideas without diving into the visual details.
Visual Design
I designed some quick screenshots to showcase how the app would look like. These include book reading & listening screens.
Conclusion
This research project was a great learning experience. There are a lot of things to consider when designing for media related work and this has made me even more excited for the future of education and technology in general.
