Redesign Sell Back Your Book App
The Initiation
Have you ever lugged bags of books from home to a bookstore, hoping to resell it for some extra cash, but only to have half of it rejected by the bookstore and the rest accepted for mere cents? "My commute cost more!" That's how I started searching for other avenues to give my secondhand books a new home for a decent price sans the hauling/traffic.
While I am very satisfied with the conveniency and price point Sell Back Your Book offers, I thought the app could use some refashioning. And after reading multiple reviews on the App Store, I noticed overlapping user frustrations. Hence I developed this case study.
Project Overview
The problem:
Selling books to bookstores can be time consuming and tiresome. And most bookshops don't offer good pricing either.
The product
Consumers can sell their secondhand books to Sell Back Your Book by scanning their items with the mobile app. They will be provided a price quote and a free shipping label. After they drop off the items for sale with a courier, they will receive payment via direct deposit or a physical check.
My role
UX/UI designer.
The goal
Make the existing app more efficient and user friendly.
Project duration
1 week.
Responsibilities
Conducting research, redesigning the app, accounting for accessibility, iterating on designs.
User research
From my own experience using the app and reading reviews from the app store, I've concluded the following pain points:
1. Scan
The scanner wouldn't work for some users.
2. Delete button
Users couldn't find the delete button in the cart.
3. Layout
The layout doesn't have hierarchy which makes the content hard to read.
Redesigning the App
Scan
I added a new key '978' to the keypad for conveniency (most ISBNs start with 978) and repositioned the search bar.
Delete Button
Currently, users would need to swipe to delete items in their cart. But there is no information for this action so the button is overlooked. I replaced the feature by adding a remove button that doesn't require additional actions to be accessed.
Layout
Most of the content are packed tightly which makes it hard to read. I added more white space for visual comfort. Users can also remove the scanned item without accessing their cart.
Most checkout formats place the action button and order summary near the bottom of the screen. I adapted the design to the new layout. The footer icons are also enlarged for readability.
I made the sizing of white space and icons consistent in each screen.
Makeover!
Redesigning the logo
I gathered feedback from users on how they feel about the original logo, they agreed it resembled more like a reading app. I redesigned the logo to better represent the business's service.
What I learned
Working on this case study was very different from the previous three case studies I made while taking the Google UX Design Certificate. Instead of creating a new design library, I reused colors and icons from the original app. I changed a few icons for better readability, but made sure the style stayed true to Sell Back Your Book. It was interesting to analyze the original app and ask myself questions such as "Why was the layout designed this way? Does it serve the user?"