Inipendant
3 Week Project
Concept Project
The Challenge
Online book shopping is convenient, but it lacks the magic of wandering through a bookshop, discovering something unexpected. With giants like Amazon focused on transactions, I set out to design an engaging, discovery-driven experience for an independent bookshop’s website—one that captured the personal, serendipitous joy of browsing in-store.
My Approach
Using the Double Diamond process, I:
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Researched competitors and identified a gap in online book discovery.
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Conducted interviews with owner Lucie Riches and customers, confirming the need for a more engaging, personalised experience.
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Ran usability tests, uncovering navigation pain points that needed refinement.
The Solution:
To make online browsing feel intuitive and immersive, I redesigned the website to prioritise exploration while keeping search functionality intact. Key features included:
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Endless book scrolling: Users can browse by genre or at random, mimicking the experience of moving between bookshop tables.
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Audio samples: Brief snippets bring books to life, helping users decide before they buy.
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Seamless purchasing: When they find ‘the one,’ they can order instantly.
The Impact:
By blending usability with a bookshop’s personal touch, the new design transformed the website into an interactive discovery platform rather than just a storefront. Users engaged more deeply with the site, with the System Usability Scale (SUS) score increasing from 54 on the previous website to 88 after my iterations.
The Challenge:
Small businesses are essential to urban communities, offering high-quality products with a personal touch. However, many struggle with their online presence, often finding their websites outdated and lacking the expertise to improve user experience. My goal was to help these businesses create an engaging, functional e-commerce platform while preserving their unique charm and customer-focused service.
Competitive Analysis & User Research
​To begin, I analysed competitor websites and found that small businesses often fail to stand out online due to poor navigation, lack of personalization, and confusing interfaces. Customers frequently turned to larger e-commerce platforms instead, despite preferring the experience of shopping at local stores.
Key Takeaways:
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Customers appreciate the personal service and curated selection of small businesses.
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Many small business websites are difficult to navigate, leading users to abandon purchases.
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People want clearer product descriptions, better categorization, and trusted recommendations.
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Using this research, I developed a primary user persona: Emma Carter, a city-based shopper who values supporting small businesses but often finds their websites frustrating to use.
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Identifying the Pain Points:​
validate these findings, I conducted usability tests on a sample small business website. The key issues included:
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Disjointed user experience, with multiple platforms for browsing and purchasing.
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Lack of engaging product discovery, making shopping feel uninspired.
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Unclear navigation and product categories, causing frustration.​
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Drawing Inspiration:
​The Psychology of Shopping while refining the user journey, I was inspired by Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, particularly the variable rewards concept. Much like browsing in a boutique, where customers stumble upon unexpected finds, I aimed to replicate this excitement in an online space.​​This led to a key feature: an interactive browsing experience where users could explore curated collections, receive personalized recommendations, and uncover hidden gems—mimicking the thrill of shopping in-store.
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Designing the Solution:
With Emma’s needs in mind, I brainstormed "How Might We" questions to guide my design decisions:
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How might we recreate the personal in-store shopping experience online?
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How might we make product discovery more engaging and intuitive?
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How might we better integrate different aspects of the shopping experience?
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How might we encourage additional purchases before checkout?
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Structuring the Site: Open Card Sort:
To refine the website’s structure, I conducted an open card sorting exercise, allowing participants to group products in a way that felt most intuitive. This resulted in a streamlined, customer-friendly categorisation with six key sections:
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Children’s Books
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Mystery Books
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Classics
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Historical Books
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Accessories & Gifts
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Join the Club (Membership options)
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I then created a site map to establish a logical flow, ensuring a seamless transition from browsing to purchasing.
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Prototyping & Testing:
I mapped out the user journey and developed low-fidelity sketches, focusing on:
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Curated discovery sections, showcasing staff picks and customer favourites.
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A personalised recommendations feature, based on browsing history.
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A streamlined checkout process, reducing friction and encouraging impulse purchases.
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An "Extras You Might Love" page, suggesting relevant add-ons before checkout.
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Usability Testing & Iteration
I tested a mid-fidelity prototype with five participants, primarily small business customers. Feedback was positive overall, but some users found the curated discovery sections overwhelming. To refine the design, I:
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Added a category filter to help users browse by interest.
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​Improved navigation menus for faster product discovery.
Drawing Inspiration:
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The Psychology of Shopping while refining the user journey, I was inspired by Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, particularly the variable rewards concept. Much like browsing in a boutique, where customers stumble upon unexpected finds, I aimed to replicate this excitement in an online space.​​This led to a key feature: an interactive browsing experience where users could explore curated collections, receive personalized recommendations, and uncover hidden gems—mimicking the thrill of shopping in-store.
​
Designing the Solution:
With Emma’s needs in mind, I brainstormed "How Might We" questions to guide my design decisions:
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How might we recreate the personal in-store shopping experience online?
-
How might we make product discovery more engaging and intuitive?
-
How might we better integrate different aspects of the shopping experience?
-
How might we encourage additional purchases before checkout?
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Refining the Final Design:
For the high-fidelity prototype, I focused on creating a warm, inviting digital space, inspired by the aesthetic of boutique stores. I curated a mood board to guide the visual design, ensuring the website felt personal, welcoming, and easy to navigate.
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The Final Results:​
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Enhanced product discovery through curated collections and personalized suggestions.
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Seamless user experience, integrating all aspects of shopping into one platform.
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A System Usability Scale (SUS) score improvement from 54 to 88, indicating a substantial boost in user satisfaction.
System Usability Scale (SUS) score Improved from:
54 - 88
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Conclusion & Learnings
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This project reinforced that successful e-commerce isn’t just about sales—it’s about experience. While small businesses can’t compete with giants like Amazon on speed and inventory, they can win on personality, service, and curated shopping experiences.
By focusing on discovery, usability, and personalization, this redesign transformed small business websites into engaging, user-friendly spaces, ensuring that customers can shop locally with ease—both online and in-store.