Build a web experience that makes it simple
for book publishers, aspiring authors and craft hobbyist to upload, proof, and ship physical books for selling or keepsake purposes.
THE
PRODUCT
GOAL
BOOK
CREATION &
PUBLISHING
BOOK PUBLISHING
ONE CLICK
ABOUT
NOOK Press is a publishing service provided by Barnes & Noble that allows users
to self-publish books for
on-demand purchasing and
printing at retail locations.
ROLE
I was assigned this mission in 2014
for Pivotal Labs Palo Alto, CA. My role was to lead research, design and consulting. I collaborated with product mangers, engineers, and stakeholders on the execution and delivery of design deliverables.
ENABLEMENT GOALS
Enable the current nook team and business with agile methodologies and processes.
Use user centered design philosophies to enable and connect the business and it's goals with the motivations of it's customers.
Build a new customer market and increase revenue
in the on-demand printing market by developing software
that allows customers to upload books for self publishing,
gifting and keepsake purposes.
Bridge Nook's online publishing business and attract
aspiring authors to sell books they uploaded in the Nook's
on-demand book store.
BUSINESS
GOALS
KICK OFF
MEETING!
NOOK Press wants to create new on-demand printing opportunity for inspiring authors and professional authors by building a web application that makes it simple for users upload their own books for on-demand printing as well as keepsake printing. Barnes & Noble assumes that normal consumers could use this too and would know how to create and upload a “print-ready” book.
THE PROBLEM
PROCESS
THE
FAKE IT
MAKE IT
meet the
CUSTOMERS
ASPIRING AUTHOR
– – –
ABOUT
Works a full time job
Does writing on the side
Likes writing clubs
24 - 45 in age
Computer savvy but not publishing savvy
First time Author and longtime writer
Has never been published before
Behavior
Is usually really busy and "wrapped" up in work
Writing is a passion and spends time doing it
Always working on that Novel....
Spends time and money to invest in their career
Working local events to get out and look professional
Spends a fare amount of time building a social presence
THE CRAFTER
– – –
ABOUT
Helps run/host/volunteer for fundraising events
Non-profit over self profit
Volunteer, part-time job and crafter on the side
Has a grasp of software and computers
Likes to memorialize
Lives in a nice neighborhood
23 - 45 in age and has a family
Behavior
Helps gifting and funding at local non-profit events
Takes time out to help non-profit over self profit
Does volunteering and enjoys DIY crafting.
Likes to memorialize family traditions
Takes lots of photos and gets crafty around the house
Enjoys making custom/unique gifts for friends and family
NEEDS/GOALS
Needs to get a gift for a family member
Needs to gather and create content
Needs to create found raising material
Will do extra for unique and personal experiences
Wants and likes to preserve memories
Wants the gift receiver to feel special
Wishes to one day make a big impact
Wishes this gift will be shared with others
PAINS
Getting stuck in software and computer errors
Buying and or creating in bulk is expensive
Making things is bulk is time consuming
Having to gather on the pictures or make content
Time managing event deadlines and material needs
NEEDS/GOALS
Needs to get their novel/manuscript done
Needs to get published or self published
Needs a good editor and book designer
Needs to look professional at events
Wants people to know who they are
Wants to learn more about self publishing
Wishes to become a big time author
Wishes they could write all day and not work
PAINS
Always working, not enough time for writing
Trouble-shooting software, when editing and designing
Challenging to stand out in a large market
Not knowing enough about the business of publishing
" IT'S ALL
ABOUT THE
OCCASION "
" I WANT
TO LOOK
PRO "
" WRITING
IS MY
BUSINESS "
Behavior
Does a lot of writing and business development
Spends time on marketing, sales and analytics
Cares about maintaining a professional view
Works on new material for audience specificities
Spends time online and on social media
NEEDS/GOALS
Wanting to hit new markets and broaden spectrum of writing
Needs a good cover designer
Wants more sales and less cost producing & time management
Wishes there was less rep-tape and production fees
Selling more on-demand orders
PAINS
Being managed with publishers and agents
Fears of not staying fresh
Dealing with digital rights & red tape
Not selling enough
Having to do their own book layout, editing and design
THE PRO AUTHOR
– – –
ABOUT
Like being self-published
Professional fiction writer
Has specific reading audience
Has time now then before
Likes business and analytics
College educated
Usually has family
35 + usually has family
THE ASSUMPTIONS
- CARD -
Sorting
There is enough aspiring authors with
book making needs to create a business.
All personas have
knowledge of
bleeds and margins
THE RESEARCH
begins
the
INTERVIEWS
2 WEEKS
5
8
3
- ASPIRING AUTHOR -
- CRAFTER -
- EXPERT -
INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
FEATURES FROM
OUR COMPETITIVE
REVIEW ANALYSIS
INTERVIEWS
HOUSE
CALL
REMOTE
CALL
HOUSE
CALL
REAL
WORLD
CONTEXT
GENERATIVE
All personas will know
how to create and upload
a print-ready book
LEARNING GOALS
QUOTES
I created my own book to the size required for CreateSpace. I wasn't a big fan of Amazon, I thought it was too expensive per book.
I ordered 30 physical books of my comics for comicon last year using blurb and it was time consuming.
"
"
I used microsoft word to create
a photo book and then I had to re-create it when I found out there's a bigger size I could have created.
"
Trying to get published is a big deal to
me. Having books and other material on the table at my comedy events show that I'm
professional and that I take this serious.
"
"
"
"
"
User
THE
Synthesis
COLOR
STICKY NOTE
EACH USER IS REPRESENTED BY A`
After learning about this service at a Barnes & Noble store, Amy Author goes online and submits her Cover Design, PDF interior, approves a proof, enters payment and ships a printed version of her book.
TOPICS &
THEMES
LEARNINGS
& FINDINGS
Only some of the crafters/authors
were NOT able to successfully upload
print-ready books due to the complexity of design tools and the software on the competitive market..
Online "book builder" tools made it easier for the crafter market but the Author market didn't trust it.
Everyone we talked to had knowledge of margins and bleeds. We found the authors were more tech savvy then the craft persona.
We learned that handling bleeds, margins and now cover spine are challenging error cases in current competitive software.
We found the aspiring authors need to have professional printed books to look professional at events. Generally they're exited about the opportunity to publish and sell their physical and online books on the Nook platform.
Authors also have a need for book cover design, copy writing editing help and interior design layout services.
There is enough aspiring authors with
book making needs to create a business.
All personas have
knowledge with
bleeds and margins
All personas will know
how to create and upload
a print-ready book
WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN?
1
The professional author and aspiring
authors have more of a need for
physical books then the crafter persona. They aspiring authors are reacting well
to the nook business opportunities.
2
The crafter market does have a need for physical book creation but not as often. When they do have a need they aim for simplicity and don't seem to be aware of the price differences for bulk ordering vs single one off keepsake books.
3
There's an opportunity for both markets,
if the experience can be easy enough for crafter yet cheap and good enough quality for the authors.
4
We found that there wasn't a strong enough need for the expert persona
to have any more user focus. They will
now become subject matter experts
for any questing going forward.
Design a book making experience
that is easy enough for the average crafter
persona. It must be able to provide clear steps
and helpful support during error moments.
THE MISSION
THE SCENARIO
CLUSTERING
THINK
MAKE
CHECK
ASSUMPTIONS
EXPERIMENTS
THE
Sketching
SKETCHING
WORKSHOP
WITH CLIENTS
THE
CONCEPT
TESTING
MODEL THE
Customer Journey
THE UX ICEBERG
What most
people see
and react to
Visual Design
Interaction Design
Need Architecture
Concept
The wire-frame
helps us move up the iceberg.
THE BUILD A BOOK
Work Flow
SKETCHING
WITH OUR
USERS
REMOTE
TESTING
LEARNINGS
& FINDINGS
We found stopping to summarize was really helpful for the user to see down stream decision before they created an account. Plus, it gave another opportunity for quantity and pricing.
It was found to be very confusing for a user to have just selected a 5" x 8" file size and have to then upload a 5.125" and 8.25" file size.
Not really. Not needed for MVP.
We did pretty good on this. They way we have visually shown what the exact error was helpful. We did find we needed a stronger CTA when the user lands on the page. We found the users that did review the education content before upload did better when there was an error.
We made a lot of assumptions on
this one. We found that setting up a full cover spread and spine are very difficult to do. We found authors and crafters can set up a pages but not
a cover with spine. We're assuming
that templates will not work due to the "it's too much work." behavior
We definitely need to show them a preview for the cover design and the interior layout. It's helpful in that, it gave a since of approval and gave the user a since of location.
How do our customers think about the front and back cover spread?
Will customers need
the interior layout and cover preview?
Are templates helpful?
Are the error cases easy enough to understand and fix?
Is a quote summary
needed for MVP
product strategy?
Is it confusing and painful if a book size of 5" x 8" will require a file upload size of 5.125" x 8.25" to accommodate
for bleed
Overall, the testing went well and we caught some assumptions we weren't aware of. We did pretty good on the build-a-book work-flow and learned a lot about the interior and cover design uploading process.
{ CLICK AROUND & BUILD CONTEXT }
WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN?
1
We made a strong opinion that when a users selects the book size of 5" x 8" then
the file upload requirement will be 5" x 8"
and not account for bleed.
2
When creating a cover, we found that users do a front and back as separate files. We're going to follow that behavior and split the cover upload into sections.
3
Our assumption of book spines changed when we found it was mostly impossible for our user base to create a cover design spread. So we're going to auto create a spine for users with the choice of their custom color and text.
4
We found many more opportunities for
help with text layout, editing and cover design coming from the expert and inspiring authors that we can explore.
BUILD-A-BOOK
WORK FLOW
UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS
Further learning on the build-a-book order of information.
Stay away from creation of account as long as we can.
Look for helpful content opportunities that are missing.
SUMMARY &
PRICE QUOTE
UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS
Is a quote summary needed for MVP product strategy?
How can we test any pricing learnings?
COVER UPLOAD
AND SPINES CREATION
UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS
How do our customers think about cover spreads?
Is it more helpful to do the cover in sections or spread?
How do our customers make this already?
Are cover templates helpful and more so than interior?
Any templates and if so, what software/education is needed?
Will our customers know how to set up trim and bleeds?
COVERS
PREVIEW
UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS
Is this needed for MVP product strategy?
Will customers need the interior preview and when?
Is this a good place to point out errors?
Is pressing approve clear that's the final approval?
PAYMENT
WORK-FLOW
UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS
Is ship to local store enticing?
Once the expectation on cost & free shipping?
Anything missing?
UPLOAD BOOK
INTERIOR
UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS
Is it confusing and painful to select a book size of 5" x 8" but will it comes to the file upload the file size that is required is 5.125" x 8.25" to accommodate for bleed?
Are templates helpful?
What upload requirements are important to restrict the user on?
Are the error cases easy enough to understand and fix?
What kind of support channels should we include and when?
Is preview proof a need for MVP product strategy?
THE
user testing
12 USER TEST
MANY ITERATIONS
THE
Wire Frame
DIAL UP THE
Design Fidelity
TAKE A PREVIEW
OUR SOLUTION FOR
INTERIOR & COVER EDUCATION
Upload interior PDF
Your Interior Dimensions:
7" x 9
Embedded Fonts
HOVER
YOUR MOUSE
COVER UPLOAD
Upload back cover
Your Cover Dimensions:
7.25 x 9.25
HOVER
YOUR MOUSE
ERROR CASES
Upload interior PDF
Your Interior Dimensions:
7" x 9
Embedded Fonts