Bookfinder

Context

For the Municipality of Amsterdam, I created a design for searching books from the school library for secondary school pupils.

The Municipality of Amsterdam wants to promote reading among schoolchildren. Schoolchildren often no longer visit public libraries, so the only place they can go to read books is the school library. For this reason, in addition to informative books, more and more novels can be found in school libraries. The city wants to help secondary school pupils find reading books quickly and easily in the school library. They want to do this with a kiosk setup: a tablet (iPad) permanently located at the entrance to the library. This runs an app that helps pupils find a book that suits them and tells them where they can find it.

Challenge

The Municipality of Amsterdam has requested a visual design for a user interface that will enable secondary school pupils to search for one or more books from the school library they would like to read.

It was important that the Municipality of Amsterdam's house style was used, but that it is appropriate for the target audience, the application and the specific context. It was also important that it was designed for a tablet (landscape format) for the kiosk setup. 

Design process

First research was carried out into the corporate identity of the Municipality of Amsterdam and the target audience from a design perspective. Based on this, a ‘sub-style’ was developed that appeals to the young target audience and fits within this context.

Next the content and pages required were identified. Sketches were produced, followed by various iterations ranging from low-fidelity to a final high-fidelity design. Feedback from the target audience, the client and design colleagues was incorporated throughout these iterations.

Solution

The result is a practical design and style guide in line with the Municipality of Amsterdam’s style guidelines. In the app the student can select a number of criteria and then view a list of suitable books. The list can be sorted in various ways and the criteria can be reset if necessary. Pupils can add desired books to a “wish list” and print this list on a receipt or email it. No login is required. The app runs on an iPad mounted on a stand in landscape format.

The design incorporates a sub-style based on the Municipality of Amsterdam’s corporate identity, which has been adapted to the target audience in order to attract pupils and help them find a book to read, thereby promoting reading.