Storybook Corners
O V E R V I E W
Where stories made for Gen Z empower diversity and community…
Storybook Corners is an online bookshop that empowers diversity by curating books that represent protagonists from marginalized communities (different racial/ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ community, characters with disabilities, etc.). However, it’s not your typical online bookstore. Storybook Corners is also a platform that aims to build a community of Gen Z readers who are passionate about promoting the importance of representation.
This was a passion project I spearheaded as UI/UX Designer & UX Researcher in August - September 2021 for a UX design course that required me to design a web app of my choice and revisited in February 2022 to redesign all of the pages after improving my UX design skills. On a macro-level, I conducted user research to form a problem statement, created a style guide for design consistency, designed lo-fi to hi-fi wireframes on Figma, and created different iterations of the website prototype.
P R O B L E M
Katniss had her time to shine as a strong heroine in a world of heroes... but who’s telling our story?
Growing up as an Asian American girl, I had many peers who identified as members of marginalized communities. We didn’t have a lot of representation in mainstream YA and new adult literature. We grew up with Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter. However, minorities were always the stereotypical token side characters in these novels. It felt like nobody was telling our story. We didn’t even have a large community to share our struggles with.
The lack of representation in YA and new adult literature sparked the question…
Where and how can we easily access books with protagonists from diverse backgrounds? How do we find a community of Gen Z from around the world who share our need for representation?
Goals
User: Find books about diverse protagonists (from different racial/ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ community, etc.) that are easily accessible and find a community that shares their love for books.
Business: Increase engagement on website and number of members joining book clubs and using the website on a weekly basis.
Product: Curate books about diverse protagonists to provide representation to Gen Z and build a passionate community of book lovers
R E S E A R C H
Gen Z is the new age of diversity and they want to see themselves represented in books
Market Research
I began with conducting research on journal articles about the representation of protagonists from marginalized communities, what motivates Gen Z to read, and what the target audience is interested in reading. Then, I stumbled upon an insightful statistic from the LJ Generational Reading Survey (2020):
“60% of Gen Z were “‘interested’ or ‘very interested’ in reading books reflecting characters and/or narratives that reflect cultural backgrounds, values, and personal identities.”
Competitive Analysis
After sifting through pages of journal articles, I conducted a competitive analysis. Our competitors, Amazon and Barnes & Noble didn’t have interactive online book club communities tailor-made for Gen Z and had a complicated user flow for finding books about diverse characters. Good Reads was confusing to navigate and readers couldn’t buy books direct form the website.
Primary Research
I recruited a sample size of 9 participants between the ages of 16-22 years old to ask them how they found books representing diverse protagonists, what motivates them to read diverse books, and the pain points of finding diverse books online.
The Main Insight
Based on trends gathered from the user research, participants struggled with finding new books about diverse protagonists online and preferred online book platforms due to the convenience of purchasing books. Three main themes emerged from my primary research…
How I Focused on Diversity, Inclusion, & Community
Navigation Bar
I implemented a navigation bar that amplifies the voices of diverse authors. I added categories on the navigation bar to include marginalized communities, making books about specific marginalized communities easier to find and purchase since 75% of non-white participants from my user research stated that they were motivated to read books about diverse protagonists due to the lack of diverse representation in media.
“Book Clubs” Feature
The “Book Clubs” page allows users to join communities at the click of a button, so they can connect with thousands of readers across the world. I implemented a “Book Clubs” feature because participants stated that what was lacking from the book store websites they used was the ability to join and create book clubs.
User Profile
I implemented a user profile feature, so users can customize their experience and keep their book clubs and favorite books organized in one place.
Websites, such as Good Reads allows users to create their own profile. However, the interface of Good Reads is confusing and difficult to navigate. I implemented a cleaner interface for users to interact with.
Results
The metrics I would use to measure the impact of Storybook Corners are the bounce rates of the home page and the "Book Clubs” page and the number of active users who utilize the website on a weekly basis to gain insight on users’ engagement on the website. Due to the time constraint, I wasn’t able to conduct user testing. If I had more time, I would have wanted to gain insight on users’ first impression of the website, how easy/difficult it is to navigate the website, and aspects of the website that need improvement.
Overall, Storybook Corners has important implications for the future of representation and access to books with diverse protagonists. The online platform allows Gen Z to connect with individuals deriving from different backgrounds with a common interest in new adult and young adult novels. The human connection and representation that Storybook Corners provides shows the power of technology and its positive impact on people from around the world.
Going forward…
I would make the product even more accessible to a wider range of individuals by offering a mobile app to make it easier to connect with people worldwide and buy books directly from their mobile devices.
Keep in Touch
☕ For work inquiries or to grab a cup of coffee (… or bubble tea), e-mail me at hello@alyssaguo.me.
Thank you so much for reading! 💖