The main library interface redesigned for making library materials and important information easy to find.

MSU Main Library Interface Redesign

Task: Redesign a display so that everyone who enters the library can discover information quickly and easily.

Role: UX Researcher & Lead Designer

Duration: 2-3 weeks

Tools: Figma

Let's highlight some important ideas and objectives

Our target audience consists of library users, including students and non-students, who access digital content and features on our campus. Based on personal and peer-to-peer exchanges, the current library display is out of date and inefficient. Inadequate navigation, overwhelming information, low sensitivity, and a lack of accessible functionality. Not well-planned and straightforward to use.

Research

PHASE 1: Research — Personas: Four user personas were developed depending on how the displays were utilized. Heuristic analysis is an in-depth examination of an old model. Comparative Analysis: A side-by-side comparison of the information displays for Broad, Law, and +1 building. Interviews with clients: three, two students, and one non-student; people performed tasks in front of our personnel. Tasks were selected using heuristic analysis.

PHASE 2: Implement Research — Prepare and carry out ALL of the research. Start the Lo/Hi-Fi wire framing process for Display.

PHASE 3: Analyze Data, Implement Feedback, and Produce Proposals — Assess data, decide what needs to be improved most generally, and create mockups in order to get ready with MSU's head of UX.

Result

We noticed that most users saw the display as a static image and had no idea it was interactive. This produced confusion and resulted in inconsistent task completion since users approached the display in different ways. Furthermore, none of the participants could successfully explore the library's numerous locations. These findings emphasize the importance of providing clearer visual cues and more marketing to educate users about the interactive nature of the display.

Solutions

To remedy the lack of interactivity, we suggest having the "touch here" arrow visible at all times or displaying it on a different screen when inactive, as a result drawing users' attention. Implementing a navigation tool comparable to the Broad College of Business may be advantageous. Users can click on a location, and the display will show an arrow pointing to there. A menu with options for color contrast, audio narration, and other useful elements might help improve accessibility. Finally, deleting extraneous information, such as social network tags and library links, may help to streamline the design, making it more minimalist and user-friendly. To present our ideas to different UX heads at MSU, I put together wireframes that included everything we worked on for this project.

What would I do differently next time?

This project required substantial research with a team, more than I had ever done before, to guarantee that the new design was authentic and user-centered. It was rewarding to delve further into research and enhance the user experience. Presenting our ideas to the lead UX designer and head of UX at MSU was a wonderful learning experience because we presented the rationale behind our design decisions.

Now, I would have spent more time developing a testable prototype; it would be fascinating to watch how users would engage with this iteration based on how they reacted to the previous one. I would go through several iterations if possible to build it up.