After looking at the current library app and comparing it to other similar apps during our group discussions we identified the key issues with the current app and found the different features we wanted to include in our remade app from the other more effective apps that we looked at.
I decided to use waterstones as a starting point for my own library app as i thought some of the features that I wanted to included could be effective done in a similar way in which the waterstones app is laid out.
I created an interface inventory based off the waterstones app as it had a lot of good features that could be used similarly in a library app.
From this i created a component library in my brands style for my own library app. While I was creating this i also experimented with some of the other unique visual elements that i wanted to include in my app, this included the badges for the reward system idea, and event banners.
I started by creating all the icons that i planned to use in my app, and the buttons that they went with, doing this first and creating all the buttons at the same time made it easier for me to keep the design for them consistent. Creating all the icons at the same time also meant that i was able to easily keep their designs consistent, in line weight, size and layout which was one of the issues that was highlighted when we were looking at the current librariesNI app. I also created some of the unique visual elements that i plan to include in my app as this was another feature that i felt was lacking in the current app design, like the event banners, the showcase the current events that the library is holding and the badges for the reward system, I created general designs for these features in figma as it allowed for them to easily be in the same style as the rest of the app but I may change these to be illustrations, but by having the general idea created I can just build an illustration around that, it also means that I know the specific size that the illustrations would have to be.
Creating the initial sketches for the library app was really quick as the design was essentially just mimicking the waterstones app but applying my own brand to it, I did change the design of some of the pages to add some features that i thought would improve the user experience when on the app, this was mainly just including points of personalisation for the user as a big issue with the original app was that it was very general, and using language that was friendly and inclusive to align with the values that i laid out for my rebrand.
