Overview

BookNest wanted to build a discovery platform for book lovers to find small, independent bookstores in their area. The first MVP felt too generic—like a Yelp clone. It lacked the emotional resonance and storytelling that appeals to readers. The team reached out to redesign the experience with UX that reflected the charm of walking into a local bookstore.

Research & Discovery

Objective: Understand how book lovers emotionally connect with bookstores and how they decide where to visit next.

Methods Used:

• 7 user interviews with avid readers

• Online survey to 120 newsletter subscribers

• Desktop & mobile usability tests on the current MVP

• Sentiment analysis on user feedback from Google Play

Top Findings:

• Readers want a sense of “curation” or personality from store profiles

• Events are often the main driver for visiting, but are buried in the UI

• The search experience felt “transactional” instead of exploratory

• People care about the vibe—“quiet,” “café,” “owner recommendations”

UX Approach

Design Focus:

• Make the experience more human, cozy, and discoverable

• Elevate events, stories, and human touchpoints

Core Features Reworked:

• Store pages redesigned with staff picks, quotes, and short intros

• “Mood Tags” like quiet vibe, coffee inside, cat-friendly, open late

• Weekly literary maps with top events in a city

• Profile creation for users to “bookmark” stores, authors, and events

• Subtle animations (page curls, fade-ins) that mimic book textures

Tools:

• Lottie animations

• Google Maps API for city overlays

• Airtable backend for CMS

• Storyblok for content workflows

Testing & Results

• Emotional response in usability tests: 5/6 users said they “felt like reading” while using the app

• Time spent on store pages went from 41s → 1m 37s

• Events page CTR improved by 68%

• 38% of users bookmarked at least 1 store within the first session

• BookNest’s engagement went up 2.2x post-redesign