Chronicle Books Redesign
Overview
As an independent publisher based in San Francisco, Chronicle Books has been producing and selling their self-published books, stationery, journals and games since The Summer of Love. They strive to uphold the magic and passion books naturally exude through their unique approach to publishing.
But, this approach is overshadowed by features that make their e-commerce experience slow and counterintuitive to use. Fundamental usability is challenged and shipping costs are driving customers to their competition.
Project Scope
2-week concept project for General Assembly
My Roles
Create project timeline
Competitive Analysis
User Research & Analysis
Interviews
Usability Testing
User Journey
Existing Style Guide Inventory
Sketching/Ideation
Site Mapping
User Flow
Wireframing
Presentation Deck
Tools Used
AT A GLANCE
CASE STUDY CONTENTS
“As soon as you pick up our publishing, we want you to be able to tell that what you’re holding comes from us”
THE CHALLENGE
Capture the Magic and Passion Online
My goal for the project was to improve the e-commerce experience based on the target user, The Influencer’s behaviours and needs. Working with an established brand of 53 years demanded that I bring the magic and passion that Chronicle Books upholds throughout their publishing process into their online shopping experience.
THE DISCOVERY
Insights from Influencers
I interviewed Influencers and performed usability tests with the existing Chronicle Books desktop website. My goals were to:
Understand competitors through Influencer eyes
Learn about what Influencers value and the challenges they face on competitor sites and Chronicle Books’ site
Learn the workarounds they employ when faced with these challenges
Target User & Behaviours provided by General Assembly
Identified Values
From my interviews, I uncovered 2 must-haves for Influencers:
Fast and Free Shipping, Please
All Influencers said that the cost of shipping plays a factor in their purchasing decision and they all use Amazon and pay for Amazon Prime to get free one-day delivery
“I pay for Amazon Prime because shipping is free and I get my order the next day! That’s huge.”
A Personalized Experience is a Meaningful Experience
Majority of Influencers value the recommendations feature on competitor sites
Identified Frustrations
I also uncovered 2 main problems:
Impractical Global Navigation
Each Influencer was given the task: Find a book about a planetarium.
What most of them did: clicked Browse in the global navigation, exclaimed some form of the word “wow” at the 59 categories and proceeded to type “planetarium” in the search bar.
Inconsistent Cost of Express Shipping
The more items the Influencer adds to their cart, the more money has to come out of their pocket to get their products as soon as possible.
THE REDESIGN
Simplifying the Global Navigation
My goal was to reduce the perceived amount of user effort needed to navigate Chronicle Books’ site by condensing categories and adding new, relevant ones.
This second iteration of the Global Navigation yielded the Trending Now category, but still embodied impracticality from the original design as it adopted most of the same categories.
The fifth and final iteration of the Global Navigation clearly outlines what Chronicle Books sells—Books, Stationery & Journals and Games. I replaced the Blog category with Social which now houses all of Chronicle Books’ social media links that were previously only located in the footer.
Free Express Shipping = Higher Average Order Value
I leveraged Chronicle Books’ Free Ground shipping on Orders $25+ and added Free Express Shipping on Orders $50+. This speaks to the Influencer as they can now get their products ASAP without a fluctuating shipping cost, as well as to Chronicle Books by raising the average order value.
THE PRODUCT
Giving Influencers Back their Time
The re-design of the Global Navigation has decreased the time it takes to search for a product. The recommended features allow Chronicle Books to do the heavy lifting and select products the Influencer may be interested in. And adding the Free Express Shipping feature not only speaks to Influencers who need their products ASAP, but also increases the AOV for Chronicle Books.
LESSONS LEARNED
Less is More
User testing established that the number of categories could determine whether users utilize them or if they are overlooked. The search bar is a necessary feature but users shouldn’t feel like it is their only way of finding what they are looking for.
IA, Refined
Card sorting revealed that many of the existing categories complemented each other and could be easily consolidated. I focused on the core products Chronicle Books sells to create the new categories.
Test Early and Often
User research from the conducted interviews initially drove my design, but user testing gave me insight on what was benefitting both the user and Chronicle books, and what wasn’t.