About the author
Filip Lindkvist is a relatively new author of books for young adults. To be able to reach out to a larger crowd as well as being able to show off his works, he wanted a website.
The challenge
The challenge with this project was that it was completely from scratch. The author had an idea of what he wanted but not a complete picture. The product would be an interactive Hifi-prototype of the website.
The team
For this project, there was no team, I did it all alone but had lengthy discussions with the author to make it as good as possible.
The process
An interview with the author was the start, where I could get an understanding about what he likes and doesn’t like when it comes to webpages. The data gathered from the interview gave a good starting point, but research was done on other webpages of authors, with a focus on newer and not that established authors. Different concepts were discussed, for instance less is more, and where the focus ought to be.
Two different layouts, discussed with the author.
After designing different lowfi conceptual UIs, a meeting was held with the author where he could give his input so the interactive Hifi-prototype could be created.
The outcome
The outcome of the project was an interactive website, personalized for the author who only had to write some paragraphs. The focus would be on the works that he has produced, but still a mention of him on the homepage, as well as a way to contact him for bookings. Breadcrumbs were added just as to make it easier for the visitor. The banner was added with pictures of the main-characters of his books, for recognition of the readers.
The homepage of the author's website, Hifi-version.
Under “Serien Dunkelskär”, the visitors can read a synopsis of each of the three books, and the book covers are hyper-links to where visitors are able to purchase them. “För mig:” allows the author to write about his feelings when it comes to writing this series, as a way to establish a connection with his readers.
A presentation of the author's works, where purchases are available
Under “Om mig/Bokning” the visitor gets a better view of the author and he gets the chances talk about his background and why he became a writer. Underneath there is a way of contacting him personally for bookings, or just to try and talk to him.
The about me and booking-section of the prototype.
Takeaways
The main takeaways for me during this project are threefold:
Creative reign!
Keeping focus was of utmost importance when give free reign.
Solitude!
Doing this project by myself made me realize that I do want and appreciate discussions with and feedback from colleagues.
UI vs UX!
This project was about UI, and even though it is fun to design a website, I missed the UX-part of the my work.
