The New York Public Library
OVERVIEW
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is more than just a library.
It is a cornerstone of knowledge, culture, and community in
New York City. However, as the world moves faster, the digital library needs to keep up.
ROLE
UX Researcher, UI Designer & Motion Designer
TEAM
Yoonseo Jeong , Hailey Ho Sang, Michelle Kong, Liya Yan
DURATION
15 Weeks
TOOLS
Figma, Miro, Adobe CS
Problem
Despite offering a vast, diverse collection of resources and community programs, users felt the NYPL app is like a maze.
Solution
By incorporating intuitive navigation, visual language, personalized tools, and community hub, we transformed a simple library app into a dynamic, community-driven platform for growth, creativity, and connection.
Case Study Video
Learning, Growing, and Building
Design Process
01
Discover
Expanding our understanding of the user and the problem space.
02
Define
Narrowing down the research into insights and conduct persona profiles.
03
Ideate
Brainstorming diverse solutions and visualizing design concepts.
04
Design
Bringing the ideas
to life with prototype and testing them with real users.
04
Reflection
Key Takeaways.
Design is never finished.
Research
What We Discovered
As the second most diverse state in the U.S., New York City is a global epicenter where millions of professionals and cultures converge. By leveraging the NYPL’s collection of over 55 million items.
It is an opportunity to transform the app from a simple library into a community and resource hub that fosters cultural engagement and professional collaboration for every New Yorker.
User Research
Listening to the Community
User research revealed not only how people interact with the NYPL app, but also where they struggled the most. By mapping out these pain points, clear patterns began to emerge, which were developed into personas that brought the users’ voices into every stage of the design process.
Empathy Interviews
Voices & Frustrations
The process of logging in and registering multiple times feels like a waste of time.
NYPL has many resources, but the sheer amount of affiliated sites makes it hard to keep track of all the resources I gather.
The most important thing would be ease of use.
Want to hear other professional’s voices and network.
It looks really outdated.
Affinity Mapping
Finding the Patterns in Data
Community
Users crave engagement. They want to discuss findings, interact with peers, and participate in library events alongside their families.
Personalization
Needed recommendations of books, resources for their interests, and also felt there is a lack of customization.
Accessibility
An easy way to access materials and keeping track of them, and all in one place. Too many steps, external sites that leads to frustrations.
Persona
How Might We?
Nathan l 35
Graphic Designer
“I want to engage my family in enriching cultural and creative activities.”
HOW MIGHT WE make the time spent planning, scheduling and attending events an enriching experience?
Event Sphere
Jamie l 28
Teacher
“I need to organize the resources and have them on hand when I need to source them.”
HOW MIGHT WE create a system to place found references for seamless transitions of information?
Research Hub
Liam l 30
Medical Resident
“I need to connect with peers and experts for research collaboration.”
HOW MIGHT WE create an engaging environment where users can collaborate effectively?
Peer Society
User journey mapping
Highlighting users’ actions, emotions, and pain points.
User testing insights
Iterations and Develop Prototypes
Peta-Gaye (48)
It would be nice if I could personalize the app more. ✍️
I couldn’t really tell what each icon meant. 🤔
Vicky (24)
Christina (23)
Yunjae (25)
There’s just too much text on this page...
It’s hard to find things without categories. 😨
Outcome
3 Main Features
Event Sphere: Personalized event discovery for meaningful community engagement.
Research Hub: Centralized database helps users to save resources and organized, easier to access, and share.
Peer Society: Collaborative spaces for networking and shared learning.
Feature 01
Event Sphere
Problem
Users want to participate in cultural and creative events with their families and friends, but felt overwhelmed.
How It Works
A personalized dashboard where users search, plan, and manage events.
Benefit
The process of searching, reserving, and making edits to events is more streamlined and user-centric, so the users do not feel chaotic.
Home Page
Events
Scroll through
descriptions
Click on register
Click “Events”
Choose category
Browse events
Select an event
Event Details
Select users
to register
Confirm choice
Go to
“Event Sphere”
Register
Make notes of
updated events
Event Sphere
Category Search
Quick access by interest categories
Classes & Workshops
Screenings
Family & Youth
Readings
Technology
Technology
Lectures
Culture & Hertiage
Personalized Dashboard
A customized view of upcoming events in one place
Calendar
Review, edit, and personalize events
Event Details
Helps users quickly understand key details
Overview
Feature 02
Research Hub
Problem
Users were losing track of resources scattered across NYPL's affiliated external databases.
How It Works
Allows users to save resources from external databases directly into the app and share with others.
Benefit
Saved resources will be more organized and easier to access which help users save time.
Home Page
Research Hub
Select
resource menu
Select “Share”
Click
“Research Hub”
Select folder
Look through
saved folders
Selected wanted
resource
Resource
Add student’s
group
Click share
button
Share
Confirmation
Folder Organization
Users can create folders for and organize to their liking, they can easily access diverse range of content on demand.
Articles
Graphs
Book
Visual Data
Maps & Figures
Reports
All in One
Materials can be saved into one place on the hub.
Content Options
Users can move, duplicate, hare, and edit the content in their folders for ease of use and organization.
Sharing Resources
Users can select specific content to share with people/group within their community, making it easier to spread knowledge and utilize NYPL resources.
ss235 Economics Class Group, SS234 Economics Class Group
Add people/ groups
People with access
Jamie Williams (Owner)
Next
SHAR
RTICLE
ss235 Economics Class Group, SS234 Economics Class Group
Message
Share
SS234 Economics Class
SHAR
RTICLE
ss235 Economics Class Group, SS234 Economics Class Group
Done
SHAR
RTICLE
Add people/ groups
People with access
Jamie Williams (Owner)
SS234 Economics Class
Overview
Feature 03
Peer Society
Problem
The app offered no path for collaboration, while users want to connect with others studying in their field.
How It Works
Can access various peer-generated podcast, presentations with filters, based on their preferences.
Benefit
Users can engage more actively, collaborate, help each other, and enhance their network.
Home Page
Peer Society
Look for
comments
Write a comment
and post it
Click
“Peer Society”
Click podcast
button
Find podcast
and select it
Podcast
Comment
Podcast 01
Professional insights shared through podcasts
Peer’s Choice
Weekly highlights based on user engagement and Personalized content suggestions on homepage
Overview
Design System
Creative, Innovative, and Community
KPIs
How Do We Measure Success?
Event Sphere: Increase in event registrations and repeat engagement with the events dashboard.
Research Hub: Reduction in time spent researching for previously found materials & Increase in saved resources per session.
Peer Society: Growth in peer connections made through the platform & Increase in user-generated content contributions.
Takeaways
What I Learned
Let research lead, not assumptions. Every feature we built traced back to a real user pain point. Good design starts with listening.
Structure creates clarity.
Design for behavior, not just function. A feature can work perfectly and still fail if it doesn't fit how people actually engage.