Role
Product Designer
Industry
Product Design
Duration
8 months
Books have been around for nearly 4500 years and have still managed to remain relevant in the modern and contemporary world. There have been roughly 130 million books published globally, and on average, avid reading enthusiasts only get through 6000 in a lifetime.
E-book readers have seen a big growth in popularity since they came to market, but traditional books are still extremely popular. According to the New York Times, e-book sales have seen a drop in sales from 2017, showing that print is certainly not dead. This could be due to the physical haptic feel of traditional books and the distraction and eye strain caused by e-books.
In today’s society, with electronic reading devices being the norm, it's becoming more difficult to find high-quality affordable reading accessories for physical books. Print sales have seen a continual rise in 2018 that is expected to carry on growing through 2019, and with this rise, the rise of book-related gadgets has also begun.
ETC is tapping into this “book-loving” market and would like to create a product that aids in the reading experience, so that customers can enjoy their favorite books wherever they are and in whatever light they are in. The quality, look, and feel of the book light that we create is also extremely important, as we want to offer our customers a quality product that is a delight to use.
My role within ETC was that of a Product manager as well as a Product Designer. My responsibilities include team management, leading product development conducting research, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on the design.
In choosing the design research methodology, various factors were considered. The product is designed to prioritize the user, with the goal of improving the reading process to make it more efficient and user-friendly. The chosen design methodology revolves around the user, utilizing design thinking as the framework. Users will play a central role in both the research and design process.
Book lovers and readers were observed to collate physical reader trends, such as how people hold books and in what position they read in different environments. From the hand positioning observation, the positioning used for the book light was identified, which could be either on the top, centred, or the bottom of the book. A book light design that can fit on the book independently without a specific hand positioning was needed.
The decision was made to create a book light that sits on the top of the book with a clipping mechanism to provide illumination down onto the book.
Conducted surveys using the online survey platform SurveyMonkey to gain insights into the potential target market and understand what they would want in a book light. Asked questions about the need for a book light, as well as questions about its design and versatility.
Several focus groups were conducted, each involving three to five participants, to discuss the design of the book light. These focus groups included a diverse group of participants from various industry segments.
From these focus groups, insight was gained into how people will interact with the book light. Feedback was also received regarding the form and design that we have chosen to continue with. These focus groups played a crucial role in determining the design direction we have taken, as participants were able to interact with prototypes of the book light and provide input on the size and feel of the product.
A competitive adult was conducted with some of the leading booklights on the market to establish the strengths and weaknesses of the competition.
This product was created by ETC Designs, where I served as the product manager and collaborated with three other talented designers. This innovative reading light clips onto your book to ensure an optimal reading experience, regardless of external lighting conditions. The light is rechargeable and offers a wide variety of color options.
By designing and manufacturing this product, I was able to enhance my design, product management, and manufacturing skills. The BookMoth generated a profit of R5000 (USD340 in 2019) in the first two months on the market