As outlined during Week 1’s lecture, any branding project should begin with in-depth research. As the focus of this app would include books/reading in some manner, I decided to base my research on mainly libraries, as well as looking at competitors.
During week 1, we were informed about our first project. The brief outlines that a commercial brand should be created for LibrariesNI. There are two ways that I can approach this project, a full rebrand or a redesign with a sub brand.
My first call was to interview the service users of libraries, as these individuals will likely fall into the target audiences group. As not everyone uses a library, particularly with the rise of e-books, I decided that interviewing service users face-to-face was by best approach to gain a good insight. I contemplated sending out a survey, but I would run the risk of not reaching the right audience leading to a low response rate, as well as people not responding in a a way that truly reflects their values, particularly if closed-ended/multiple choice responses were used. Using different locations have me a bigger scope to see and talk to a wider audience.
I asked students questions in Ulster Universities’ library. I thought this would be useful as research for libraries and accessing an age group which you might not see so much in ordinary public libraries:
First, I asked if they anything they appreciated about the library. They commented that there are 2 floors. which gives more space for study, and has lots of resources to help with many courses.
Then, I asked if they had any things they’d like to improve. The main thing mentioned was that there is very poor organisation, with one student giving an example of how all the arts books are mixed together, which made it hard for her to find the right resources for her specific course.
Finally, I asked why they value the library service and use it. The individual I interviewed said that it was a great place to study and was currently using it to prepare for a presentation, for example.
I observed that Ulster Universities library was used by most people to study. There were lots of resources for different courses, as well as a wide range of dedicated areas for people to work including computers, desks and study rooms. I didn’t observe many people reading for pleasure in here, indicating that young adults may be less inclined to read for
As briefly mentioned above, libraries have an increasing number of competitors. This included ebooks and devices such as Kindles, bookstores and secondhand book services. In particular, secondhand bookstores and websites are increasing in popularity and provide an affordable option. I looked at World of Books as an example, searching for design books. I found that they has countless good condition books selling for a fraction of the RRP, including one with an RRP of £19.99 selling for £3.30, 83% less than its original value.
Including an RRP is quite a motivation for users to use a service, as saving money is a great selling point. I feel that libraries could benefit from including this too, as people undervalue libraries as an excellent way of saving money.
