Created a concept of Mobile App for Publishing House Leader – Nash Format
- Design Sprint
- Customer Development
- UI/UX Design
- API Documentation
- Product concept
Nash Format BY THE NUMBERS
Nash Format is a leading Ukrainian publisher, specializing in non-fiction and offering a vast digital and print literature collection.
About the client & the story behind them
Nash Format stands as a distinguished leader in Ukrainian publishing, with a focus on non-fiction literature. Recognized among the top 5 multi-brand online stores, Nash Format has always sought innovative ways to connect with its readers and expand its digital presence. Recognizing the potential to better serve their audience, Nash Format approached us not just with the goal of enhancing their digital footprint but with the vision of conducting comprehensive consumer research and developing a mobile application. This new endeavor aimed to create a more powerful and user-friendly platform that would cater to the evolving needs of their readers, ensuring a seamless and enriching experience for purchasing and engaging with literature.
Request to Devlight
Nash Format approached Devlight with a clear and ambitious vision: to develop a mobile client application that seamlessly integrates with their existing website store. The primary goal was to boost sales by enhancing the mobile shopping experience, enabling users to effortlessly browse, select, and purchase their favorite reads directly through the app. Moreover, Nash Format sought to elevate e-content sales by incorporating built-in functionality for reading and listening to their vast collection. Recognizing the importance of user engagement, they aimed to introduce a motivational system within the app, rewarding users for their loyalty and assisting them in discovering the perfect books for their tastes. Additionally, the introduction of a personalized loyalty card system was envisioned to further incentivize purchases, creating a rewarding and enriched user experience.
Challenges and Limitations
As we embarked on this ambitious project with Nash Format, we encountered a series of challenges and hurdles. Central to our mission was gaining a deep and comprehensive understanding of Nash Format’s audience, necessitating extensive consumer research and a sophisticated approach to crafting digital solutions.
The main challenges we faced included:
- Crafting an app that not only attracted but retained users by offering them a value-driven, intuitive experience.
- Developing and integrating unique features that stood out in a competitive market, adding distinct value to the Nash Format app.
- Seamlessly integrating Nash Format’s rich brand identity into the digital space, ensuring the app felt like a natural extension of their existing ecosystem.
How we did it — solutions, approach, methodology
Our journey with the “Nash Format” project kicked off with understanding user pain points, crystallizing a portrait of the end users, dividing them into cohorts, and strategizing our communication approach (what we offer, when, and how; what data we collect, etc.).
This groundwork laid the foundation for an intensive 5-day design sprint, aligning closely with the philosophy that time constraints foster focus, creativity, and rapid progress. Here’s a snapshot of our streamlined approach:
Day 1: Problem Mapping
We initiated the sprint by diving deep into the problem, leveraging expert interviews to map out the user experience and identify key focus areas with “How-Might-We” notes. Simultaneously, we began planning for user testing, setting a fixed deadline to motivate and propel the team forward.
Day 2: Inspiration and Conceptualization
The day began with “Lightning Demos” to draw inspiration from a broad spectrum of solutions, followed by individual concept development. These concepts set the stage for the next day’s discussion and selection.
Day 3: Prototype Decision
Through thorough review and team voting, we honed in on the most promising concept for prototyping, emphasizing feasibility, cost-effectiveness, or speed based on our unique project criteria.
Day 4: Prototyping
Dedicated entirely to bringing the chosen concept to life as a low-fidelity prototype, our focus was on crafting a realistic yet superficial representation—enough to test hypotheses without the need for full functionality.
Day 5: User Testing
The final day was reserved for real-world feedback, conducting user tests to validate our approach and refine our vision based on direct observation and insights.
This rigorous, phased approach not only accelerated development but also ensured that every step was anchored in real user needs and feedback, guiding us toward a solution that truly resonates with Nash Format’s audience.
Continuing from our sprint design, we crystallized the essential criteria for the mobile application’s success, focused on enhancing the user experience and driving engagement:
- Clearly communicate app’s functionality and benefits to users.
- Simplify sign-up process for easy registration.
- Enable users to notify and add friends for social validation in purchase decisions.
- Allow users to tailor profiles based on interests.
- Ensure app contributes to personal growth beyond transactions.
- Facilitate easy discovery of books for quick purchasing.
- Provide seamless selection of desired book format.
- Offer personalized book suggestions based on user interests.
- Mimic online store’s shopping cart for easy purchasing.
- Display essential book information to guide purchasing decisions.
- Offer preview of books with a free part before purchase.
- Incorporate ratings, reviews, and bestseller charts for user engagement.
- Enable users to bookmark preferred titles.
- Align paper book delivery options with online store.
- Enhance reading experience with note-taking and bookmarking features.
- Introduce rewards and incentives to encourage app use.
- Implement wish lists with read counts and easy sharing.
- Allow users to comment on and rate their reads.
- Utilize points-based loyalty system within the app.
- Give users power to personalize app settings.
These criteria guided our development, ensuring the Nash Format app not only meets but exceeds user expectations, making it an indispensable tool for book lovers.
Moving forward, we meticulously defined and detailed each feature in our development backlog. This included a collaborative review with the client to ensure alignment on the functionality and expectations, culminating in a comprehensive functional description. Additionally, we created a functional mind map to enhance project clarity.
In parallel, we crafted detailed API documentation, laying the groundwork for a robust and scalable backend infrastructure. This documentation served as a critical resource for both our team and the client, ensuring seamless integration and functionality.
During the design phase, our team delved deeply into Nash Format’s established brand identity to ensure the mobile application felt like a cohesive part of their brand ecosystem. This involved a thorough examination of Nash Format’s brand book, from which we distilled essential brand guidelines. Our efforts in brand integration involved weaving logos, color schemes, typography, and other visual components seamlessly into the app’s design, affirming its alignment with Nash Format’s overall brand identity.
A crucial step in this phase was the development of a comprehensive UI concept that struck a balance between aesthetic appeal and functional usability. We prioritized creating an intuitive user experience, characterized by easy navigation and engaging visuals. Underpinning this effort was the establishment of a robust Design System, which included a UI Kit filled with standardized design elements. This ensured uniformity across the app, enhancing the user interface’s coherence and appeal. Additionally, our detailed Style Guide outlined the precise application of Nash Format’s brand elements within the app, guaranteeing that every interaction and visual cue resonated with Nash Format’s target audience.
The design phase proved pivotal in transforming our initial concept into a visually compelling and brand-aligned application. By combining creative flair with a strict adherence to Nash Format’s brand guidelines, we crafted a product that not only satisfied functional requirements but also elevated Nash Format’s brand identity and deepened user engagement.
However, despite the meticulous planning and shared vision for what the app could achieve, the project concluded before the development phase commenced. This decision, made with careful consideration, does not diminish the value of the insights gained or the potential impact of the work undertaken. The journey with Nash Format has been a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in shaping the future of digital reading experiences.
KEY FEATURES AND VALUE
Here are some of the final design screens that we want to share with you.
