Library Catalog
concept
concept
As a life-long library user I’ve been disappointed by the evolution of online library catalogs. They’re often ugly, boring, poor laid out, and full of user friction when it comes to understanding the UI, scanning content, and interacting with results. I thought I’d try my hand at tackling many of these problems without sacrificing the value and usability of the traditional paradigm.
Perhaps one of the most frustrating elements of online public access catalogs (OPACs), are their very poor use of images and icons. Users are now accustomed to having their consumable web content served to them in topical carousels using large, clear images. My design pushes the value of these images in evaluating content, emphasizes the most actionable or important interactions for users, and declutters the UI to give elements proper content hierarchy.