Edmonton Public
Library Redesign
A redesign of the EPL iOS app, consolidating eBook and audiobook borrowing into a single flow and adding dark mode support throughout.
Interactive Prototype
High-fidelity clickable prototype: eBook and audiobook borrowing flows, light and dark mode
Background
About the app
The Edmonton Public Library app has been around since 2009. It covers account management, holds, branch locations, and events. EPL's mandate is to be an accessible, low-barrier service for the community: immigrants, students, and people who rely on the library for services they can't access elsewhere.
That made the app's usability problems worth taking seriously. An app that crashes, requires 2-3 separate apps to borrow a digital book, or has no dark mode is a worse experience for exactly the people the library is trying to serve.
The Problem
What the research found
We conducted user interviews and audited the existing app across five areas: features, usability, UI flow, feedback, and visuals. Three issues came up across every interview.
App Instability
The app crashed consistently enough that every person we interviewed mentioned it. For users who depend on the library as a primary resource, that's not a minor inconvenience.
Fragmented Digital Borrowing
Borrowing an eBook or audiobook required 2-3 separate apps. The EPL app handled the hold and checkout, but reading or listening happened in a completely different application. Most interviewees found this confusing and frustrating.
Inconsistent Search and Checkout
The search function didn't pull up titles directly; it returned a list of possible titles you had to click through. The checkout process had a similar inconsistency: the steps weren't predictable between different item types.
Comparative Analysis
What's working elsewhere
We looked at other library and reading apps to understand what a better borrowing experience could look like.
Libby
Strengths
- Configurable notification preferences
- Seamless continuation across devices
- eBook and audiobook reading built in
Weaknesses
- Requires a separate app from EPL
- Not all libraries are supported equally
TRAC PAC
Strengths
- Integrated digital library for eBooks and audiobooks
- Clean hold and checkout flow
Weaknesses
- Limited visual customization
- Narrower catalogue than EPL
Goodreads
Strengths
- Strong shelf and tracking features
- Community reviews and recommendations
Weaknesses
- Design unchanged since ~2006
- No borrowing or reading functionality
User Research
Who we were designing for
We developed two personas from our user interviews, representing the two main borrowing patterns we observed.
Persona — Cassidy
Persona — Ben
Solution
What we redesigned
We redesigned two borrowing flows — eBook and audiobook — consolidating the experience into the EPL app itself rather than handing off to external apps. The prototype covers the full task: open the app, find a title, select the format, check out, and read or listen without leaving.
Consolidated Digital Borrowing
Brought eBook and audiobook reading into the app directly. The borrow-to-read flow went from requiring 2-3 apps down to one: find the title, select the format, check out, and start reading or listening without leaving EPL.
Consistent Search and Checkout
Redesigned search to return titles directly rather than a list of possibilities to click through. Standardized the checkout steps across physical, eBook, and audiobook formats so the process is predictable regardless of what you're borrowing.
Dark Mode and Visual Customization
Added dark mode, sepia mode, and text size controls throughout. Designing dark mode required building a separate colour system for every screen rather than inverting the light mode palette; contrast ratios, text legibility, and component states all needed to be re-evaluated from scratch. In Adobe XD at the time, this meant duplicating every screen and manually reconnecting the entire prototype flow for the dark mode version.
Process & Artefacts
Hi-fi prototype screens
Light and dark mode prototype screens, covering the eBook and audiobook borrowing flows alongside the home, bookshelf, and notifications views.
