Rachid | Product Designer

Rachid Bath

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Rachid Bath

Bookerz

Converting Neighborhoods into Accessible book Libraries

Mobile App

Overview

Bookerz is a 0-to-1 end-to-end mobile app that transforms local neighborhoods and university campuses into shared physical libraries. It enables students and book lovers to list, search, and swap physical books locally with zero financial friction.

Timeline:

1 Month

Role:

Product Designer (UX/UI, Research, Design System)

Tools:

Figma, FigJam, Whimsical

The Problem and opportunities

While digital reading options exist, many students and readers strongly prefer physical paper books for focus and ergonomics. However, obtaining physical books creates continuous friction:

Exhausted Campus Libraries: Required course texts and popular books are frequently checked out or out of stock.

Fragmented Workarounds: Readers resort to city-wide Facebook groups, leading to safety risks, unverified book conditions, long travel distances, and awkward meetups.

High Costs & Limited Budgets: Academic textbooks and popular titles are expensive for students on tight budgets.

Research & Discovery

To validate these pain points, I engaged directly with active reader communities across Facebook groups and university campus networks. Synthesizing their feedback revealed clear behavioral patterns:

Reading Habits: Most users read 30 to 60+ minutes daily for academic success or personal growth.

Physical Preference: Paper books are preferred for reduced eye strain and better focus during long study sessions.

Distance Friction: Local bookstores or central libraries are often 1 km+ away, making local peer swaps more convenient.

User Personas

To humanize the research data and guide every design decision, I created Adam, representing our primary target audience:

How Might We help Adam access the physical books he needs within his immediate neighborhood, without relying on far & expensive bookstores or chaotic Facebook groups?

Strategy & Information Architecture

To shape the solution, I mapped user pain points into job stories and built a comprehensive sitemap and user flows.

Diagram Legend / User flow key

Exchang Request from dashboard

Accept the Request ( The Receiver)

Search book & exchange

Add a Listing / Book

Prioritizing the MVP (MoSCoW Method)

Drawing inspiration from peer-to-peer models like inDrive (matching The Book I Want vs. The Book I Have instead of Point A to Point B), I prioritized the core features for launch:

Design System & Style Guide

Before jumping into high-fidelity screens, I built a lean design system to ensure visual consistency, accessibility, and fast component reusability.

Key Product Features & UX Decisions

After validating the problem space and defining the MVP's Information Architecture through a sitemap and user flows, it was time to move into ideation.

Wireframes

Wireframes helped transform early ideas into tangible concepts and establish the foundation for the final user experience.

Hi-Fi Mockups

Dual Search & Proximity Radius: by adding Double Match feature it eliminates back and forth messaging by matching what the user wants against what they can offer within a set geographical radius.

Accept Request & In-Person QR Verification: in order to actually verify that the swap indeed happened i added a verification code / QR code that you can only see in the other user's phone in person.

Dual-Offering Mechanic:

When listing a book, owners can request up to 2 books they're willing to accept in return, allowing swappers to choose which one to offer and significantly increasing match success rates.

Final Interactive Flows & Prototypes

Bookerz covers the full end-to-end swapping lifecycle through 5 core flows:

Seamless Listing Creation

Discovery & Smart Radius Search

Accept Request & In-Person QR Verification: in order to actually verify that the swap indeed happened i added a verification code and a QR code that you can only see in the other user's phone in person.

Decoupled Double-Blind Review: To avoid in-person social awkwardness, users confirm the trade via on-screen QR code and instantly rate only the event experience. A delayed push notification prompts a private user rating later once both parties have separated.

Academic Coursepack Hub: Dedicated filter path allowing students to find specific university polycopies by Faculty, Degree Level, Semester (S1 to S6), and Module

User Testing & Future Iterations

Usability testing with potential users validated the core value proposition while highlighting strategic opportunities for V2:

Yassine (Student): "Great overall, it feels like an unlimited local library. I'd love a calendar scheduler for meetups so we don't have to message to coordinate time."

Khalid (Book Enthusiast): "The proximity radius removes the friction that causes procrastination. For rare books, adding a community group-buy option would be amazing."

Version 2 Roadmap Takeaway

Future iterations will focus on integrated meetup scheduling tools and explore collective purchasing models for rare academic texts

Thanks for taking the time to review this project.

I’m always excited to collaborate on thoughtful digital experiences and meaningful product ideas.

Design System & Style Guide

Before jumping into high-fidelity screens, I built a lean design system to ensure visual consistency, accessibility, and fast component reusability.