My Dissertation in Information Design

Here’s the PDF and the abstract of my dissertation:

Users of academic libraries can find the experience of searching for books difficult, especially when they have little experience in the use of a particular library building. This dissertation studied, by means of a field test in the library of the University of Reading, the elements involved in a novice user journey when looking for a specific book. By going deeper into users’ journeys, the aim was to gather crucial information in order to reveal gaps in the current wayfinding system and thus suggest the need for new systems or tools for guidance.

The results were visualised as journey models and experience maps and were analysed in order to suggest ways to improve the search process of academic libraries, considering mobile technology capabilities. The use of journey models and experience maps represent an innovation for academic research relating to libraries.

The main results emphasise the need of clarifying the library sections in the computer search as well as the physical space. The role of human help and its responsibility is also considered as an important point in the library experience. Additionally, the ways in which mobile technologies and guidance tools in general can help support the decision process are discussed.