LibraSpace: A Teen-Led Journey
What is this project and who was engaged in it?
The Los Angeles Public Library launched an exciting project and collaborated with ArtCenter to make libraries more accessible to teenagers. This initiative, involving collaboration with librarians from the Greater Los Angeles area, aimed to address the unique needs of teenagers who frequent these libraries for studying after school and on weekends. These librarians, who interact closely with teens, sought to improve teens' developmental and educational experiences through better use of library resources.
A key component of this project was direct engagement with the teenagers themselves, achieved through the sponsorship enabling interviews with teen volunteers. The research methodology included in-depth interviews and co-design workshops, leading to the development of a design proposal. This proposal includes these three main areas:
-
Physical Space: Redesigning the library layout to solve issues like storage shortage, lack of privacy, and navigation difficulties, focusing on creating a welcoming environment.
-
Digital Platform: Developing a mobile APP and online website integrated with library resources to provide teenagers with accessible information.
-
Library Programs: Creating programs to enhance outreach and support teenagers in their academic and daily activities.
This 14-week project, which was successfully adopted by LAPL, later underwent further refinement by Diane Liu and me. The focus of this refinement was the digital space, where we developed a design system for colors, fonts, components, and interfaces to reach higher readability, higher contrast, easiness of use, and pixel-perfect UI elements.
Insights and Opportunites
