Case Study: Austin Public Library Youth Site

The Austin Public Library asked us to redesign the youth page with one clear goal: make it more helpful for parents and caregivers of kids ages 0 to 12.

We also had to work around a few constraints, like the library’s existing branding and third-party event widgets that couldn’t be changed.

So our job became about understanding: what actually helps users? What helps staff? And can we design something simple, welcoming, and clear within those limitations?

Before we jumped into designing, we spent time understanding what other libraries were doing and what our users actually needed.

We started with a competitive analysis, looking at how libraries in places like Seattle and London PL structure their youth content. This helped us see patterns, best practices, and what gaps APL could improve on.

From there, we ran user interviews with 22 participants. These were a mix of moderated and guerrilla sessions, including parents, caregivers, and library staff across several branches.

And to dig deeper into pain points, we ran usability tests on the existing site with 5 participants. That helped us pinpoint where people were getting stuck.

All of this gave us a strong foundation for our personas, which we’ll look at next.

Abigail is a homeschooling mom trying to find programs for both of her kids, but the old site made it difficult to filter by age or understand what each event was really about. She kept running into missing info like, ‘Is this for toddlers?

Alex is a caregiver who relies on the library’s events to structure the week. One day they showed up for Storytime only to find out it was canceled. There was no online update. For someone juggling kids and schedules, that’s frustrating and disorienting.

These stories helped ground our design decisions. They reminded us that people aren’t just browsing, they’re planning their day, their week, their time with their kids. That gave our work real urgency.

But before we could solve their problems, we hit one of our own…

Despite our best efforts, our team struggled to converge on a single wireframe design.

Recognizing the impasse, I suggested we start anew, this time leveraging Miller’s Law to structure our content. By organizing information into seven key sections, we not only adhered to cognitive principles but also found a design that resonated with everyone.

This approach brought clarity and cohesion. The team was thrilled with the result, and it became the foundation for our final design.

This experience underscored the power of combining psychological insights with collaborative design.

Once we got aligned as a team, we went back to the heart of the problem: what real users were telling us.

This quote stuck with us. It’s simple and kind of funny, but also really revealing. The youth page just didn’t feel engaging. No images, no color, no clear entry points, it felt more like a policy doc than a space for families and kids.

So we used feedback like this as our north star, it reminded us to make the new experience feel more inviting.

The changes made help make the site not only more usable, but more delightful.

It’s faster to navigate, easier to understand, and more fun to explore, which is exactly what you want for a page serving children and their caregivers.

The original site was super text-heavy and kind of overwhelming. I cleaned it up by grouping content using clear headers and icons to break it up visually. Now it’s easier to scan and find what you need, fast.

I also made the language more playful and inviting. It felt too formal before, especially for a kids’ page. Now it feels like you’re getting personal book recs and fun event invites from someone at your local library.

Lastly, I reorganized everything so it’s easier to get around. No more digging through accordion menus. There’s even a jump-to-top button to help you move through the page.

Overall, the goal was to make the experience simpler, friendlier, and more fun for both kids and caregivers.

One of the coolest moments in the project was seeing our recommendations go live before we even wrapped which told us we were really hitting the mark.

They started clearly labeling CANCELLED events, which was something we suggested to reduce confusion for parents planning around their schedules.

They also began adding consistent age recommendations right in the event listings, which helps caregivers quickly decide what’s relevant.

And when you click 'Events' from the kids’ page, it now shows age-appropriate listings by default. No need to dig through filters.

These updates show that our work wasn’t just theoretical, it was usable and ready to go.

This project was such a valuable experience for me. It wasn’t just another school assignment, it was a real collaboration with a public institution that serves families and our community.

Designing for dual audiences (kids and their caregivers) pushed me to be more intentional about layout, tone, and accessibility.

Balancing creativity with real-world constraints, like accessibility guidelines and 3rd party content limitations, made the process feel very practical and grounded.

Seeing my ideas actually implemented by the library mid-project was such a confidence boost, it reminded me that thoughtful, user-centered design really can create immediate change.