Showcasing a Delightful Place: Charis Books & More Website Redesign
Mirabelle Cabaltera, Corinne Crowley, and Leslie Pethoud, 2023 Showcase
Showcasing a Delightful Place: Charis Books & More Website Redesign: For this project our group acted as a fictional design team tasked with redesigning the website for Charis Books & More, one of the oldest feminist bookstores in the U.S. The bookstore operates in a unique partnership with its non-profit programming partner, Charis Circle, and the nearby women’s college Agnes Scott College. Located on the campus of Agnes Scott, Charis Books provides books for the students and other members of the community while also acting as the event space for programming conducted by Charis Circle. These partnerships contribute to Charis Books’ unique hybrid identity as both a for-profit and nonprofit bookstore and event space (Rosen, 2013).
Our work for this redesign focused on streamlining the organization of the content to improve the overall user-friendliness of the site for both new and returning users and clarifying the bookstore’s relationship with its partners, while providing a delightful experience that mirrors the positive in-person experience customers have when they visit the bookstore.
Mirabelle Cabaltera received her BA in Sociology at California State University Dominguez Hills. She is currently pursuing her MLIS degree from San Jose State University with a focus on Information Intermediation and Instruction. She has interned at the San Francisco Public Library Jail and Reentry Program where she helped the reformed and incarcerated with their information needs. She is currently working as a Preschool Teacher in Southern California and has worked in childcare since 2014.
Corinne Crowley is enrolled in the MLIS program at SJSU and is contemplating the Web Programming & Information Architecture pathway. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology, with Mathematics Emphasis, has done post graduate work in Computer Science, and works as a Technical Project Manager/Producer.
Leslie Pethoud (she/her) is pursuing a Master of Library and Information Science at SJSU and is passionate about doing work that centers the needs and perspectives of marginalized communities.