Project Overview
Lincoln City Libraries is adding to their roster of buildings with a new youthful twist, targeting young adults and teens. Willow Branch Library is an innovative approach to their current libraries, creating a unique environment for the BookTok community to explore their newfound love of reading. New online readers can now enjoy a physical aesthetic place where they can find other readers in their city to bond over trendy titles. They will be hosting book clubs, accept donations, have study spaces, digital media renting, movie room for book adaptation movie nights, tutors and computer labs. Creating a free “third place” community for Lincoln, Nebraska. Along with the addition of The Mill, a local coffee & Tea shop. Willow Branch Library hopes to bring book lovers together and out of their homes. Willow hopes to connect with today’s youth via their own social media page that directs them to their new website. Which will showcase further details of the libraries unique features, rules, online catalog, digital library card and a rental section for digital media or study spaces. With additional library stationary needed for the building and staff,
Audience Profile
Willow Branch wants to target those who are on BookTok, a sub-community on TikTok, that helped make reading cool again. These guys scroll through TikTok for hours, finding book recommendations that make their “to-be-read” lists so longer. Making many “fan casts”, hoping to see their favorite books get a movie adaptation. To then end up betrayed when they realize that, the book, was in fact better. Picking apart these movies is their favorite thing, many saying “This wasn’t in the book!” or “I can’t believe they cut this out.” Whether the movie was faithful or not, they will still watch it regardless. These readers end up combining their other hobbies with reading. In ways as creating “fanart” or dabbling in book binding, remaking their favorite books covers. Inspiring to even start writing their own stories. Loving any book section in stores, regardless of how small. To lovely local bookstores and the king of aesthetics, Barnes N Noble. Wanting to rekindle that feeling of going to the library as a kid, the free spirit of just getting to read and adventure within the mind with the words on page. They crave a new place to read, taking their books to parks, the lake, or any event where they might have a bit of time to read, they will. Spewing out annotations on the side with their happy or sad remarks, these guys rather space out with their books then be in the real world.
Perception & Tone
The design embodies a book nerd’s Pinterest board dream that showcases aesthetic book nooks with fall weather all over it. A warm forest feeling that invites book readers to come in and read comfortably. All polished with a cleaned-up look that allows space to focus on studying but keeping that rainy cold candle lit feeling.