Seatly: Library Seating, Composed
Seatly helps libraries compose floors, run live seating, and see utilization. I designed the product surfaces and the marketing site so staff can go from an empty canvas to a published map — and visitors can start a 14-day trial without a sales call.
- Client
- Seatly
- Role
- Product & marketing designer
- Duration
- 7 weeks
- Platforms
- Web
Time to first published floor
−47%
Trial start conversion
+29%
Seatly
Library seating, composed
−47%
Time to first published floor
+29%
Trial start conversion
8/10
Unassisted layout success
01 — The problem
What was broken
Seating was analog. Staff walked the floor, marked paper maps, and could not tell which seats were reserved, broken, or empty all afternoon. Peak hours were folklore. Underused rooms stayed that way because nobody had a heatmap.
Existing tools looked like airport gate software. Libraries wanted precision and calm, not a dashboard of red alerts. The product had to feel like an atelier for space — exact enough for operations, quiet enough for a reading room brand.
02 — Research
What I learned
Layout is the onboarding
If drawing the floor is painful, nothing else gets used. The canvas had to be the first “aha”: drop seats, define zones, publish.
Live status is a staff tool, not a public widget
Librarians need to check someone in, block a seat for maintenance, and free capacity instantly. Color-coding only works if the states are few and obvious.
Pricing must match house size
A single-floor college library and a multi-location system cannot share one plan. Starter / Professional / Enterprise had to map to floors and seats, not vague “features.”
03 — Process
How the work happened
- 01
Staff walkthroughs
Observed how seating is handled at open, midday, and close. Captured the real states: available, occupied, reserved, unavailable — and the exceptions (grace periods, no-shows).
- 02
Four-step product narrative
Create library → draw floor → add seats and zones → publish. That sequence became both the onboarding and the marketing “how it works.”
- 03
Atelier visual system
Warm paper, serif display, restrained gold. The UI had to feel considered — closer to a reading room than a warehouse console.
- 04
Trial and plans
Designed pricing around floors and seats, with a 14-day trial and no card required. FAQs answer layout, book manager, and analytics in plain language.
04 — Solution
What shipped
A canvas staff will actually finish
The layout builder treats seats, tables, shelves, and zones as first-class objects. Publish is a deliberate act, not an accidental save.
Live map with four states
Available, occupied, reserved, unavailable. Staff can check in, block, or release without opening a modal tree. Occupancy is visible at a glance (for example, 128 seats / 71% occupied).
Analytics that change the floor
Peak hours, underused seats, and zone performance exist so the next layout pass is evidence-based — not a guess after a busy Saturday.
Scope delivered
- Drag-and-drop floor planner with seats, tables, shelves, and zones
- Live seating map for check-in, reservations, and maintenance blocks
- Utilization analytics and seating heatmaps
- Book manager tied to shelf position
- Starter, Professional, and Enterprise plans with a 14-day trial
05 — Outcome
The result
In moderated sessions, first-time staff published a floor layout without coaching. On the marketing site, trial starts replaced dead-end contact forms, and pricing comprehension improved in five-second tests.
−47%
Time to first published floor
+29%
Trial start conversion
8/10
Unassisted layout success