[p2pu-dev] UI commentary for new design

Fri Jan 28 19:58:59 UTC 2011

Maura andf everyone who might want to get involved in the designs could
really help us out in the Course Home layout - as it's one of the most
complex parts of the system.
Please ping me if want want to help and I'll give you the Dropbox link to
the editable files.

João

2011/1/28 John Britton <public at johndbritton.com>

> +1 Github issues queue.
>
> The design was made by Aleks and Joao with input from the community and we
> decided to move on implementing it in it's current state because it is good
> 'enough' and a huge improvement from what we currently have. I definitely
> agree with Stian, we're not dead set on keeping the design this way forever.
> We're currently working on cutting the design and putting the code out there
> for people to help with.
>
> I'm also struggling to get new people involved more efficiently, it's not
> easy to get people up to speed on everything. We really appreciate the input
> and want you here!
>
> Cheers,
> John Britton
> --
> contact info:
> http://www.johndbritton.com
> @johndbritton - http://twitter.com/johndbritton
>
>
> 2011/1/28 João Antonio de Menezes Neto <tonyhomes at gmail.com>
>
> Hello again Maura,
>>
>> Thanks for sharing your opinion with us. As Becca commented, we're
>> volunteers for the love of it, and full-time dedication (unfortunately)
>> isn't possible. I'm the one who told you that these issues "were already
>> solved" because we had a specific discussion about contrast in the designs a
>> month ago, and we defined some changes (having the background as #555
>> instead of #333, for instance). I demoed this alteration in a .PNG file you
>> can find browsing our old Google Dev Group.
>>
>> I'd just ask you some patience in this question as Brian Brennan has
>> finished the HTML/CSS not even a week ago; so, as Stian commented, there are
>> a lot of improvements to come. I'm a Visual Designer myself and I'd really
>> love to work more with you on the new version of the site.
>>
>>
>> []'s
>> João
>>
>> 2011/1/28 B. Maura Townsend <jauncourt at gmail.com>
>>
>> Unfortunately, this is about the third invitation to participate that
>>> I've received. :) I am participating, but I think it's getting lost.
>>>
>>> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/p2pu-dev/JgsFkDaZIIs/discussion is
>>> where I wrote about issues with the current site and was invited to
>>> weigh in on the UI design and accessibility/usability (two different
>>> but related issues). When I did that though, I got a sort of brush off
>>> message indicating that what I was saying was seen as "already
>>> implemented." See comments:
>>>
>>> http://wiki.p2pu.org/w/page/32426155/New+website+design+(after-Techsprint)<http://wiki.p2pu.org/w/page/32426155/New+website+design+%28after-Techsprint%29>
>>>
>>> Also, I've been trying to find where to log reviews of design issues,
>>> or discuss them, but everything so far seems code related, and not at
>>> all UI related. I can't seem to find any discussion of the UI or look
>>> & feel. Searching chatlogs and this list (both versions) brings me up
>>> empty, no matter how I phrase it.
>>>
>>> Perhaps part of the problem is that I am not a coder, really, at all.
>>> I'm a visual designer with human factors experience. That's the POV I
>>> can bring to this, but it seems there is nowhere to put it.
>>>
>>> BMT
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 9:29 AM, Rebecca Kahn <bekka.kahn at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> > Hi BMT
>>> >
>>> > I'm not really knowledgeable enough to comment on the UI issues you
>>> raise,
>>> > but I might be able to give some clarity on your concerns about where
>>> to
>>> > post these ideas and the fact that you've received very little
>>> feedback.
>>> >
>>> > P2PU is, at the very heart of things, a community built on
>>> give-and-take;
>>> > the vast majority of people are volunteers, and the only way the
>>> community
>>> > and the project can survive is because amazing people put in as much
>>> time
>>> > and effort as they can.
>>> >
>>> > We do have a small group of committed volunteers working on the UI. But
>>> they
>>> > are all volunteers, and doing this in their spare time, out of passion
>>> for
>>> > the project. From your mail, I suspect that you might be willing to
>>> help out
>>> > in this way as well, and we'd like to welcome you to the community, and
>>> > thank you for your effort and enthusiasm so far.
>>> >
>>> > As a group that is principally volunteer-driven, we've found that the
>>> > community tend to respond to issues that they feel most strongly about
>>> - so
>>> > a small group of people might cluster around a certain issue, offer to
>>> help
>>> > out with any fixes or tasks, and generally get things done that way.
>>> It's a
>>> > sort of "group filter" that ensures that issues that the community feel
>>> are
>>> > most pressing get tended to first. Operating on the principle of rough
>>> > consensus (ie: not everyone will always agree, but those who do have
>>> > opinions will pipe up, and decisions are made by those who care) we
>>> tend to
>>> > also take slightly longer to get to issues than might otherwise happen
>>> in a
>>> > bigger, more commercially oriented organisation.
>>> >
>>> > We do have some developers who are paid for their time and work, but
>>> they
>>> > generally operate on the basis of x amount of hours per month, and tend
>>> to
>>> > triage the really urgent issues, and when their time is up every month,
>>> they
>>> > step back, and any issues left will be dealt with in the following
>>> month.
>>> > Needless to say, with the launch of the courses, this month has been
>>> really
>>> > busy.  I think it's also fair to say that we're all a bit stunned by
>>> the
>>> > volume of response we've had this cycle, and are trying (not always
>>> > successfully) to keep up with it.
>>> >
>>> > Generally, people who have skills are happy to devote some of their
>>> time and
>>> > the community is often a conduit for this, so if people ask for help,
>>> those
>>> > who can contribute generally will do so. The dev list is a good place
>>> to ask
>>> > for this kind of support.
>>> >
>>> > I suppose what I'm getting at is this: if you and any other people in
>>> the
>>> > community are concerned about the UI, and have the skills, time or
>>> > inclination to help out with this, it would be wonderful. Please don't
>>> take
>>> > the lack of response as an indication that nobody cares - I think
>>> everyone
>>> > is just busy filtering the large amount of mail coming through at the
>>> > moment, and people who do share your concerns will come forward, if you
>>> ask
>>> > for specific help with stuff. Jump in, and get your feet wet!
>>> >
>>> > We haven't been very good at communicating the reciprocal nature of
>>> P2PU to
>>> > everyone who joins the community, but we do hope that people understand
>>> this
>>> > dynamic and appreciate that it is all part of the great experiment that
>>> is
>>> > P2PU! Most of the time, we just try stuff out and see if it works.
>>> Sometimes
>>> > we get lucky and it does.
>>> >
>>> > I hope this answers some of your questions - and please don't be
>>> discouraged
>>> > - the more people in the community who care about the project the
>>> better.
>>> > Also, I'd love to hear what other people on this list think about this
>>> >
>>> > All the best
>>> > Bekka
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On 28 January 2011 16:59, B. Maura Townsend <jauncourt at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> I put a comment on the new mockup seen at http://p2pu.brianloves.it/
>>> >> in the wiki, under the new design's page, and it seems that it's not
>>> >> really the best place to discuss UI issues, as I got brushed off.
>>> >>
>>> >> My first comment was this (I was keeping it short because of the
>>> venue):
>>> >>
>>> >> "Can we try for better contrast in the menus? Also, perhaps swapping
>>> >> the background color and text color when highlighted would be better,
>>> >> usability-wise."
>>> >>
>>> >> Unfortunately, this was interpreted as being reference to the severe
>>> >> contrast issues that I and a number of others have noticed with the
>>> >> current site's styles.
>>> >>
>>> >> A more in-depth analysis of the contrast issues with the current
>>> >> revision of the new design mockup :
>>> >>
>>> >> "The higher contrast of the black pinstripe texture against the white
>>> >> background draws the eye away from the lower contrast menuing, even if
>>> >> it is not negatively affecting the main content. Would it be possible
>>> >> to make the black pinstripe lower contrast? Perhaps a gray about the
>>> >> current color of the un-highlighted menu text? That would increase the
>>> >> usability without lowering the overall visual impact.
>>> >>
>>> >> "The menus at the top are fairly low contrast, light bluish gray
>>> >> against white, with the eye drawn away by the high-contrast
>>> >> background.The highlight is good, with decent contrast, though I'm
>>> >> worried about accessibility for colorblind users. The text in this
>>> >> menu should really be at least as dark a gray as the text in the
>>> >> captions shown in the main content areas.
>>> >>
>>> >> "The menus at the bottom are low contrast unless highlighted, medium
>>> >> gray on medium-luminance colors. The highlight is so subtle as to be
>>> >> lost on many viewers. I'd propose making the text darker on these
>>> >> menus and making the highlight a swap of text and background color. I
>>> >> realize that this is the same shade as the dark gray in the content
>>> >> areas, but that is negated by the medium-luminance background color
>>> >> bars."
>>> >>
>>> >> I'm concerned that I may not be commenting in the correct venue. Is
>>> >> there a UI design team? Is there a specific venue for discussion of
>>> >> the new UI? I know there isn't really anyone looking at usability
>>> >> besides myself and one or two others, and I've seen no comments from
>>> >> them.
>>> >>
>>> >> Thanks,
>>> >>
>>> >> BMT
>>> >> _______________________________________________
>>> >> p2pu-dev mailing list
>>> >> p2pu-dev at lists.p2pu.org
>>> >> http://lists.p2pu.org/mailman/listinfo/p2pu-dev
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Rebecca Kahn
>>> > Skype: rebekahn
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > p2pu-dev mailing list
>>> > p2pu-dev at lists.p2pu.org
>>> > http://lists.p2pu.org/mailman/listinfo/p2pu-dev
>>> >
>>> >
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>>
>>
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