[p2pu-dev] UI commentary for new design

[B. Maura Townsend]

Yes, please send me the link. I'd love to be able to have the ability
to get in on the work.

BMT

2011/1/28 João Antonio de Menezes Neto <tonyhomes at gmail.com>:
> 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)
>>>>
>>>> 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
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > _______________________________________________
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>>>> > http://lists.p2pu.org/mailman/listinfo/p2pu-dev
>>>> >
>>>> >
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