Usability feedback please on unique photo gallery

[Benek]

Hi,

I've just finished this site and I would like feedback on how easy it is to use.

http://www.nzography.com/

If you mouseover the black square on top left there is a menu with a section for help if you cannot figure out the interface.

Please give me feedback on how easy it is to use the interface. Also let me know if you find any bugs or if anything doesn't display properly.

I've heard from a few people that on some of the image sets that the first image does not load properly, although I have never experienced this myself. If you experience this or any other problem, please let me know. Also, I'd appreciate details about what browser you are using and what version of flash player you have installed.

Thanks in advance to everyone who responds.

[SPAD3S]

i like it very much

nice design
good photos
easy to use.
4 outta 5

[Benek]

Just a little update from my side regarding the issue of the first images in a set not loading correctly: It appears that this happens only with Firefox, and with Flash player version 8. Firefox and Flash 9 works fine as does IE with either Flash 8 or 9.

If anyone runs into this problem, again please let me know what browser/flash player combo you have. And can anyone think of why this would be happening?

[Pasquale]

Put in Australia and it will be great :)
Heheh. It's nice mate. The navigation is not clear at first, but it works quite well :)

[Benek]

Thanks darkmotion. I am actually planning on making many different maps in the future and selling them, so an Australia map is a very likely possibility.

Still looking for more feedback!

[shroom]

Hey Benek,
Great design and usability. However I couldn't zoom out totally to see the whole map again.

[tct182]

Great site! Half the fun is figuring out the navigation for me!
Great photos too :)

[CreationsCentre]

Really cool. Loving it. Can't wait to see this evolve. Maybe you should include a little video tutorial for those users who can't figure out how to use the site. lol. Now all you have to do is add the UK! :P

[Laalun]

I like it, however i didn't realise it was NZ, just a funky grafitti design paint-splash type thing at first. Bit more contrast with the colours?

[amaze]

Excellent job! :D

The only thing I think that would help is a "big" zoom out to see the whole map and know where you are/were.

[Anogar]

It's neat, but it suffers from some performance issues in my opinion.

[Benek]

@ shroom and amaze: I've had this same feedback from others as well. I designed it so that when you are zoomed in half way, you can click on an empty spot on the map to zoom all the way back out to whole map. Were you not able to get back to see the whole map because you didn't know to click, or was it because you tried clicking and it didn't work?

@ Anogar: Can you be more specific? Is the animation not smooth for you?

[DDD]

its ok, but from a usability standpoint, it gets irritating real quick. Maybe offer a little side map or optional controls to control the region scrolling and viewing. I like the motion and performance wasnt too bad on my end. But it can be a nightmare to get around in and remember what you have already seen and what have you.

[g_one]

Maybe it is my monitor, but I had trouble identifying the edges of the map, and first if it was a map at all. Possibly darkening the background would make the map standout a bit more. Or vice versa.

Other than that I though it was beautiful. The Photos are amazing. And the interface idea is great.

[Icy Penguin]

Very cool!

I still think you should offer something more for userability - like DDD said, a simple side map, kind of like on chromazone (http://www.chromazone-imaging.co.uk/flashindex.html).

[bashR]

Really cool man. your right, its really unique :)

[shroom]

@ shroom and amaze: I've had this same feedback from others as well. I designed it so that when you are zoomed in half way, you can click on an empty spot on the map to zoom all the way back out to whole map. Were you not able to get back to see the whole map because you didn't know to click, or was it because you tried clicking and it didn't work?

@ Anogar: Can you be more specific? Is the animation not smooth for you?


I did click, it just didn't work. I tried just now, it worked, but not everytime. It feels like it takes a while before the function kicks in, by that time I've already clicked one more time which puts in its first zoomed state.

[amaze]

^
|
|
agree :)

[unclevicky]

While I don't exactly subscribe in total to Nielsen's usability guidelines I think a lot of them make sense. Usability is about making something that makes sense. Steve Krug makes more sense than Nielsen on this matter IMO. Here are my pointers for usability on your site:

Your first problem if the definition of the country outline, which lacks sufficient contrast to tell what it is quickly.

Secondly, you have to give an indication (again, very quickly) as to what the site is about. The dots (images of locations) are too small to give an indication that they are images that represent the locations on the map. You can't tell from the start that this is "a site which shows images about locations in New Zealand". I couldn't tell what the dots were until I clicked on them. You'll lose a lot of viewers because they can't figure out what the site is supposed to do.

Thirdly, like CreationsCentre mentioned, you might need to tell people how to use the site if they don't know how - which isn't great usability. I'm not too sure what target audience you had in mind, but if you're touting this to flash users and developers, they'll get the jist pretty quick because they have the time and are willing to 'play' with the features. However, if you intend to develop this as a commercial site for end users (the general public) you'll want to make the use transparent from the start i.e. the controls should indicate what you can do, and also what the site is there for.

Finally, I like the zooming effects, but the method for zooming out is not instinctive. In fact, I panicked and pressed the background by mistake, only to find that that was how you zoomed out. Things like this need to be ironed out. People need to know where they are, and where they can go in a site.

Anyway, hope that doesn't rain on your parade. The site has a lot of promise and the zoom effect is key to the experience. I like it a lot. All the best for the future.

[unclevicky]

While I don't exactly subscribe in total to Nielsen's usability guidelines I think a lot of them make sense. Usability is about making something that makes sense. Steve Krug makes more sense than Nielsen on this matter IMO. Here are my pointers for usability on your site:

Your first problem if the definition of the country outline, which lacks sufficient contrast to tell what it is quickly.

Secondly, you have to give an indication (again, very quickly) as to what the site is about. The dots (images of locations) are too small to give an indication that they are images that represent the locations on the map. You can't tell from the start that this is "a site which shows images about locations in New Zealand". I couldn't tell what the dots were until I clicked on them. You'll lose a lot of viewers because they can't figure out what the site is supposed to do.

Thirdly, like CreationsCentre mentioned, you might need to tell people how to use the site if they don't know how - which isn't great usability. I'm not too sure what target audience you had in mind, but if you're touting this to flash users and developers, they'll get the jist pretty quick because they have the time and are willing to 'play' with the features. However, if you intend to develop this as a commercial site for end users (the general public) you'll want to make the use transparent from the start i.e. the controls should indicate what you can do, and also what the site is there for.

Finally, I like the zooming effects, but the method for zooming out is not instinctive. In fact, I panicked and pressed the background by mistake, only to find that that was how you zoomed out. Things like this need to be ironed out. People need to know where they are, and where they can go in a site.

Anyway, hope that doesn't rain on your parade. The site has a lot of promise and the zoom effect is key to the experience. I like it a lot. All the best for the future.

[built_by]

i think the navigation is pretty straight forward, design is nice. only problem, sometimes when i try pulling up an image it takes maybe 5-8 clicks before it opens.

[Benek]

i think the navigation is pretty straight forward, design is nice. only problem, sometimes when i try pulling up an image it takes maybe 5-8 clicks before it opens.

Do you mean that it doesn't zoom into the image, or that the image doesn't load?

[built_by]

when i get to the point where i see the largest thumbnail it just doesnt want to make the image bigger. it eventually pulls it up, so yes the zoom.