Feedback from Titus Bicknell (August 19, 2009)

Notes from a mobile feedback session with Titus on August 19, 2009.

Collections browsing page

- Expanding/collapsing descriptions within a list item might be of use to provide extended on-screen description of item
- This would/could be done via two clicks to go on to the next page--first click being to expand the description, the second to actually get to the next screen
- Design to should compensate for the variations of content availability--title, subtitle, and description slug. Based on conditions of availability, display things appropriately.

Collections browsing

- A truncated title without a repeated description gives a loss of orientation to the user
- Where's the visual H1/title?
- What about keeping the collection title as the header (i.e., move the title down from the very top navigation bar, down to right below it into the screen)
- How about leaving the description on the interim collections browsing page (as above)?
- Visitors are much less interested in stuff they can't see (especially if they're in the museum)
- More emphasis needed on what's touring, etc.--what can they see today?
- Visitors will say, "Where is?"--museums will reply "It's in storage, not on display"--this is bad. Visitors have an expectation that what you see on the screen will be seen on display.
- Disappointment/frustration on the visitor's side.
- Make explicit about on-display availability in the collection; less focus on what's not available on display--put that in the background
- Depending on what the collection is, the default facet might be different (e.g., for "Paintings, prints, drawings", the default facet may be "technique" or "material" or "time period")
- Filter down the collection more--group objects by screen, allow multiple filtration selections
- Sort artifacts such that what's on display is up at top
- Sort by alphabetical, chronological, popularity, etc.
- Reality is that visitors aren't going to look at hundreds of objects
- Reality is that users aren't going to look deeper than the first few pages of the artifact lists
- Suggest 25 artifacts--in reality, not every artifact should be given equal value
- For children's audiences, thumbnail only is good as they're more visually inclined
- For adult audience, don't just provide a visual reference--that turns it into a frustrating scavenger hunt to find the right object they're interested in. Adults are not necessarily visually led. They want to learn. They want to know how to expand their knowledge.

Artifact

- During collections browsing: show image first, it might be the only connection they have to the actual object.
- If the object exists on display, show the "everything information" screen instead: thumbnail is just an affirmation that you're where you're supposed to be.
- Choice of what variation to show could be conditional, and based on location (i.e., whether it's in storage or on display)
- Change priority of panels: put media up higher, near top
- Prioritize in-gallery experience: comments more important than tagging
- Path to other objects (away from current object) should be placed near the end--related artifacts, visitors also enjoyed, tags, etc.
- Media includes: audio stops, piece of video, animation
- Expectation: pressing media plays the media right away
- If it's just one piece/type of media, replace word "Media" with that media type (e.g., "Audio", "Video")
- Numbering/volume indication good (e.g., "7 tags, 2 pieces of media")
- Allow museums to mark a piece of media as "KEY", and place it in higher priority, at the top of the screen