Submitted by Nathaniel on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 18:34.
I have a few comments and suggestions:
Your graphics seem to be well selected. They are, however, a little grainy (you might play with the resolution here). Consider, as well, making sure that your graphics are consistent in terms of size: this will make the layout of your pages more consistency.
Do you plan on supplementing your graphics with elements that will focus the user's attention (circles, arrows, highlights, etc.)?
Are you comfortable with the 8.5 x 11 page size? Do you think that is appropriate for both sets of users? (This is a genuine question.) Pay special attention to your alignment on the left. There are some distracting inconsistencies there.
I appreciate your early attempt to distinguish your designs. You want to give each set of users a distinct way of using the instructions.
It is hard to tell what qualitative differences exists between the instructions. Remember, two different sets of users may need to differently designed instruction sets. The novice set needs to be more than a scaled-down version of the expert set. You might check out Ben's thumbnails for an example to two similar yet distinct thumbnails for novice and expert audiences.
Remember to on creating sets that differ in kind rather than degree.
I think this is a great design to use for you instructions. I especially liked how you added the “Tools in This Step” column to the novice instructions, this will certainly help less experienced users. I also like the color scheme of blues throughout you layout, but wonder how it will mesh with the overall black sceenshots. I think I could be hard to use colors that match you graphics while avoiding a dark, creepy look. I hope that made a little sense, I don’t mean to say you can’t do it but I can’t really seem to find a way the right way to say what I mean. I know the Thompson handbook had a section on colors and it might be helpful to take a second glance at it. Overall I think it a good solid design with nice feel to it.
Graphics and Thumbnails instructor feedback: Matt
I have a few comments and suggestions:
Solid Layout
I think this is a great design to use for you instructions. I especially liked how you added the “Tools in This Step” column to the novice instructions, this will certainly help less experienced users. I also like the color scheme of blues throughout you layout, but wonder how it will mesh with the overall black sceenshots. I think I could be hard to use colors that match you graphics while avoiding a dark, creepy look. I hope that made a little sense, I don’t mean to say you can’t do it but I can’t really seem to find a way the right way to say what I mean. I know the Thompson handbook had a section on colors and it might be helpful to take a second glance at it. Overall I think it a good solid design with nice feel to it.