Graphics/Thumbnails

jonesae's picture
Submitted by jonesae on Fri, 03/06/2009 - 22:09

Each page will be 8.5"x5.5". This way a small booklet can be created.

*Note: The actual design file is 8.5"x5.5" however when I converted it to a PDF it put it on an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper. This is why it looks too small.

tips and tricks

DigitalSHU's picture
Submitted by DigitalSHU on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 16:41.

I think you have a very solid start here. I like the layout and feel like it would be easy to follow along. I also like the idea of having the instructions as a small booklet. It gives the user a reasonably sized document they can quickly access as a reference. The screen shots look good and seem to be straight forward. I also like that fact that you have graphics on the sidebar offering tips and key points. Users always appreciate helpful tips as they go through the process of reading instructions and I think you are presenting them in a very effective way.

I have a few comments and

Nathaniel's picture
Submitted by Nathaniel on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 19:24.

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).
  • Do you plan on supplementing your graphics with elements that will focus the user's attention (circles, arrows, highlights, etc.) when necessary?
  • I really like the different icons for "Tips" and "Key Points."
  • While this may not be an issue at this point, it is not clear from the thumbnails what qualitative differences exists between the instructions. I appreciate your early attempt to distinguish your designs, but you may want to give each set of users a distinct way of using the instructions. Do remember that the novice set needs to be more than a scaled-down version of the expert set.
  • Remember to continue to focus (as you already are) on creating sets that differ in kind rather than degree.

Response

jonesae's picture
Submitted by jonesae on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 22:24.

Thank you for your input. I have some responses and questions to your suggestions.

  • I agree that they look grainy. I will be adjusting that for the rough draft.
  • I believe that if you look at the intunes(small).jpg file I have a red circle around the 'Genius' button. However I will be making that more prominent by adding text explaining what it is with an arrow pointing to it.
  • I borrowed that idea from my favorite "instruction manual" aka the "... For Dummies" series.
  • I understand that it is hard to tell some things from the thumbnails However, how do you suggest I accomplish this? Should I add a guide to using the instruction manual? I'm sort of confused on this as instruction manuals are generally self-explanatory. I have included more pictures and less instructions in the Novice.
  • I feel that this will be more effident once I actually write out the instructions. The Expert will include some of the more advanced features of iTunes. Is this what you mean by kind rather than degree?

Andy

Difference in Degree

Nathaniel's picture
Submitted by Nathaniel on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 22:34.

Andy,

I appreciate the follow-up questions (the distance of the Distance Ed course makes such follow-up doubly important).

I think what you have planned for the Expert set does suggest a difference in kind rather than degree. Focusing on advanced features means that you are offering experts different content (difference in kind) rather than just a more simple instruction set (difference in degree).

With respect to the supplementing of graphics, I was encouraging you to continue to add such visual elements in subsequent graphics. Keep up the good work!

-Nathaniel

Change in size

Submitted by Matt2178 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 22:50.

I see that you have a different than standard size that you are going to be using for your instruction set. I was thinking about using a different size rather that the standard page size for my instructions but I do not know how to go about formatting the page to get a different size. I want to make the pages more like a square rather than a rectangle. I think using that shape will make it easier for me to fit more information in per page. I was wondering if you could give me some insight on how to further format my pages to meet the requirement to have a nonstandard size page.

The plan

jonesae's picture
Submitted by jonesae on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 11:35.

My plan is to use Microsoft Publisher, where you can set the size of the page, draw lines, boxes, etc. I found that using this was way easier than trying to find things in Word. Then when I', done I plan on turning it into a PDF. However since I haven't tested this yet I can't guarantee that it will work. Knowing my luck there will be much haggling and finagling involved.

Andy