Re: [libreoffice-website] Banner for website

Hi Christoph, all!

Christoph Noack schrieb:
> Hi Bernhard, hi all!
>
> Am Montag, den 14.02.2011, 02:03 +0100 schrieb Bernhard Dippold:
> > [...]
>
> However, I'd like to throw in a few thoughts ... I currently miss a few
> things that I consider as important. And funnily, it seems that most of
> our assumptions are quite contrary - for the very first time :-)

You're right, we don't disagree often - but reading this mail, I don't 
think they are contrary, just taking into account different needs...
> > my new proposal:
> > http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/cgi_img_auth.php/c/c8/Website_banner_468x60.png
> > (clear browser cache, if necessary)
> [...]
> > I want it to look like an element of the page - that's what I think is
> > important, if we want to keep an eye on all our target groups.
>
> Mmh, maybe I don't understand that ... could you please tell a bit more?
> If you refer to target groups, I think about the content and its
> presentation, but here I get the impression you are referring to the
> whole banner that may be re-used on different pages.

Only on our website.

A similar banner could be offered for external pages, but in this case 
your points about the uninformed users are even more valid as for our 
site - this would need more explanatory text on the banner.
> But since you refer to the target groups - I also miss some
> consideration of the users of our website. Personally, I hope that we
> might attract those people who are not even aware why a foundation is
> needed. And to be honest, I also think that many people in our community
> don't know how important this is.

You're right - I've been too deeply involved in that topic to have a 
look at uninformed users / supporters.
> Consequently, I'm hesitant to just say "The Challenge: 50 Thousand Euro
> needed!", or "Funding our Foundation - Only 35 Days left!"

But these are the main points in my personal opinion (following 
Florian's description). We have a very short timeframe to get quite an 
amount of money.

I don't want to hide this information on the donation page, because even 
if people understand that we ask for monetary donations for the 
foundation, they are not attracted to help *now* by your proposal.
> So please bear with me when I add some UX thoughts to the banner:
>       1. The Challenge: The challenge for whom? Is it ours, or the
>          challenge of our users?

I thought about "Our Challenge", but this would change anything for the 
user. I don't insist on the word "challenge" at all - I just liked it, 
when Florian first thought of it.

"Challenge" attracts people in my eyes. They become curious.

And this is the most important point here IMHO.

>       2. What does this to the end-user / community member mean? More
>          precisely, why should he click on the banner?

I see three different use-cases for my banner:

a) People thinking of a donation for LibO. They read about a sum and a 
timeframe. They understand that they should contribute rather sooner 
than later. They click on the banner to get more information.

b) People looking at our website for any other reason (probably 
download). They read about sum and timeframe and perhaps they get 
curious. Perhaps they come back to our site looking for our progress.
... and finally they want to know more about the background and click on 
the banner...

c) People informed by a press release about our challenge: Either they 
tend to a) or b) - but they definitively want to know about our progress.

>          Does the banner tell the user what to do?

Not directly, but I didn't see a way to add this information to the 
banner without losing it's main purpose.

I think of a tooltip on mouseover telling them to click on the banner 
for more information on the documentfoundation site.

> [...]
>       3. Is the banner clickable at all?

Yes - the entire banner should be clickable (perhaps with inverting the 
borders, so it looks like a button pressed...)

>          Is there anything that tells the
>          user that this element leads to somewhere else? (David mentioned
>          that this isn't obvious for him concerning my proposal as well,
>          although I tried - maybe failed - to add a button).

I understood the green area as button ;-)
But a banner clickable at it's entire area (if you didn't plan this 
despite the button) might be more attractive.

I agree that this information should be visible, but unless I make the 
button higher there is no room for another line telling the user to 
click for more information.

Do you think that mouseover would not work? If people get curious, they 
probably will move the mouse over the interesting area...

>       4. If the user clicks to the banner, what location will be opened?
>          People feel more safe if we tell them what will happen ...
>          especially if we want something from them :-)

Right - It will be the website Florian is setting up now. With the 
mouseover they will be informed where they are led.
> I tried to incorporate these things (amongst others, like repeating
> keywords like "Donate") into my proposal.

We could replace
"The Challenge: 50 Thousand Euro needed!" by
"Donation needed: 50 Thousand Euro!"

... but I still like "Challenge" ;-)
> > A banner just painted over an area of the page doesn't look professional
> > IMHO - as we not only want to involve individuals, but business people,
> > decision makers in companies and others able to donate larger sums, I'd
> > like to address them too.
>
> Well, my take was the following:
>        * Avoid the format of a conventional banner (people may think of
>          "normal" advertisement and thus don't pay attention)

The integrative form of the banner should show them that this is not 
just an external advertisement.

>        * Provide a visual connection between the "page" and our request:
>                * LibreOffice belongs to the Foundation and vice versa
>                * The item is not hosted by an external entity, but
>                  belongs to our page (again: avoid the impression of
>                  conventional advertisement)

See above - quite the same idea, but different solution.

With your approach there is no banner at all - it's a colored background 
area with a (small) button.

I can happily live with it, but it should contain some more information 
about the urgency of our request.

>        * Maximize the space being used on the page

The visual space used for the banner is the same, as my smaller one is 
placed on an empty background that becomes part of the visual impression.

Your version provides more place for text - but text only is not really 
attractive IMHO.
> > [...]
> >
> > Sorry, but I don't really like it :-(
>
> That's possible, of course ;-) But is it more about the visual style, or
> the structure?

Mostly the color (much better now), but the structure too (as mentioned 
above).
> > It's not only noisy, it contains a kind of negative, displeasing color
> > tone for me. It doesn't attract the interest, but distracts it from the
> > rest of the page.
>
> Well, color wise it looks okay on my monitor (and viewed by my eyes, of
> course *g*), but color can be changed.

It can be just my eyes - so no problem.
> By the way, is there any color we might "reserve" for the fundraising to
> have a consistent communication?

We should reserve a color for important information - in banners or 
other areas.

If fundraising is worth to "waste" one of our colors? I don't know.

I'd rather go with one color for "contribution", another for "user 
support", a third for "resources".

But that's just a short brainstorming - nothing really thought of in-depth.

> > And with the word cloud in the background it's quite turbulent too.
>
> Can be removed with click + Del ...

Thanks!

> [...]
> > As you didn't include a border to the banner, it becomes part of the
> > background, while the impression of a more prominent banner might draw
> > more attention...
>
> I think my assumption is different - the more prominent banner is the
> one, who tries to be different from standard formats.

It's just my perception: The colored area at the side of the logo is 
just a colored background, not a clickable banner.
> > But this is only my personal perception, if I'm the only one, please go
> > ahead!
> >
> > I want to share another idea:
> >
> > A banner that includes the barometer and the countdown.
>
> Mmh, just to share a thought - is it more important to show the
> barometer/countdown, or to explain why people should donate? Thinking
> about the experience of how Wikipedia styled the requests for donations,
> they tried to align to the user's motivations (freedom, doing something
> good, knowledge, ...) first.

Did they do this for a single time campaign?

If you go for a long-term goal, I'm fully on your side - motivation and 
information is the key. For a campaign lasting less than five weeks, 
curiosity should be addressed too.
> The barometer and countdown might indeed be very helpful, if we need to
> go for the "final spurt".

We are in the spurt - even if we didn't start by now. Five weeks are a 
very short timeframe.
> [...]
>
> > Updating my banner proposal at
> > http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/cgi_img_auth.php/c/c8/Website_banner_468x60.png
>
> > Should we go this way or rather follow another approach (Matt, Christoph...)
>
> Well, as I said, I'm fine with what brings us forward ... especially
> since I stated my concerns.

Same with me: If you already considered the points I mentioned, I don't 
have any problem to follow your advise.

You have much more experience in UX than I have. You have been 
considered by the SC to have the final say in UX questions.

As this banner has to be up and running very soon, please decide and go 
ahead!

> If anybody needs help, I may have some time
> tomorrow (late) evening for that ...
>
> In the meantime, here is a slightly changed proposal that tries to
> address your feedback (yours, David's):
> https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bCEzLXM_y8U5YCJI90oeQA?feat=directlink

I like it much better :)

Best regards

Bernhard

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