[kepler-dev] DataSource Icon troubles

Matthew Brooke brooke at nceas.ucsb.edu
Fri Feb 3 14:35:18 PST 2006


It seems, from the discussions we have been having, that there are some 
general misunderstandings regarding the Kepler UI implementation 
process. Here are a few points and explanations that I hope will help:

1) Most of the changes are incremental - meaning they are one or two 
steps towards the new design, but in most cases, they aren't yet all the 
way there. Consequently, it is too early to object to changes at this 
stage. For example, in the past week, we have spent time addressing:

a) Dan's email about the "Run With Feedback" menu not working (which I 
knew about - it had not yet been finished, and was not critical for 
development purposes), which sparked off a debate about what the menu 
item should be called.

b) The current datasource/file folder debate. Basically, the file folder 
had recently been changed to the same bright green as the Director 
icons, so I decided to take 10 minutes or so to make it match the new 
Kepler design instead (see Wiki). However, the way the code currently 
works, I could not get the actor to use the new SVG icons easily, so I 
worked with what the code would let me do. The new Kepler will 
ultimately *not* use this implementation (whenever this actor finally 
gets changed to use the proper image files). It was a step towards the 
new design, working within the restrictions of the current code.

Unfortunately, the new icon design didn't contrast well with the old 
Kepler gray background; consequently, I have gone ahead and changed the 
canvas background to white, as shown on the design wiki. If anyone 
objects, you can change it back again for your local copy by editing the 
"uiSettings.properties" text file.


2) Feedback and discussion are a very important part of the design 
process, but we should also recognize that discussions and design 
changes need to happen at the appropriate time in the engineering 
process.  The design has been available on the wiki for many months; 
discussing that information *after* the code is implemented (eg menu 
item wording etc) is not an efficient way of moving forward, especially 
when time is of the essence. Other issues may arise, which were not 
evident from the design documents, but most of the issues we've been 
discussing could have been addressed before now.


3) The visual design is and will continue to be flexible. However, this
does not mean that it should be changed in real time; I can't implement
a design that is constantly changing.

What it does mean is that the look of the UI is not "set in stone"; what 
you see now, and changes that you will see over the coming weeks, are 
all negotiable and easily changed. However, it would be prudent to save 
these discussions for a point *after* the end-of-February freeze date - 
otherwise, if we continue to analyze every UI change in great detail, 
the implementation is never going to get finished in time for the release.

Please bear with us on this - just let me get the "first draft" of the 
implementation finished, and *then* we can talk about potential changes 
to the design :-)

cheers

m



-- 

---------------------------------------------
Matthew Brooke, Ph.D.
Marine Sciences Research Building, Room #3407
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA  93106-6150
ph: (805) 893-7108   fx: 805-893-8062
brooke at nceas.ucsb.edu
---------------------------------------------




and also the
> "currently downloading" and "error" conditions.

Laura L. Downey wrote:
> Ah, now I understand Dan's reaction.  I didn't know about these recent
> adjustments.  Let met get together with Matthew and we'll look at a few
> options for addressing the "faded" or "unseeable" issue and also the
> "currently downloading" and "error" conditions.
> 
> In the meantime, please continue with your feedback and also to bear with us
> as we find solutions.  Thanks. 
> 
> Laura L. Downey
> Senior Usability Engineer
> LTER Network Office
> Department of Biology, MSC03 2020
> 1 University of New Mexico
> Albuquerque, NM  87131-0001
> 505.277.3157 office
> 505.610.9657 mobile
> 505.277-2541 fax
> ldowney at lternet.edu
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Matthew Brooke [mailto:brooke at nceas.ucsb.edu] 
> Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 4:41 PM
> To: Laura L. Downey
> Cc: 'Dan Higgins'; Kepler-dev at ecoinformatics.org
> Subject: Re: [kepler-dev] DataSource Icon troubles
> 
> 
> Hi all -
> 
> I changed the icon yesterday to make it match the new Kepler design, as 
> shown on the wiki page. The only other thing I have changed is to make 
> the folder "ghosted" (translucent) until it is ready - so the error and 
> busy status both have a ghosted folder, and the ready status has a 
> regular folder. Similar ghosting is commonly used in windows and on the 
> mac to denote hidden files and folders.
> 
> I have attached screenshots of the ready, busy and error phases (see 
> attached gifs). As you can see, the text "busy" or "ERROR" appears in 
> high-contrast, bold colors during these two phases.
> 
> The new design color is not a good contrast against the old kepler grey 
> workflow background - the new design will have a white background, which 
> contrasts more with the folder.
> 
> However, in both cases, the problem might be solved by making the 
> outline of the folder a darker color (look carefully at the folder icons 
> in windows, and you'll see what I mean). This would probably help 
> visibility greatly; the old datasource icon had a black outline, which 
> definitely made it more visible, if a little Fauvist
> 
> m
> 
> 
> Laura L. Downey wrote:
>> Okay I will take a look at the latest in the morning.  Any specific
> workflow
>> you want me to look at?  I'm a little perplexed since we haven't had any
>> feedback that it was a problem in the various screenshots presented at the
>> last 2 or 3 meetings or from the examples on the wiki.   But if there is
> an
>> issue, we can easily adjust things. 
>>
>> BTW, 10% of the male population has some form of color-blindness -- which
> is
>> a major reason color should be used as a redundant cue (and because people
>> see colors differently too).  In the datasource icon case, the file folder
>> shape is the other cue.  
>>
>> Laura L. Downey
>> Senior Usability Engineer
>> LTER Network Office
>> Department of Biology, MSC03 2020
>> 1 University of New Mexico
>> Albuquerque, NM  87131-0001
>> 505.277.3157 office
>> 505.610.9657 mobile
>> 505.277-2541 fax
>> ldowney at lternet.edu
>>  
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Dan Higgins [mailto:higgins at nceas.ucsb.edu] 
>> Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 3:01 PM
>> To: Laura L. Downey
>> Subject: Re: [kepler-dev] DataSource Icon troubles
>>
>> Hi Laura,
>>     I think you need to look at the latest version.
>>
>>     Have you tried the new nightly zip? (an easy way to look at the 
>> version as of last night). There is a link from the download page on the 
>> Kepler web site.(or http://www.kepler-project.org/nightly/zip/)
>>
>> Dan
>>
>> Laura L. Downey wrote:
>>
>>> I don't know what you mean Dan -- the data source icons (the file
> folders)
>>> are still yellow (maybe a little golder) after the data is successfully
>>> downloaded.  Am I misunderstanding something?  Or perhaps Kevin is trying
>>> some different colors with the "currently downloading" and "error"
>>> conditions of the data source icons.
>>>
>>> I haven't been using the latest version of Kepler so haven't seen what
> you
>>> are referring to.
>>>
>>> Laura L. Downey
>>> Senior Usability Engineer
>>> LTER Network Office
>>> Department of Biology, MSC03 2020
>>> 1 University of New Mexico
>>> Albuquerque, NM  87131-0001
>>> 505.277.3157 office
>>> 505.610.9657 mobile
>>> 505.277-2541 fax
>>> ldowney at lternet.edu
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: kepler-dev-bounces at ecoinformatics.org
>>> [mailto:kepler-dev-bounces at ecoinformatics.org] On Behalf Of Dan Higgins
>>> Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 2:26 PM
>>> To: Kepler-dev at ecoinformatics.org
>>> Subject: [kepler-dev] DataSource Icon troubles
>>>
>>> OK - I see we have changed the data source icon colors again! And now I 
>>> can barely even see the icon in the default configuration and the color 
>>> change when not busy is barely perceptable to me
>>> Granted, I am on the verge of being color-blind, but I am not alone in 
>>> this and I had no trouble with earlier versions of the actors!
>>>
>>> Dan
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>
> 


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