My eardrums don't like this design

By Eddie_Lopez. Monday, 4. December 2006, 02:33:26

EDIT/Updated- see update below
These two menus look so similar that sometimes when I'm flipping through, moving from lock to unlock and casually looking at it I sometimes end up blasting my eardrums out when I really want to quickly fast forward to another portion of my podcast, and vice versa.

Updated
The biggest usability issue I run into with this is when I'm seeking a new track location, particularly with podcasts (read my other thoughts on iTunes/podcasts). I switch to the seek mode and get the blue diamond to scroll on. The problem is that I have to listen to a few seconds of it before I know if this is where I want to be... but of course, if I'm not quick enough, it times out and i get back the volume control.... I decide I want to fast forward a little more and next thing I know... BAM! eardrum blast. According to this man's anecdotal evidence.. I use the FF/RW and seek features *much* more often in podcasts than I do with music. Probably because:

They are so much longer. And when you mark it as unplayed (just to keep it from getting wiped off your ipod if you set it up that way), you have to seek back to where you were.
I often miss something and want to repeat it. With music I usually don't do that, I'll just start the whole track over.

...perhaps my affinity for podcasts has exasperated this problem to the point of me drafting this post, maybe that's why others have not noticed it.
/Updated

They switch to the blue diamond when you're seeking a new track location, but the way the ipod represents the track location (the first screenshot) makes it easy to forget what context/mode you're in. I often associate the volume with the track location and the track location with the volume.

There's a couple ways this could have been more clear:

Use a different color for volume and track location.
Put the bars/indicators in different spots. Maybe have the track information at the top of the screen and the volume information at the bottom. Or use a vertical bar for the volume, or have the one of the menus sit on top of what's currently on the screen. Do not overlay them.

These suggestions may not be the prettiest. But the menus are sharing:

Click wheel control
Exact same color/appearance of indicator
Location on the screen of indicator
They (the modes) are only seperated by one click of the center wheel

I think that is enough to take a closer look at doing more to differentiate the modes.

Where I actually write a post about a kids menuTis the season

Comments

While I typically agree with your observations, on this one I think the standard is fairly acceptable. I notice the volume (soft vs. louder) icon almost immediately. While I could see how it could be made clearer when just glancing at your screen, I don't think it's so confusing as to make it especially diffcult.

Most importantly, it doesn't hinder my basic usage, even if it could be clearer. But as always, your observations are interesting.

Yum

By WillYum, # 4. December 2006, 04:27:07

I think it's most difficult when I'm cycling through the menus- like if I miss it the first time around and have to cycle through to get back to the "seek" function.

I agree this is nit-picking...I just see room for improvement, although it's not too difficult as is: it has the volume icons in addition to having the blue diamond icon when seeking. So- they did well to differentiate, but I just thought there might be a slight room for improvement.

By Eddie_Lopez, # 4. December 2006, 06:56:39

I don't think I would mind a different color for volume.

By Amy_E, # 5. December 2006, 21:00:54

While I could see how it could be made clearer

This is pretty much the theme of my site. I realize that sometimes it's better left unmeddled with and sometimes the user experience is "fine" but could be better.

If it's any indicator, my original headline had the words "hate this design" in it. But I realized, it's not really that bad, just that it could potentially be improved.

By Eddie_Lopez, # 6. December 2006, 15:44:50

Shell writes:

Actually I think they should function in two separate areas because I personally hate it when I accidentally switch it to blue-diamond mode when I was really trying to turn the volume up/down. Then I have to wait for the blue diamond to switch back. I find that incredibly irritating, even if the wait is only 10 seconds or so.

I'm sure there's a way around that wait time though...?

By anonymous user, # 6. December 2006, 20:52:38

Well, you can press the center button a couple times to get back to the "main" screen and adjust the volume there. I'm not sure if it's any quicker... but you just reminded me of why I wrote this post... I'm going to have to edit/update it now

Thanks.