some people said they could not find stories other than the top one, even though the stories cycled through the main slot. And with our upcoming events "ticker" above the image, it was easy to mistake that line for the headline, which was actually below the picture. Finally, we had had perpetual complaints about it being impossible to find older stories once they dropped off the main page.
So we changed to the current format, which has only one photo with nothing cycling. We pulled the headlines for other important stories up to the right of the main image, and visually separated the ticker from the main news box. We also added an archive to older stories.
Proposed news-feature treatment.
There was no overwhelming reaction. Our customer-satisfaction survey showed the exact same ratings for overall satisfaction and look and feel for the three months before the switch and the five months since. The navigation rating dropped a single point.
Still there were some complaints, primarily about having only one image. People expected to have an image come up in relation to the secondary stories. We've tried to address that, and you can see the result on this
mockup. Instead of headlines for other stories, you have thumbnails that link to them, with an additional link to the archive. In keeping with the original changes, nothing happens as you move your mouse. You have to click. When you do, the large thumbnail and text comes up for that story.
We're interested in your feedback -- please let us know what you think. And a heads up that we'll be coming back to you within a month or so for your ideas on what the next major overhaul of www.NASA.gov should look like.
News-feature treatment before January 2012.some people said they could not find stories other than the top one, even though the stories cycled through the main slot. And with our upcoming events "ticker" above the image, it was easy to mistake that line for the headline, which was actually below the picture. Finally, we had had perpetual complaints about it being impossible to find older stories once they dropped off the main page.
Proposed news-feature treatment.There was no overwhelming reaction. Our customer-satisfaction survey showed the exact same ratings for overall satisfaction and look and feel for the three months before the switch and the five months since. The navigation rating dropped a single point.Still there were some complaints, primarily about having only one image. People expected to have an image come up in relation to the secondary stories. We've tried to address that, and you can see the result on this mockup. Instead of headlines for other stories, you have thumbnails that link to them, with an additional link to the archive. In keeping with the original changes, nothing happens as you move your mouse. You have to click. When you do, the large thumbnail and text comes up for that story.We're interested in your feedback -- please let us know what you think. And a heads up that we'll be coming back to you within a month or so for your ideas on what the next major overhaul of www.NASA.gov should look like.
Hi
Have you tried a different set up? I would be more than happy to explain to anyone who might want to hear :).
The new setup with the thumbnail images does seem user friendly and visually appealing, but the link to older NASA stories blends in too well with all the thumbnails.
Since the older stories link doesn't function the same way as the other thumbnails, I don't think it would be good to have it in there with them, as users might be looking for it but mistake it for another recent news story link. And compared to the other thumbnails, it doesn't stand out very well.
My suggestion is to have a word link for older news stories set apart from the other thumbnails, and to design it and put it in the right location so that it will be more noticeable.
Great change - much easier to find stories now.
I like the look of the second--with the pics at the bottom. Very clear
I really like the new mockup, but I also think the second version is good, too. The visuals definitely help move the stories along.
A VERY GOOD APPROACH.
THANK YOU.
S.RAJASEKHARAN NAIR.
I find nothing wrong with the first news section, but the proposed news feature is a nice improvement. I like how the thumbnails draw your attention towards the secondary stories.
I liked the pre-Jan 2012 news feature better than what came after it because of the large images that seemed to be very much state-of-the-art to me. The new mockup with small thumbnails that become large on the 1st click and lead to the full story on the 2nd click is somewhat similar to our main news feature on the DLR web portal http://www.dlr.de/en. I like this soultion best and would encourage you to give it a try. Best regards from Germany!
DEAR OFFICERS,
A VERY GOOD WORK.I APPRECIATE YOU FOR IT.CONVEY MY BEST REGARDS TO ALL.
THANKING YOU ONCE AGAIN.
S.RAJASEKHARAN NAIR.
I do like the new choice with clicking on the thumbnails.
A suggestion though: maybe try doing some A/B testing with the site. I recently learned about this through an article in Wired magazine and began the workings of implementing it at the company I work with.
Hi there,
I really have no issues finding what I need, but I would say that there are some design aspects that could be addressed.
I would say give the Ars Technica site a look for some design pointers, and CNET has a great feature story slideshow. I would actually say CNET is one of the most easily navigable sites I use, so I would suggest a similar setup to what is on the homepage.
I like the dark color scheme of NASA's site, but the graphical assets do look a bit dated. Within the past two or three years, many sites (including those I just mentioned) have drastically improved in terms of visual appeal. Web design has become a legitimate business, and I'm sure there are many professionals out there who would love to work with NASA.
I actually did one of those site feedback surveys and made similar suggestions, but I would definitely say it's time for NASA's site to reflect the innovation and inspiration of the organization itself.
your new design is so nice visually and in using! So is it possible to add a link to an other language for those want to read your blog in their owns? greetings from Kinshasa DRC!
We did something similar a while back with our newsletter website for U.S. Geological Survey Coastal & Marine stories, http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/
The addition of thumbnail images for past top stories tested well, as testing of a previous design revealed that users were having trouble locating such stories, despite the presence of an "Archives" tab and a search box on every page.
The mockup for your new design presents more information in the same space and does so in a visually intuitive way. Looks terrific!
I like the new layout with images for secondary stories. An image can very quickly influence someone to check something out. This is much better.
A possibility would be to include the scrolling action by every 5 seconds or so, sliding to the next story. That way you have the added pull of motion drawing people's attention to the stories. A smooth fade in the news text and image and the white outline on the image below sliding to the right maybe? I think this would be a really great addition visually to an already really solid visual design.
Yeah I think if you make so that whrn you move your mouse pointer over the icon that story will show its image and a brief overview of the story and it will cycle through story ever x amount of seconds. And you can have a slide show within the slide show where when you hover over an icon that pictur will show and cycle through 2-3 pictures of that particular stor, this might allow for younger people to know what's happening by wimple looking at pictures. I would make a demo but my web programming skill is still in progress.
I think the new design is actually a step back in direction. To me it looks somewhat dated and less intriguing.
I understand the reasons for WHY you were doing what you were doing, but I think the main carousel needs to be the richest part on your page and it has turned into the second most important thing with my eye going to the sub-nav to the right almost immediately.
Maybe there is an answer in blending the two versions, or maybe there is an opportunity to visit a third idea. I think losing the large imagery is a shame, especially with how fast internet connections are, and how large monitor resolutions can be.
We still love ya though NASA.
A few things:
1) There is no visual separation between the carousel element and the content in the new design. Makes it all seem to run together.
2) The pointer on the image is pointing to no where... which is confusing.
3) Why abandon the larger photo?
4) The text left seems to throw off the balance of the page making it feel awkward and incomplete.
5) So to combine the two elements of feedback above, why not full bleed image with text over it and on the right side, plus hide able. Something like what CNN uses in their photo galleries.