My artefact 3 findings are:
Q. On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 was very diffciuit and 10 very easy, rate how easy the website was to use? (navigating the site)
6.42
Q. On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is very slowly and 10 very quickly, rate how long it took to work out what to do on the website?
7.
Q. On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is feeling annoyed and 10 is feeling happy, rate how did the website make you feel?
6.33
Q.On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is very slowly and 10 very quickly, rate how long did it take for the website to make you feel annoyed or frustrated? (Choose N/A if you didn't feel annoyed at all)
6.
Q. On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent, rate how visually appealing or interesting the website looked?
6.71
Q. Overall did you like the website?
Yes: 14 (58.33%)
No: 10 (41.67%)
Q. Why did you like or dislike the website? (choose one main reason)
Easy to use: 1 (4.17%)
Looks interesting: 13 (54.17%)
Difficuit to use: 7 (29.17%)
Looks terrible: 3 (12.50%)
Results
- The website was neither very easy or very hard.
- Most users found it quite quick to learn what to do.
- More users felt happy using the website than annoyed, the average rating was in-between.
- The website wasn't quick at getting people frustrated, many didn't get annoyed at all.
- Users gave a high score for how visually appealing it looked.
- More users liked the site than dislike.
- The main reason for liking the website was because it looked visually appealing. 54.17%
- The main reason for disliking the website was because it was difficult to use. 29.17%
User feedback
"A very unique type of website that stands out far from the rest, but the use of this type of design must match the type of website that targets a specific target audience, websites such as commercial shops or agencies should avoid this as it would be hard to navigate for elder users."
"It seemed like a gimmick. As an experimental website it was OK, but I'd be really annoyed if I actually wanted to find a specific thing."
"it was difficult and got frustrating. however the concept is really good! simple looking but effective!"
"Very well made. Loved how the menu looked 3D."
"Very unique and interesting to use, I especially liked how you had to discover how to navigate the website, but it was not difficult to learn how to use it. Very cool, I would like a website like that."
"I was more so curious about the website than anything, it had an interesting and unique layout that flowed almost effortlessly which I enjoyed a lot."
My Expectations
I expected people to be put off by the 3D navigation despite it looking quite innovative and new. I also thought you have to compromise aesthetics with usability with V.E websites.
My Conclusions
Q. Where are we at currently with interactive presentation? Are we seeing fully interactive elements such as "Virtual environments" being introduced to the web? Can and do they provide a enhanced user experience?Yes they can to some extent. The results show that some people are more engaged by the website because of the V.E. These environments exist in the form of interactive or non interactive animated flash or canvas applications.
Q. From artefact 2 my findings are that you need to compromise website aesthetics with usability. Does this apply with VE? What is the limit, how far can you push it until it becomes unusable or dysfunctional?
You do need both. The main factor for liking the website 58.33% was because it looked interesting 54.16%, but only 14.17% of people liked it because it was easy to use. This shows people are more willing to sacrifice usability for aesthetics.
However, the compromise between aesthetics with usability still this applies to V.E to an extent because 41.67% disliked the website, 29.17% of which thought it was hard to use and 12.50% because it looked terrible.
Q. Can interactive VE (2D Flash built made to look 3D) improve user experience? (extend operability)
The more wacky the art website, the more patient the user is and the more forgiving they are.
If it's interesting enough, it engages and draws the use in, the content buys them leeway and it potentially increases the appeal of the website.
However, it doesn't necessarily make usability easier. Only 4.17% found the website easy to use.
Further research
canvas: web graphic trends: how html is beating flash big style!html5 can create rich Internet experiences.
