UX Website to improve notice board posting at Otago University.

1. 1

2. UniPost Online Notice Board Proposal, 31 March 2007.
DESI312, Design Studies, University of Otago.
Emily Chilton, Jason Anson, Jeremy Star, Luke Pirie, Olivia Flamank.
2

3. Contents
4 Introduction
5 Scenario
7 Scope
8 Campus Research
9 Web-Site Research
14 Web-Site Research Summary
15 Content Research
16 Branding
17 Colour Schemes
18 Implementation
20 Web-Site Interface
22 User Interface
23 Project Timeline
24 References
3

4. Introduction
We are group of five third year design studies students at
The University of Otago. For our Interaction Design project
we are creating an online notice board which will contain the
information currently displayed on campus notice boards. We
hope to make the process of displaying and finding messages
faster, more convenient and more reliable.
The current system of displaying notices has a number of flaws
and limitations which we hope our system will rectify.
This proposal will outline the current scenario and discuss the
scope of our proposed service. It will document our research and
consider the content, design and implementation of our system.
It will also include a projected timeline for our project.
Emily Chilton, Jason Anson, Jeremy Star, Luke Pirie, Olivia Flamank.
4

5. Scenario
There are a number of well established notice boards scattered
around the University of Otago campus. The notice boards are
well used but not very well organized and could be improved.
Information Overload
Looking at the university notice boards, many are overloaded
with information. The amount of information makes it hard to
find what you are looking for and difficult to effectively process
the information.
Obsolete Information
The university notice boards contain an abundance of obsolete
information such as out of date events or sold items. Due to a
lack of effective administration many irrelevant notices remain
on the notice boards while applicable notices are taken down
in mass clear outs. This is not only irritating to both the people
who post the notices and the viewer but also very wasteful. On
an online notice board a 30 day limit could be imposed on each
notice before they were automatically removed. Dated events
could be set to disappear after the event and sold items could be
easily removed by the seller.
Equal Opportunity
On a conventional notice board the biggest and brightest poster
usually receives the most attention. Therefore, the message of
a company that can afford to print large colour posters speaks
louder than a handwritten notice of a student without a large
printing budget.
Waste of Paper
Large amounts of paper are being used everyday for notice
board posts. Although this paper may be recycled, reducing the
amount used would be a more effective outcome. The process of
recycling paper uses energy often created by burning fossil fuels.
Paper can only be recycled up to six times until the fibres break
down and becomes waste, so although recycling is a thoughtful
option reduction is a more sustainable option.1 An online notice
board would reduce this unnecessary use of paper.
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6. Scenario
Limitations
Conventional notice boards are not very friendly for people
with disabilities. The blind and sight impaired are unable to
read the notices and people in wheelchairs are unable to easily
read notices displayed high up.
Maintenance
Notices boards need to be cleared regularly because of the
amount of information posted.
Overlapping
Because anyone is free to put notices up, notices can be covered
up and obscured by others. This can mean that an event is
missed or that someone’s notice is not seen.
Handwritten or Typed
Notice boards are simple to use - you can scribble your notice
onto a piece of paper and pin it up. However, we have found
that very few notices are handwritten. 24 of the 255 notices
in St David were handwritten, two of the 108 in the Link
were handwritten and only one of 79 in Commerce were
handwritten. People are already on computers printing their
notices so posting a notice online would simplify this process.
Notice Board in the Link at the University of Otago.
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7. Scope
The notice boards that we have identified are all located at the
University of Otago so we have made this the target area for
our service. Limiting the scope of our audience to this group
has a number of advantages. Being a reasonably small area,
the transfer of goods such as furniture and textbooks should
be possible person to person. Another advantage of limiting
the service to students is that the notices will be relevant to the
users wants and needs.
Being so closely associated with the University should mean
that there is no added cost for hosting and domain name
registration. This means that it is possible to run our service
without advertising which would clutter the web-site and
compromise our equal opportunity policy for users.
While our project is limited to students the principals we
develop could be applied to a larger area. For example, such a
system could work for Dunedin city, or the Otago region.
Overview Map of the University of Otago, showing the scope of our project.
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8. Campus Research
Rearranging a Notice Board
The first thing we did was physically rearrange a campus notice
board to visually represent what our web-site would be doing.
We found that:
• The notice board were cluttered.
• The notices were in no particular order.
• There were duplicate posters and notices on a single
board creating waste and unequal opportunity.
• Many of the notices were out of date.
Our online service will make the process of posting and reading
messages more time efficient, provide equal opportunity to all
students and reduce paper waste and information overload.
The main types of notices we came across were for events,
selling textbooks, furniture, cars and flat-mates wanted. Our first
thoughts of clutter and outdated information were affirmed by
this research. We recorded and photographed the experiment.
Before After
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9. Web-site Research
Craigslist
Craigslist, founded in 1995, was originally set up for San
Francisco but has since spread throughout America. The site is
for the publication of classifieds and discussion forums. They
make money by charging for advertisements posted on the site.2
After choosing your region you are presented a list of categories.
The categories range from community classifieds to resumes.
There are many subcategories under each category such as
artists, activities, childcare and ride share.
The web-site uses a colour palette of grey and blue which
reduces clutter and noise on the page. The Layout of the page
consists of columns of lists. To the left is a navigation bar
with search categories, in the middle there are categories and
subcategories. To the right there a the list of states and cities in
smaller text. Although it is clear where all of the information is,
the page is extremely full. Perhaps the information could be split
into bigger categories which would make the site easier to view.
Users are presented with the states and cities before viewing
the categories so a link could take you back to them rather than
having them all displayed on the same page as the categories.
A screen shot of the craigslist home page. 2
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10. Web-site Research
UStudents
This student web-page contains online classifieds such as books,
furniture, events and accommodation.3 This site identifies the
same problems we have, cluttered and unclear notice boards.
However, UStudents seems to have a need for gaining profit,
and have resorted to advertising, which we wish to avoid. This
should not be an unreasonable goal, as the project may get
funding from the University of Otago.
The main categories on the site are browse, books,
accommodation, household and employment. Once clicking
on these a sidebar with sub categories is displayed. The site is
reasonably easy to use however it is cluttered with the two side
bars showcasing flashing advertisements and many different
colours used.
While UStudents is a highly valuable research resource, due to its
similarity to our service, we have found flaws in its design, and
believe we can make UniPost a better service for its local users.
A screen shot of the uStudents home page. 3
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11. Web-site Research
Trademe Ltd
Trademe Ltd is a New Zealand web-site offering a service for
people to buy and sell pre-owned and new goods within the
country. There are many categories of goods presented to you
on the sites home page. These include items such as jewelry,
clothes, antiques, collectibles, books, electronics and DVD’s.4
The tabbed sections work well and are something that we could
use. The search function is something that we could possibly
add, since our list would be in a database. This is something that
a notice board does not have.
The site has a simple logo with a fairly simple colour scheme. The
alternating row colours in the product list make each line easy to
follow and this is something we could adopt in UniPost.
Although it is much simpler than sites like Amazon, Trademe is
a bit complicated. We need to ensure that our site is simple and
uncluttered with only the essential features.
A screen shot of the Trademe Ltd home page.4
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12. Web-site Research
Otago University Students Association
The Otago University Students Association has a web-site where
students and members of the public can keep up to date with
events and news about the University. The web-site has a clean
interface using two main colours.
The main categories of information are displayed in a header.
There are also tabs on both sides of the page. This creates clutter
and disrupts the information hierarchy. Perhaps having one sub
bar and having additional information displayed under the main
categories would work better. Additionally, the pages do not
flow well with layout elements moving as you view each page.
Looking at this web-site was a crucial part of our research as it is
a site for students. We will look at better ways to display public
notices and provide a wider range of categories in a clear and
student friendly way.
A screen shot of the Otago University Students Association home page.5
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13. Web-site Research
University of Otago
We wanted to look at the interface of this web-site and the way
the information was organized. This gave us an idea of what is
offered and how to make a site for students.
The use of white space and a limited colour palette is effective.
The three main navigation sections are placed in no particular
order and an information hierarchy is not established. This
creates confusion when trying to find relevant information.
Under the section ‘Current Students’ we may be able to add
a link for UniPost. This may mean it is initially difficult to find
our site, due to the universities poor navigation bars. This could
be remedied by rigorous advertising, or if the site becomes
popular it is possible that ‘word of mouth’ would be sufficient.
Regardless of this, working with the university would be a
natural progression due to the sites focus on students as users.
A screen shot of the University of Otago home page.6
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14. Web-site Research Summary
By looking at other web-sites we discovered a number of things
to both avoid and adopt. We deliberately viewed web-sites that
either had a similar target to ours or offered a similar service. We
also looked at other web-sites as examples of interaction design
which informed our research in different ways.
Positive features of web-site layout that we could incorporate:
• Limited colour palette (at least 2, no more than 5).
• Limited navigation areas, for example have one main bar for
navigation and one side bar or tabs for sub-categories.
• Similar page layouts, avoiding shifting main elements.
• Use of white space, avoiding the use of unnecessary
advertisements, pictures, categories and colour.
Features of web-site layout to avoid:
• The use of too many bright colours.
• The use of too many navigation bars.
• The use of too many icons and tacky imagery.
• Incorrect use of typography, such as text too small or a non-
web friendly font.
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15. Content Research
After looking at current notices posted on University of Otago
notice boards we found that ‘Text books for sale’ was the most
common notice posted. Other common notices included Room/
flats for rent, Events, Tutors, Groups, and general items for sale.
Possible categories for our web-site include:
• For Sale
• Text books
• Furniture
• Vehicles
• Other
• Rooms/Flats for Rent
• Learn to/Tutors
• Events
• Public Lectures
• General Events
• Groups
• Random
These headings and sub-headings will assist in page navigation
and help the user find more refined search outcomes. Notices
from university notice boards can easily be posted within these
simple and concise categories.
Researching a notice board in the Commerce Building.
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16. Branding
Logo
Developed in Adobe Illustrator, the logo concept was based
on the idea of using the common pin often used when posting
notices. The Nobel typeface was chosen for its simplicity. The
letter ‘O’ in the typeface provided the symmetry required for the
implementation of the pin.
Branding
The focus of our service should be on the notices and not the
brand. Therefore, keeping the brand subtle and relatively small
is important. The notices themselves are the advertising - people
interested in the notice will come to associate the brand with the
communication service.
Related communications should reiterate the brand - for example
0800 UNIPOST, http://unipost.co.nz or http://unipost.ac.nz.
Development
The UniPost brand is still in the development stage. Fine tuning
of proportions, colours and rules for the use of the logo are
currently in progress. The logo should associate with the
University of Otago, yet be recognized in its own right.
Current concepts for the logo.
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17. Colour Schemes
#000000 #6C7690 #FFFFFF #F48623 #5F1D27
0, 0, 0 38, 50, 72 126, 138, 162 255, 255, 255 255, 152, 255
75, 68, 67, 90 87, 76, 47, 44 55, 41, 25, 1 0, 0, 0, 0 c, 48, 100, 0
#397DA1 #274252 #868732 #A2A344 #14264A
114, 43, 51 70, 143, 177 50, 84, 101 152, 149, 60 177, 174, 79
36, 87, 68, 40 73, 33, 19, 0 84, 58, 44, 25 43, 31, 96, 6 34, 22, 85, 1
#14264A #627F83 #DDESAD #FFFFFF #56071A
16, 51, 94 115, 143, 148 228, 230, 184 255, 255, 255 105, 17, 32
100, 85, 36, 27 58, 34, 37, 3 11, 3, 33, 0 0, 0, 0, 0 34, 97, 78, 49
In consideration of the proposed colour scheme we thought
about how the colours reflected the tone of the web-site as a
service, as well as how the colours could be used to make the
interface more intuitive.
Although colours like red and green have universal meaning,
varying the saturation of colours can also indicate how the user
should interact with the site. Alternatives to red and green are
important because about 10 percent of the male population
have some form of colour blindness, turning reds and greens
into shades of grey.
We have decided that monochromatic colour schemes for
content are more pleasing to the eye than schemes like triad or
complementary. However there is definitely a need for a colour
out of this range that establishes clear emphasis. Reducing
the number of colours in the swatch palette helps the user to
concentrate, and reducing the saturation of selected swatches
can produce a more recognizable hierarchy.
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18. Implementation
Web-site
The UniPost web-site would be used for the posting and viewing
of notices. All notices added would be stored in a database. Old
notices could be automatically removed after 30 days. The web-
site is discussed in more detail further on in this proposal.
Integration Into The University of Otago Web-Site
The ‘Current Students’ tab on the University of Otago home
page would have a UniPost login option. Students use their login
details and can create or edit the details of their notice.
A stand alone web-site would be another option, with a
database of student details which could be checked when their
account is created. This option would be far more difficult to
implement and maintain, but it would easily allow room for the
growth of the service.
Presentation Possibilities
Since all of the notices are in one centralized database,
there are a number of possibilities for the presentation and
communication of the notices. These are discussed below.
Displaying on Screen Savers
The notices could be contained in a RSS feed which could be
set up to display on the screen savers of University computers.
Computers that are sitting idle could be broadcasting the latest
notices to passers by.
Projections
A ‘real time’ digital projected notice board could be placed next
to the current notice boards or on highly visible walls. Here it is
in the public eye, in a place people go to look at notices without
clutter, unequal opportunity and obsolete information.
There is often a five to ten minute gap before lectures were
students sit and wait watching a blank screen. The notices from
the UniPost web-site could be screened in lecture theaters
before and after class. There it will be shown to our target
audience at a time when they would be doing nothing else and
interested in seeing the notices.
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19. Implementation
Touch Screens
Touch screen computers could be placed around campus and
could be used to add notices. The user could login, select a
category and then add the text for their notice.
These computers could also have skype available which people
looking at notices could use to call people selling items.
Coffee Cups
Notices could be printed weekly on local coffee cups. People
often have coffee when on a break so are likely to look at the
notices. This process does not create more waste as the coffee
cups are being used anyway. Lunch tray inserts is another print
option available or printed serviettes.
Mobile Service
A mobile service could be established as a way for users to post
notices. They could text their notices to a certain number, say
027 UNIPOST. These could then be added on their behalf by an
administrator. This would be easy for users but would mean
someone would need to be employed to add the notices.
A mock up of a UniPost coffee cup. Posting a notice by text.
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20. Web-site Interface
The centerpiece of UniPost will be a web-site were users can
both post and view notices. The web-site also removes inequality
and provides every user, no matter how good at design or how
wealthy, an equal opportunity to have their message seen.
The UniPost web-site will be university operated so to access
the site a university login will need to be used. This will stop
offensive notices (for example the advertisement for ‘cheap
porn’ in the St David lecture theater) being posted. An
administrator will be able to see who posted the message due
to the login used and dismiss it. If the system is misused by a
student they will be prohibited from using the site.
Below is a wire frame and site map that illustrates a possible
structure for our online service. We have incorporated one of
our proposed colour schemes. This is only one of many possible
outcomes for the final interface.
Sign In/Out Post
Home For Sale For Rent Tutors Events Groups Random
Text Books Text Books
MART307 Course book, in good condition $80
Furniture DESI312 Reader, used twice before $50
Vehicles
Random
A possible wire frame for the UniPost web-site.
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21. Web-site Interface
This is the initial site map for UniPost. Students would click the
UniPost link in the ‘Current Students’ section of the University
of Otago web-site and access UniPost using their login details as
they do with other services like PIMS and Blackboard.
The various headings and sub-headings will be prioritized based
on the categories popularity. Further options could be added
(or removed) depending on demand. With information probity
in mind, reducing the number of clicks by the user is more
important than having numerous pages to scroll through.
University of
Otago
Home Page
For Sale For Rent Tutors Events Groups Random
Books Rooms Lectures Study
Furniture Flats General Music
Vehicles Random
Random
A Possible Site Map for UniPost.
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22. User Interaction
The diagram below is an example of how users can interact with
the UniPost web-site. Considering this interaction aids our design
decisions and the information flow of the web-site.
Diagram Key
Login
User Action
Decision
No
Unknown Correct?
User
System Action
Yes
Home
Page
Find Post/Find? Post
Post
Page
Category
Category
For Sale Flats Tutoring Events Groups Random
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23. Project Timeline
This overview of the next few months will aid us in identifying
the tasks required to complete our goals. Each of the five team
members will work together on these tasks to complete these
goals. Blue bars indicate project hand-ins.
31 March
7 April
14 April
21 April
28 April
5 May
12 May
19 May
26 May
2 June
Project Proposal
University Proposal
Develop System
Develop Interface
Test Users
Refine System
Refine Interface
Working Prototype
Initiate Publicity
Introduce Site
Project Due
Draft Report
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24. References
1
Waste Online. (January 2006). Waste Online Homepage Retrieved
18 March, 2008, from http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/
2
Craigslist. (n.d.) CraigsList New York. Retrieved March 18, 2008,
from http://newyork.craigslist.org/
3
uStudents. (n.d.) About uStudents. Retrieved 18 March, 2008,
from http://www.ustudents.com.au/home.php
4
Trade Me Ltd. (2008). Trade Me: Where Kiwi’s Buy and Sell.
Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www.trademe.co.nz/
5
Otago University Students’ Association. (2008). Home. Retrieved
March 18, 2008, from http://www.ousa.org.nz/
6
University of Otago. (2007) University of Otago. Retrieved 18
March, 2008, from http://www.otago.ac.nz/
For the development of UniPost we set up a blog. This has aided
the communication of the team and also provides a history of
our project progression.
Our Development Blog, http://uni-post.blogspot.com/.
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