Feedback Requested on Timeline Presentation

As I plan future versions of Bee Docs' Timeline, it helps me to think of the foundational goals of the software. I like to think of the challenge of great charting software as being divided into two main problems...

First is the issue of allowing people to creating compelling charts in an intuitive fashion. Since I began the project back in 2004, solving problems related to creating timelines quickly and easily has been a core focus. Of course, there are still more improvements to be done in this area.

The other major challenge is the issue of presenting timelines to an audience. How can chronological events be presented in a way that makes the relationships between events clear, tells a story, and engages the audience?

I have begun to develop a framework for thinking about the different ways that timelines are presented. Basically, I have divided the presentation of timelines into four categories based on the way the intended audience is consuming the information:

• DESK - Each consumer is sitting in front of their own computer. The distance from screen to viewer can be measured in inches. They are controlling, managing, and interacting with the content on screen. They and typically using a laptop computer. Content is usually published to this audience using the web or e-mail.


• LECTURE HALL - Many people are viewing the same computer display at the same time. The display is usually projected on a screen and the distance from screen to viewer could be measured in feet or yards. The presenter is controlling the pace of the information and is likely to integrate other types of multimedia in the presentation.


• LIBRARY - I am using "Library" to represent timelines that are shared in printed reports or published materials such as books or magazines. Print media is high resolution and portable, but non-interactive. Timelines are usually just a subset of the information in a printed work and must conform to size and layout restrictions of the rest of the printed work.


• POCKET - Rich mobile devices such as the iPhone allow people to access timelines from anywhere at anytime. Audience members in this category want to access information quickly and simply.

Now, it's time for some good old fashion customer participation! I'm blogging all of this because I would appreciate your insight and feedback as people who create and share timelines. I would love to hear your answers to the following questions:

1. Who is the main audience for your own timelines? (For example: yourself, university students, business clients, etc...)
2. What do you want your audience to learn, understand, or take away from the information you are presenting? In other words, what does "success" look like?
3. How do you present your timelines today? Does it fit into one of my categories above?
4. In an ideal world, how would you present your timelines to your audience?
5. What other kinds of materials / information are you presenting along with your timelines?

I look forward to your answers. Feel free to use the comments so that everyone can discuss, or send me an e-mail if you are shy. Thanks!

Making Design Concept Displays

My friend Tony J, of Ratio Interactive and I were talking a while back about presenting User Interface designs to team members and clients. The de facto standard for presenting designs generated on a computer seems to be PowerPoint but Tony was explaining how his team has begun to use prints mounted on boards, even for draft designs being discussed internally. He feels that having a physical object helps people "respect the design."

I also like the idea of presenting designs in a physical media because it allows me to leave the designs around the office for people to walk by, point at, and discuss. It is also great to make displays of competitor products to compare and contrast. The non-linear browsing just doesn't work as well with PowerPoint.

I asked Tony what steps Ratio takes to prepare a design exhibit. This is what he said:

1. create designs (of course)
2. print designs on ink jet printer
3. obtain black matte board (8-ply is nice and "substantial" feeling)
4. cut a trim print outs to size (if need be)
5. cut matte board to size based on print outs to be mounted. Make sure to lightly pencil in your mounting marks (the corners) so you can easily place the printed piece after it's sprayed.
6. use Super 77 (from 3m) spray mount. (very permanent, no second chances. But the paper becomes 1 with the matte) Home Depot sells it very inexpensively.
7. In a well ventilated area (stair-well, covered outdoor area, or garage) we place the printed piece face down in a box and spray the back until it's covered like a light morning dew.
8. after you've sprayed the paper you have a minute or two to place it on the matte. Be careful to not let it touch the matte until you're ready to commit. I recommend starting with the corners on one side and placing that side edge between the corners. Then carefully stretch the paper across the matte taught and bring the opposite corners to their marks on the matte. This will give you the opportunity to slightly stretch and align as you go to make sure you hit the marks on the opposite corners.

This week, I make my own exhibit for a project I am consulting on. I used a slightly different technique. Here is what I did:

1. Took screenshots of popular web sites as well as my own designs and imported them into iPhoto.
2. I cropped them into a normal print size and used iPhoto to order the images as prints. I did a second batch at a local Costco using their "matte" finish prints and like the look even better. 5 x 7 size worked nicely for me. The nice thing about photo prints as opposed to doing them on an inkjet is that the quality is high, the is no expensive ink to run out, and there is no cropping required.
3. I used black foam core for my backing.
4. Instead of glue, I tried this Handi-Tak Reusable Adhesive stuff that I found. I cut it into small pieces, roll each piece into a ball, and put a little ball on each corner of the print. Then I press it on the board using gloves or a tissue to avoid finger prints. I like that the Handi-Tak makes the print hover off the backing by about an 1/8". It also is easy to remove and reposition, which is nice if I don't get them straight the first time or so that I can reuse the backing board.

All in all, it costs a few bucks and about 10-15 minutes to make one of these boards once you have the supplies. I'm a fan of this presentation method so far. Earlier this week I did a Keynote walk through of a mock-up design idea, but had a board with all the screenshots too so that people could compare it against previous slides for discussion.

If you are a presentor or a designer, what is your favorite method for presenting exhibits?

Icon Design - First Concept

Here is the first concept drawing that Kenichi Yoshida provided for the T2 application icon:

The design is a timeline chart with a presentation controller.

I told Kenichi that I liked the way he rendered the timeline. The thick bars represent a timeline well, and should be visible at small icon sizes.

The presentation controller, however is not a metaphor that I am comfortable with for Timeline. The software is strongly focused on creating charts for printing (reports, books, trail exhibits, wall charts, etc...), and not on powerpoint style presentation. Also, there aren't live presentation controls built into T2, so I thought this design concept may be misleading to new customers.

I asked Kenichi to try some concepts focussed around none-digital charting methods. For example, a chalkboard, easel, notebook, taped wall chart, pointing stick. In the next post, I'll show you what he came up with.