9Stephen L. Kent (Compassionate) Jan 11, 2014
Preetha Ram OpenStudy, CEO
9 | Page
OpenStudy User Profile Designs Basic profile and concepts
Hi,
First, Id like to begin by thanking you for giving me the
opportunities to take part in various OpenStudy projects. I have
really enjoyed myself over the past few years. Whether it be the
Design Task Force I put together to help improve OpenStudy with
live-feed options, or the icons I made, I am always making the best
of things. I love teaching and learning, and I am always looking
for new ways to help improve the community as a whole.
After a stressful day at work, I always look forward to logging
into OpenStudy and helping children, or even adults, with all types
of curriculum. While Ive made mistakes in the past, I am always
thriving to improve and better myself, so that I can become more
compassionate and caring like my role models (Lao Tzu and
Buddha.)
I hope you know that I really do care about OpenStudy and the
community. Before I had a credit card, I would literally click
every ad that popped up! Ha ha. Now Im a subscriber to OpenStudy,
while I thrive for its betterment a whole. When I joined OpenStudy
in 2012, it was an interesting place. Many of my friends have come
and gone. I was a middle school student during those times. Now Im
about to graduate, have gotten a job, and have a very beautiful
women in my life. I want you to know that Ive been through a lot,
but Im here to stay!
To begin, I feel that borders are an important part of visually
pleasant designs. I noticed a lot of important parts of the Main
Profile lack borders. A border gives a soft and gentle touch. Its
like the cherry on top. I feel that borders need to be utilized to
make the profiles more gentle on the eyes and pleasing to the
mind.
Here I made a side-by-side comparison:
You can see that the border really touches the image up
This image lacks a border. See how out-of-place it looks? A grey
transparent border on all uploaded images will help blend the photo
into the website, and really make it more asymmetrical.
Next we have the profile information. Notice in the current
information section (Left), everything gets jumbled up and forced
together. Its not sectioned, which looks disorganized. I feel this
section could be expanded on to give users more fill-in-the-blank,
areas to really express what theyre all about, where theyve been,
and where theyre going. In the new-version (right) you can see more
areas that give the user a better chance to represent themselves.
It even includes a nickname section, and a place to list your
previous, current, and attended schools.
Users will enjoy this layout because its informational and fun.
I feel strongly about my opinion.
I also noticed something about the biography section. It only
extends to a certain point until it gaps off and the color changes
to a more light grey color. I feel this should be fixed. The grey
background should extend with the text. That way we dont have
disorganized and discolored-looking biographies.
Another thing I noticed were the locations of the achievements.
These would always be at the bottom of the biography. Some users
may have long biographies (Ive seen quite a few), and this will
extend the user profile and set the achievements way toward the
bottom. Achievements need to remain static and accessible; just
like the Most Active Subjects, for example.
They never move; neither should the achievements. Thats why Ive
placed them under the Active Subjects, where they are more
accessible and instantly viewable when you click on the users
profile. I also like this design because it looks more asymmetrical
and pleasing.
(NOTE: The image above has lost some resolution due to
resizing.) This expands on the achievements being at the bottom.
When you click a particular section (e.g., Fan Testimonials) a pop
out window will present itself (just like normally) but instead of
taking up the upper-right half of the screen, it will be centered
below the achievements.
Like most sites, instead of having the Terms and Conditions,
Privacy Policy, and Code of Conduct near the Statistics (which they
are), I suggest we move them to the bottom of the page.
Well, that about wraps it up. I brainstormed these ideas for 3
days and worked nearly 5 hours on the Photoshop and design. I hope
you enjoy my suggestions and take them to heart.
Please provide feedback regarding your thoughts. Id love to hear
it!
