So Many Choices

Before Martin and I began any project implementation, we decided to bring together several prototypes to ensure we had the design we wanted. He already had one prototype, so he submitted a second, and I also submitted two prototypes.

The first I designed utilizes menu navigation, with the drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. The "Read" page also requires several steps with the user navigating from the broad category to a more narrow category. Here are some photos of this prototype:

The other prototype I submitted used filmstrip navigation. I also recommended just letting the user browse all categories. I think this design looks incredibly sleek:

Ultimately, Martin and I agreed on filmstrip navigation. He also suggested we add icons at the top of the "Read" page to act as category filters, and those same icons can be used to add the category when submitting a joke. The idea sounded fantastic to me!

As we progress and further consider implementation, we need to solicit some user feedback. We will offer the user a preview of the joke on the main "Read" page. When they click on the joke, we need to decide whether the list will expand to allow the joke to fill out the screen or if we will instead choose to load a new screen displaying just the single joke. This is probably something that would be better tested directly on the mobile device so the user can see just how cluttered the screen becomes when adding the joke in the middle of the list. Ultimately, that means writing the code for two different navigation styles, but I think that is within the scope of my capabilities. If you would like to be one of our guinea pigs, please leave a comment, and I will get in touch!