1. I’d like to introduce you to the
idea of thinking about photos
from a user centred point of
James Chudley User centred photography NUX 2014
@chudders
view
2. It’s good to be back
@chudders
I discovered photography and
UX 14 years ago when I moved
to the North West to work for
Amaze, so it’s great to be back
talking about two of my
favourite topics.
3. Plan of attack
@chudders
1. Why are photos so important?
2. Some photoUX stories
3. Qualities of usable photos
4. Tips to improve photoUX
4. What do I do all day?
@chudders
I’m a UX Director at
cxpartners and am
lucky to lead projects
for these clients
amongst others…
5. I’ve written a couple of books
@chudders
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“Good price. Well packaged. Arrived promptly.
Just what she wanted. I’m being asked for
more words, but really that’s all I want to say”
£2 from www.fivesimplesteps.com
I’ve also had the
opportunity to write a
couple of books along
the way.
6. But more importantly I bloody love photography
@chudder@s chudders
I absolutely love
photography, it has
been an all consuming
hobby of mine for the
last 14 years.
7. I’m on a mission
I’m on a mission to try
and improve the
effectiveness of web
@chudders
quality and
http://www.gettycritics.com/
photos.
8. We are all photographers
@chudders
http://broodr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/sarah_taking_lge.jpg
We all have cameras in
our pockets these
days. It’s never been
easier to take, share
and publish photos.
9. You are already photoUX experts
@chudders
Would you link in with them?
http.www.linkedin.com
We’ve all thought long and
hard about the most
appropriate photos to use
to accompany our social
media profiles, so you
understand the importance
of photos.
15. @chudders
Photos also make us
laugh, imagine my
delight when I recently
spotted this
modification to a local
street sign!
16. The crazy reality of photos & digital design
@chudders
Impact
Investment
(Behaviour &
conversion etc.)
So given how
significant photos are
in our lives why do we
pay them so little
attention during the
design process?
17. So given the power of photos why do we do this?
@chudders
Stock images can
cause problems as
users can’t relate to
the people that they
see within them.
http.www.shutterstock.com
18. A recent favourite
@chudders
http.www.creditexpert.com
Would you be feeling
this relaxed if you’ve
just learnt that your
identity had been
stolen?
19. Photos are designed too
@chudder@s chudders
http://www.ikea.co.uk
Photos are designed
too. Consider for a
moment the design
thinking that went into
this photo.
20. The photographer ‘layer’
@chudders
43
Shoot wide to convey
space
Control shutter to blur
water
Dynamism &
movement
Use directional light to
add impact
Wet floor acts as a
reflector
Use white wall on left
as reflector
Location choice -
urban, aspirational, on
brand
Compose to only
include relevant
objects
Use flash to enable
use of fast shutter
speed
Ensure colour remains
punchy to draw
attention
Blow sky to render
neutral
Dress image as
appropriate
Use lines on floor to
guide the eye
Shoot at eyeline to
connect with people
These are design
decisions that the
photographer made in
order to get the photo
they wanted..
21. Business layer
@chudders
45
Educate & help Convey the
Demonstrate
understanding
benefits
usage Entertain
Shock Illustrate a point Set expectations Persuade Get a reaction
Create desire Sell & cross sell Show quality Demonstrate
features
Show
uniqueness
Show scale & what’s
included Give context Communicate a
proposition
Convey
a lifestyle
Support
the brand
The ‘business’ will have
contributed their own
requirements to the
Inspire Show accessories Convey
intangibles
Convey
personality
Create an emotional
response
brief too.
Quality & trust Demonstrate value Imagine ownership Show details Improve perception
22. User layer
How is it different?
@chudder@s chudders
47
Does it look good? Is this what
I want/ need?
Can I imagine myself
How does it work? there?
Will it match ‘x’? Is it right for me? Will it be right for ‘x’ Will it fit? What does it come
with?
Entertain me! Where is it? What do I get? Have I got one like it?
Am I in the
right place?
What will the
experience be like?
Does it look like value
for money?
Can I imagine
owning it
Does it look
like fun?
Is it good quality? Do I trust them? Has it got that feature I
need?
Is it what I would
expect from them?
Help me to
understand it
Is it safe? Do I like it? Does it look
comfortable?
Where will I be sitting/
staying/ watching
from?
Will there be people
like me there?
And of course users
have all sorts of things
they need to know that
a photo can help to
answer.
23. Why do we just ignore them in our work?
@chudders
I find it odd that as UX
designers we do so little
to inform the choice of
photos given we know so
much about user and
business requirements.
25. Users who viewed this site
told me how wonderful the
company were as they
would clearly deliver
whatever the weather, the
photos gave them a great
first impression of the
business!
http.www.wiltshirefarmfoods.co.uk @chudders
26. http.www.lovefilm.com @chudders
In this example people
didn’t like the look of ‘Liam
Gallagher man’ so we’re
dissuaded from choosing
the £9.99 (best for the
business) option
28. Some insights from Craig Sullivan @optimiseordie
Craig is your man for
quant based evidence
around the impact of
photos - check out his
slideshare pages.
‘Body language of people in photos has an impact on conversion…”
‘Photos must match the emotional state of the user, who would you want
to see if you’ve just had your windscreen smashed …you want to see your
mum with a cuppa”
@chudders
Belron (Autoglass in Germany)
http://www.thewebpsychologist.com/podcast-episode-33-craig-sullivan/
‘The comprehension and perception of a service are largely
influenced by photos…”
30. “...the most usable and effective
photos communicate something
clearly to the user, are useful, are
in keeping with the brand, evoke
an emotional response, and
influence the user in the way
that the designer intended...”
@chudders
31. Ornamental vs content photos
Ornamental photos
don’t really help much,
they are often used to
fill a space and often
serve little purpose.
@chudders
http://www.b2bcompliance.org.uk/
32. Ornamental vs content photos
‘Content’ photos like
these are helpful and
serve a purpose.
http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/home @chudders
33. Effective photos show the benefits
This photo effectively
communicates the
benefits of the
product, I can instantly
see what it does and
how it might be useful.
@chudders
http://www.gorillapod.co.uk
34. Effective photos are consistent
@chudders
vs
When the style of
photography is
inconsistent it
distracts us from the
product.
35. The photos of the product are the product
Often the style of
photography becomes
an important part of
the brand identity.
@chudders
http://www.howies.co.uk
36. Use the eyes to your advantage
We naturally look to
see what others are
looking at, see how
these examples
influence where you
@chudders
look.
http://www.nikewomen.co.uk http://www.arkive.co.uk http://www.adidas.co.uk
37. Effective photos convey the intangibles
@chudders
http://www.bentley.co.uk
Photos can convey
concepts like
‘craftsmanship’ very
concisely. Could you
use words to
communicate the same
message so concisely?
38. Effective photos give credibility
@chudders
Older users loved the fact
that Sir David was a patron
of Arkive. Younger users
perceived the same photo
to mean that the website
was for old people!
http://www.arkive.co.uk
39. Effective photos convey scale
@chudders
If you are considering
buying a van it’s likely
that a forklift is a
useful reference point
to understand scale.
http://www.ford.co.uk
40. Effective photos persuade
Photos of people we
know can be very
effective in persuading
us to do things.
@chudders
http://www.linkedin.co.uk
42. The Don
@chudders
photography
“Good design is
also an act of
communication
between the
designer and the
user.”
This great quote from
Don Norman works
well for photos too.
43. @chudders
ethos
(CREDIBILITY)
pathos
(EMOTION)
logos
(LOGIC)
. .
Rhetoric - the art of persuasion
We can use this
formula to construct a
persuasive message
44. @chudders
Will it fit?
Is this what I need?
Will it match ‘x’?
Is it right for me?
Where is it?
What do I get? Is it good quality?
How does it work?
Will it be right for ‘x’
Is it safe?
Rational appeal (LOGOS)
Reputation/ brand appeal (ETHOS)
Does it fit with the brand?
It’s a useful framework
for understanding the
different types of
questions that people
will ask of your photos.
What qualities do I assume it has
These guys know what they are doing
If they made it it must be good
User needs vs rhetoric
Emotional appeal (PATHOS)
Does it look good?
Will the experience be good?
Entertain me!
Do I want it?
Does it look like fun?
Social/ Status appeal
What will I look like with it?
What will other people think?
Is it for people like me?
How will this make me look?
45. My photo usability checklist
I’ve come up with a set
of guidelines to use to
evaluate photos, give
them a try and let me
know how you get on.
@chudders
1. Legibility & credibility
2. What message does the photo
communicate?
3. Usefulness & effectiveness
https://uxmag.com/articles/evaluating-the-usability-of-web-photos
46. What can you
do today to
improve your
photo UX?Hopefully you can use
some of these tips on
your own design
projects.
@chudders
47. Take a content strategy approach
@chudders
I think you can apply a
content strategy
approach to photos,
check out my
slideshare for more on
this..
48. You can annotate Annotate wireframes
wireframes to pass on
your intentions to your
@chudders
Art Director or
whoever chooses the
photos in your team.
49. Sketch a brief
@chudders
Sketching photos is a
great way of briefing
photographers.
50. Audit what you’ve got
@chudders
• Audience
• Task
• Outcome/ Purpose
• Primary message
• Context - this will be shown at this point
in the journey and with this content
• Commercial objective
Photo audit
Why not take the same
approach to auditing
photos that we take to
doing traditional
content audits?
51. Work out what you need
@chudders
You can use task
models and experience
maps to identify the
types of photos you
need for different
points in the user
journey.
52. http://www.createyourownrealitynow.com Does this look familiar?
“I’m focussed on success, i’ll do whatever make @chudders
it in my career”
brenda is the senior vp of a major multi-national works hard and plays hard and doesn’t suffer her key tasks are:
- checking sales forecasts
- running reports
- setting targets
Business Belinda
Personas are all about
showing representations of
real users. Why use stock
photos of people who
don’t look like ‘real’ people!
53. Now this is better
the retired teacher
Peter make the “I want to peter has been retired teacher
tasks are:
her key understanding the - - up meetings setting working out the final - @chudders
For a recent persona
project we took photos
of users who came in
for user research which
gave us photos of real
customers for free!
54. Use photos in your deliverables to tell stories
@chudders
Photos are wonderful
assets to use to help us
tell stories. They are a
powerful way of
communicating aspects
of your users lives to
the business.
55. Use photos in your prototypes
@chudders
Why not put photos in
prototypes. You’ll learn
loads from what they
communicate to users
which will add more
depth to your insights.
56. Please pay photos extra
attention during your
next research/ design
project and let’s do more
as UX’ers to improve the
quality and effectiveness
of web photos.
Let’s improve the effectiveness of web photos
@chudders
Thanks!