LP's new UI is a step backwards…

I agree with several of your points. There are no plans to do a UI change for Launchpad 4.0. The UI will be changed as features require it. In the case of the scanability. I believe we are often showing useless information...why show the latest 5 bugs if they have not been touched in a year? If Launchpad intends to develop features showing activity/events, then I think the UI will change to a journal/wall design.

I have a few things that I dislike about it too.

On a question page (ie. the page I'm typing this on), the asker's name and date are in the top right. It doesn't make sense for it to be there. It should be underneath the question title or somewhere near there.

The section links (Bugs, Blueprints, Answers, etc) have no background which makes them flow into the page content. It's hard to tell at a glance what is part of the page content and what isn't.

After reading a question I might click on the Answers section to go back to the question list. If the asker has filed the question under a package such as Firefox, it goes to the question list for Firefox despite saying Ubuntu above the section links.

What is the point having the list of answer contacts on the side on the question list? Same with Subscribers/"also notified" on questions. It's a waste of space and is also a bit of a privacy concern having your name there for all to see just because you want to be notified of changes.

Launchpad is slow. It takes at least 5 seconds to resolve the hostname through DNS, from both Windows and Linux machines.

Questions are frequently submitted twice. I assume this is because it takes too long to resolve the name so they click it again. Perhaps disable the submit buttons with javascript after they click it the first time.

Still feel the same.

Is there any way to send a clear, respectful message to the devs with the power to consider a UI revision?

@Curtis Hovey:
I read your reply and the “no plans to do a UI change for Launchpad 4.0”. But more than…oh, say, SourceForge :)…Launchpad has demonstrated it can listen to users and respond to concerns within a respectable timeframe, if there are enough people saying the same thing.

There were only a couple of responses on this thread, and to the comment I posted on the Launchpad Blog when the new UI was released, but they have all pretty much agreed: “AJAX good, new design bad”.

If this opinion is not a minority, I wonder if we could (peacefully, respectfully) organize something and speak to the Launchpad UI team?

Hi Zearin,

Thanks for this feedback, I'll try and address your questions individually:

> • harder to visually scan pages than before
I Agree that in some pages it is harder. We've improved many of them, there have been some (rather conscious) regressions as we made trade offs, and I think improving the general visual hierarchy could still well be in scope of the next 6 months.
I have some time scheduled to work on this with a graphic designer.

> • harder to read text, because sections of page aren’t scannable
Same as above.

> • no search field at the top (I have to scroll to the bottom to search…?!)
The reason why this was done, is because we made the project branding the primary element, instead of Launchpad's. If you had a search box up there, most people would expect that it would search within that project.
Ideally, we would let you choose with a drop down, satisfying all use cases, but there are some implementations problems with that, so we decided to move it to the bottom.

> • I still miss the icons from old-school Launchpad for Bugs, Blueprints, etc. (Launchpad is asking for help with icons—I say, pull out the old set and use that as a starting point)
Originally, they where in the design, but it cluttered more than it helped, so they where dropped. I sometimes miss them too, but transitions are hard on users, especially when they use the interface a lot.
I'm still inclined to leave it icon-less, as it's a much cleaner UI.

Hope this clarifies a bit :)

Hello again! I'm checking back in on old questions I asked in Launchpad. :)

First of all, thanks to everyone for participating. I think we all know that the stronger we feel about something, the more we'd like to see Answers/Bugs traffic for that thing.

Discussion is good. Traffic is good. Visibility is good. :)

I'd like to respond to some of your own comments below.

❝I Agree that in some pages it is harder. We've improved many of them, there have been some (rather conscious) regressions as we made trade offs, and I think improving the general visual hierarchy could still well be in scope of the next 6 months.
I have some time scheduled to work on this with a graphic designer.❞

Cool!

It’s been nearly 6 months. I know that “6 months” was just a speculation, but I just wanted to ask if anything has happened on this front. (And if so, what’s the news?)

❝ > • no search field at the top (I have to scroll to the bottom to search…?!)
The reason why this was done, is because we made the project branding the primary element, instead of Launchpad's. If you had a search box up there, most people would expect that it would search within that project.
Ideally, we would let you choose with a drop down, satisfying all use cases, but there are some implementations problems with that, so we decided to move it to the bottom.❞

Elevating product branding is a smart goal. However, in the months since I opened this question, the bottom Search bar is still frustrating to me.

Also, not all pages are equal in height. Some of the bigger projects require a lot of scrolling just to get to Search.

❝ > • I still miss the icons from old-school Launchpad for Bugs, Blueprints, etc. (Launchpad is asking for help with icons—I say, pull out the old set and use that as a starting point)
Originally, they where in the design, but it cluttered more than it helped, so they where dropped. I sometimes miss them too, but transitions are hard on users, especially when they use the interface a lot.
I'm still inclined to leave it icon-less, as it's a much cleaner UI. ❞

Hm, I still gotta disagree. “Cleaner” ≠ “More Usable”. Well-design icons utilize color and shape, both of which are processed faster by the eye than reading words. Icons were invented for a reason; after reading navigation links (or whatever), the brain learns to associate the image with the text…until eventually, it recognizes the image and “skips” reading the text.

It’s not unlike the “shortcut” our brains use to read entire words. Do you remember the following silly Internet meme?

❝Aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.❞

This example involves only letters, but the process of learning to look for icons (associated with specific navigation elements) is similar.

…

Actually I just did a quick Google and found an excellent explanation:

❝
*The Process of Cognition*

The first step in the process of cognition is *shape*. Visual images can be remembered and recognized directly, while words have to be interpreted into meaning. Reading is not necessary to identify shapes, but identifying shapes is necessary to read. Since a shape makes a faster imprint on our memory, it is essential to first have a unique shape to your logo.

The second step in the process is *color*. Color can do many things from emotional trigger, behavioral influence to brand recognition. As each of the processes needs to be carefully chosen, color is one of the most important for each of the reasons I just mentioned. Another reason to carefully choose a color is differentiation in your brand. Just as Starbuck’s uses green as its signature color, Seattle’s Best uses red. If they strayed from their signature colors, their brand would stray and their customers’ would be confused. It is important to make visuals strong and quick.

The third step in the process is *content*. This step means the brain takes more time to process language than it does shape or color. So you can see from the examples to the right, what was a simple shape that had no relevance to you is now the most recognized financial services firm in the nation!
❞

(Source: http://www.snapbrand.net/blog/?p=21 )

So, yeah, evolving a design is tricky. But I would strongly encourage the following:

• Group related content using shaded boxes (especially on the Overview pages for users and Projects)
• Bring back stronger color-coding
• Bring back icons! Branding is important, but so is website usability. Besides, brands on difficult sites ultimately get less noticed than brands on usable sites. In other words, the bigger threat to a brand is not the site’s own branding; it’s the site’s usability

Anyone reading who agrees? I welcome you and ask for your participation. More voices in this discussion lead to more movement towards change!

I suggest you file bugs for each of the specific issues and continue the conversation there.

@Francis J. Lacoste:

Is that REALLY necessary? I know that makes sense in some contexts, but these issues all appeared at the same time: with the last Launchpad UI update. As a user of Launchpad, although I list many points, they are logically all part of the same issue.

If it really WOULD help, it seems a little distasteful to tell the bug reporter, “Sorry, you filed your bug wrong. Please re-file your bug as 5 other bugs.” After all, just reporting a bug at all is a barrier unto itself; many users don't report issues they have because it takes effort to do so. Not only have I put in effort by reporting this bug, but I've tried to make it as detailed and helpful as possible. I feel I have been a responsible user in doing this.

So not only do I have to deal with the issues I have described above, but now I have to do EXTRA bug filing work (and maintenance for each of them) too? It's like I'm being punished with red tape. (I know you did not mean it that way—at least I hope so!—but that's kind of what it feels like from my perspective.)

Wouldn't the more helpful and respectful thing to put out a call to other devs? Perhaps something like,

“I'll contact the Launchpad UI team and send them to this thread.

@any UI devs reading this: If you want to take on one of the issues above, please copy the relevant text into a separate bug and continue there.”

That would not make me feel invalidated or brushed off, and would demonstrate that you take the issue seriously and are taking steps to deal with it. It also spreads the work around rather than putting it all on my shoulders. Would you consider something along these lines?

Thanks to whomever moved this to the more appropriate place.

Is there anywhere I might be able to look to read about upcoming changes to LP's web interface? I really love LaunchPad, and although I have limited time and skills I would be SO happy if we kept some of the newer features (AJAXification, bug heat, etc) and went back to some of the nicer aspects of older LaunchPad interfaces.

There are no plans to update the Launchpad interface this year. The UI for specific pages are updated every release. The https:/launchpad.net/launchpad-project shows all the work that we are committed to doing