We built three initial paper prototypes corresponding to the three designs we did in GR2 - Designs . We tested each of the prototypes on users and incorporated their feedback on our revised design.

Prototype

...

Designs and Observations

Design 1

Observations on the above design: 

...

You are a photographer whose business is called "Awesome Shoots Inc." You want to describe yourself as a photographer primarily involved in portraiture and as who loves working with seniors. You have 3 sample photos to upload and you charge $500 per shoot by the hour. You live in Cambridge, near MIT.

Prototype Iteration

Observations

...

on the above design:

One prototype tester suggested that the 'sign up' field was so prominent that it was not clear that a user can search without signing in.

A positive criticism was that the help prompt in the search box was useful in hinting at the syntax to use while searching.

One prototype tester took some time in deciding on how to move from the results of a photographer search to the photographer's page. The prototype tester suggested that we add a button or a clearly afforded hyperlink on the photographer's name to this effect.

We plan on implementing a slider to facilitate selecting a user's budget. One tester suggested that we add a number to the slider, so that a user gets immediate feedback on what her selected budget constraint is.

It was also not clear how to conduct a new search while currently viewing results of a previous search. One prototype tester mentioned that clicking the logo to go back to the home page and start a new search was not obvious.

It was also suggested that we add functionality such that entering a photographer's name and hitting enter immediately took the user to the photographer's profile page.

Instead of adding a visible status message whenever a user changes one of the parameters of a search, one test user suggested that we eliminate the status message altogether, and just use the check box on the left-most column of the search page to indicate that a parameter has changed.

We were also advised to add a popup with "Save/Cancel" buttons whenever a user clicked on an object to make it editable instead of just having the user assume that editing an element automatically saves it.

As part of each photographer's page, we have a sample gallery that displays the photographer's work. One prototype tester asked that we have an 'X' on the top left corner of every photo that allowed a user to delete the photo. In addition, it was suggested that we have a placeholder icon named 'Click to Add Photo' always be in the left-most position in the photo gallery. Lastly, one prototype tester recommended that the photos on the gallery be draggable, to allow a photographer to edit the position of the pictures.

...