Carousel Usability

Here are some carousel usability guidelines I'm documenting for a work project. The guidelines are based on usability tests I've recently observed. I've tried to find examples out there on the web to illustrate key points.

- On initial page load, display some carousel movement like Apple to draw attention to fact that there's more content available.
- If using arrows, include them on both sides of the carousel even if one is initially disabled. The visibility of the two arrows will help users recognize the component as a carousel.
- If one arrow is initially disabled, make sure it appears that way by graying it out, while making the active arrow "pop".
- Highlight arrows and the carousel thumbnails on rollover to help communicate that they're clickable.
- Make arrows large enough to be easily noticed and clicked on. High button/background contrast also helps.
- Make the carousel images large enough so users can get a sense of what they represent.
- Consider rotating the featured content like PopPhoto.com, but give users control by also offering pause, previous and next options.
- Use clickable text or image links to represent content within the carousel rather than inexplicit numbers or icons that don't tell users much of anything.
- Consider displaying the number of items within the carousel like GameDaily.com to help users understand when they've viewed them all.
- Consider small circles to indicate how many individual items or sets of items are in the carousel; let this be an alternative way to navigate by making the circles clickable.
- Load the carousel on the page before the user's screensaver kicks in -- if you get my drift :)

Creating Tables in Visio

Hey, I learned something new in Visio 2003 today! (Unfortunately, I'm still on the old version at my day job.) I've had occasion to wish there was an easy way to create tables in Visio, and today I discovered how.

1. Open File > Shapes > Charts & Graphs > Charting Shapes (US) stencil.
2. Drag the various grids and charts onto your page.
3. Adjust the number of rows and columns when prompted.
4. Right click to make further adjustments to colors, grid lines and such.

Enjoy!