Suggestions

I'm trying to get into UX design and I have no experience! So how do I make a portfolio with no experience? I'm gonna do what's called an 'unsolicited redesign' and I know it'll never be used in real life but it's good practice!

So I was thinking of redesigning a few aspects of this site since I am familiar with it and I use it so much.

But an important part of the whole design process is user research!
I have a few questions to ask and do let me know if you're okay with my DMing you for more info!

Here's an example of my 'pain points':
-The Bestiary, it's better than it used to be but I think it could be improved significantly. I have a hard time finding the familiars I'm looking for. And I wish there was a better way to view them / sort them. Maybe a menu that sorts by the method of obtention or which coli venue they come from. A 'favorite' section to have a more compact version of familiars you're looking to collect.


So, is there anything that causes problems for you, even minor ones? Nothing too small to mention here!

Thank you in advance!

My biggest annoyance: The site is a pain on mobile.
- Many links are too small to tap without zooming in (e.g., the sidebar links, icons in the Baldwin interface). I often fat-finger the sidebar links and have to try several times to get where I'm going.
- Although it's possible to click on the big links ("Clan," "Shop," etc.) for larger picture links, many of the sidebar links inexplicably aren't there.
Ideally, the site would be designed so that, on mobile, everything is easily tappable without having to zoom in, and text is also readable without having to zoom in. Perhaps the sidebar could collapse when not in use so that everything else on-page would be more readable.

The auction house sale interface is also frustrating:
- Items are shown as tiny icons (again, hard to tap on mobile).
- Items are arranged by item ID; there's no way to change the sorting method (e.g. choosing to sort them alphabetically) or search for a particular item.
- There's no indication of what items are used for Swipp/Baldwin/hibden.
I'm aware there's a button in the hoard to put things on the AH (which is a lifesaver!) but it's an extra step every time which wouldn't be necessary if the AH itself had a workable interface.

The hibden task interface is clunky in a few ways:
- To view my current hibden tasks, I have to go to my lair, hit the hibden button, hit settings, hit the "add slots" button, and then hit the "tasks" button. It'd be nice if there were a faster way to access it.
- There's no easy way to see what hibden tasks you've completed. For example, I often have an item in my hoard that I'd like to sell, and I wonder "Have I done the hibden task involving this item?" I have to do all the above steps, then hit "view all tasks," and then scroll the entire list searching manually for the specific task to see if it's been completed or not. (Unless there's an easier way that I haven't figured out?)

I'll add more if I think of more!

edit: oh yeah one more thing: it would be GREAT if we could re-arrange Arlo plots so that I can put whatever I'm currently working on at the top, instead of having to scroll down each time for precise work

@Achaius
Thank you that is so helpful! I completely agree, the site is hard to navigate on mobile. I avoid it as much as possible, I only use it for Glimmer and Gloom bc it's so much faster.
So would you prefer a slightly altered mobile version of the site or would a dedicated app be a better solution?
How much time do you spend on desktop/laptop vs mobile on the website?
Would an improved interface change how much time you spend on the mobile site?

I also had some similar thoughts about the auction house interface, also with the Crossroads. The icons are tiny and you can't sort them.
Would you use the AH more often if it were easier to sell?
What if there was an option to see the price ranges of the item you're looking to sell based on current AH listings?

I don't spend a lot of time in the Hib den but I do see what you mean. Maybe a dedicated page for completed tasks? With some sorting options to see if you've completed one with a certain item?


These are just some thoughts!
Thanks for answering!

The message system here, as not being able to see the previous message sent in a chain leaves me very confused when someone eventually replies as all context is lost.

[quote name="Vampirate" date="2022-11-27 10:16:06" ] The message system here, as not being able to see the previous message sent in a chain leaves me very confused when someone eventually replies as all context is lost. [/quote] This, exactly! It would be nice to have all my message chains compiled into a neat sequence so I can understand what they're about and sort through them.

A lot of the stuff mentioned already bothers me, but one of the big ones is the dragon section of the AH on mobile.

I buy only g1s (well, and exalt fodder) and the display sucks. To see what colors a g1 has takes a long press that calls up the browser action menu or whatever it's called, the one with open in new tab, copy link, etc. Tap outside it to close and then hope the tooltip with the dragon info actually popped up somewhere and stayed open. And then of course sometimes it refuses to close afterwards. And now do that for every single interesting dragon because that is the only way to find out a basic tert without opening seven thousand tabs.

The dragon listings should include color info (and genes when applicable) on the main auction house page OR it should be included in the image popup you get when you click on the little pictures in the listings.

Anything but assuming everybody is using a mouse and can easily hover to see important info.

The entire mobile experience. what i would give for FR to be mobile friendly.

For me it's the abscent of a search function when messaging items :( I don't want to bother people with 1t pas, especially during dom pushes when they could also be handling dragons. Also, a preview when playing with the dragon bio would be nice.