In the Eyes of the User A different perspective of YouTube and other video-sharing websites

John D. Julian

ITGM 230 Information Design for Dynamic Media Savannah College of Art and Design

Professor David E. Meyers

May 23, 2010

Project Description

The goal of this project was to design a basic layout of a user page for a

video-sharing service website, such as YouTube, Veoh, and DailyMotion, that

is easy-to-navigate for newcomers, or those who do not use the service on

an average basis, as well as easily acceptable for users who constantly use

the service daily, or more commonly than others.

Project Rationale

Taking from experience from other video-sharing service websites, such as

YouTube, Veoh, and DailyMotion, I wanted to break the foundation of the

same old two-column design, while still providing the same amount of

information as seen in previous variations of similar websites.

This new design takes the form of three-tier structure, with each row

comprised of similar modules. For example, the Profile module contains the

user’s basic information, Friend/Subscriber/Subscription count, as well as the

user’s Recent Activity. Likewise, the Video Display module contains both the

user’s uploaded videos, as well as a list of their Favorites and Playlists.

Profile Box (top center) Located on the left is a display of the user's basic information,

including their username, icon, date of account creation and user-

provided content within the textbox, while on the left, is a default

list of Subscription, and a record of the user’s Recent Activities. In

the Subscribers module, by clicking either ‘Friends or ‘Subscribers’,

one alternate the view of module according to the option selected.

Featured Video Box (middle left) A simple display of information

about the video featured on the

left-side of the screen (see below).

The information provided includes:

Video title, the upload information

(i.e. the name of the user, date of

upload, and number of views), the

video description, provided by the

user, and control module, including

the option to save the video to one’s

Favorites or Playlists, simply share

with other users, or Flag the video

for inappropriate content.

Video Display Box Displayed on the left are up to 6 videos uploaded by the user,

while on the opposite are a list of Playlists. By simply right-clicking

the video thumbnail or video title below, the video can be viewed

above the module, without leaving the page.

By selecting either ‘Date Added’, ‘Most Viewed’ or ‘Top Rated’, the

videos currently displayed will change upon the preference chosen.

Likewise, by selecting ‘See All’, all of the user’s videos will display

within the space provided, although if there’re more than 6 videos,

there will be a scrollbar provided on the left side of the module.

Groups/Channel Comments Box

On the left is a list of Groups that the user may be affiliated with,

which if not, then this half of the module will not appear to the

public, while the Channel Comments will stretch to compensate.

The Channel Comments themselves, which is shown on the right,

allows viewers to leave a general comment or shout-up, like the

text box above in the Profile module. Unlike that though, the

message will appear on the left of the text box, which will allow

other viewers to read and reply. To reply to a particular user, one

must add the ‘@’ sign and the username with which whom that

person would like to reply to before the Channel Comment itself.

The Final Design Layout: