please review mockup (was Re: website mockups, what is fedora?)

[Paul Frields]

On Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 2:46 PM, <mairin at linuxgrrl.com> wrote:
> Hey, so while the two page-fuls of emails containing philosophical
> discussions that I've gotten this afternoon are interesting, I've yet to
> receive any feedback on the mockup I stayed up until past 2 AM on a Friday
> night to make. I tried to work in the suggestions Toshio gave me here on
> the list.
>
> Please let me know if this mockup is an improvement over the other one and
> helps.
>
> Please also remember that I'm trying to close out the feedback period next
> Friday so the designs can be done in time for the websites team to crank
> out html/css, get it translated, do browser testing, and get it up on the
> site in time for F12.

So the changes I see in this mockup -- which, by the way, looks great -- are:

* Removes the "internet connection" requirement
* Moves the "other options" block up in the secondary information block
* Removes the explanatory "what do I do with this?" block in the
secondary information block
* No more panda (awww.)

This mockup still satisfies all the criteria we set out on the wiki
through https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Website_redesign_2009, in that
it provides:

* One simple, clear download option for the majority of visitors
* A clear route to our other options (e.g. spins hub)

Something that might help keep the "Other options" area from
overwhelming the download button area would be to relocate the panda.
I think removing the "confused panda" is a good idea because it sends
a subtle signal that there's just too much going on in the page, and
maybe the user *should* be confused.  I could see putting a confident,
happy panda next to the download button with a sort of Vanna White
pose, so a user who's not looking for other options won't feel like
they're making a mistake by taking the obvious choice. (I'm recalling
Barry Schwarz's TED Talk on the paradox of choice here.)

Paul