The main theme of the workshop „Usability in multimedia environment" was divided into two blocks, usability of e-content application and visual literacy. The selection and the division of the topic were made with the following assumptions:
1. The evaluation of the products that applied to the contest of Europrix and Top Talent Award (TTA) showed the necessity for the integration of opinions and skills of the experts from different disciplines during creation of a multimedia application. It is definitely necessary to use an interdisciplinary approach so that the synergic affect of the technical and user aspects is achieved. High quality multimedia products require the involvement of specialists from different disciplines - information architecture, visual communication, media specialists, programmers, etc.
2. The multimedia product that meets all the qualitative criteria is the result of interdisciplinary cooperation. One of the most decisive aspects in the process of creation is the quality of communication between specialists of different orientations. An inevitable component of the education of young multimedia specialists is the development of the ability to communicate from the contexts of different disciplines, to be able to see the problem from different points of view.
3. Content and context are crucial aspects for the commercial success of multimedia applications. Content and context create user friendliness and significantly contribute to psychological comfort while working with the applications. Context determines to what extent the quality and the amount of the content used satisfies the needs of the user. within the frames of different target groups, the preferences of the users vary according to computer literacy, visual literacy, cultural preferences, style of life, etc. Knowledge about the behaviour of the users contributes to the necessary knowledge base for creating multimedia applications.
The development of the workshop, the discussions among the participants, but also the views of the specialists, confirmed the need for solving of the problem of the relationship between the multimedia application and its users. The general conclusions and the recommendations are, for better clarity, divided into content and organisational recommendations.
The conclusions regarding the content
1. The combination of the themes of usability (devoted to the interaction of the user and the electronic application) and of visual literacy (devoted to the aspects of the perception and interpretation of visual attributes) contributed to a more detailed explanation and understanding of user preferences. At the same time it enabled better explanations of the reasons and implications of the commercial success or failure of multimedia applications.
2. The practical examples and exercises signalised considerable differentiation in visual thinking and in the interpretation of visual content. Although, because of the limited number of participants, it is very difficult to make definite conclusions, it is evident that multimedia bring to us new unsolved questions.
3. The present research in the area of usability online and offline applications enables the creation of a normative base for creating multimedia. There is need to assert the normative aspects in the process of creation of multimedia applications.
4. A considerable asset was the solving of the cultural aspects of visual communication. The possibility to compare views from American and European cultural perspectives led to better understanding of the possibilities of interpretation and misinterpretation of the visual content. On the other side, there are the possibilities for looking for the common attributes of different cultures and also the possibilities for their use for multimedia creation.
5. For the use of paid-for content, the basic assumption for success is the usability of electronic applications. Usability significantly influences not only working with multimedia applications, but also the willingness to pay for such content.
6. The visual contact with the application is one of the primary attributes of interaction between the multimedia application and the user. Insufficient comprehensibility of the visual content has the effect of decreasing the motivation of the user. The insufficient comprehensibility of the visual content can have its causes on the side of the application ( e.g. the visual structure of the navigation architecture) but also on the side of the user (visual literacy). The education of the users and creators of multimedia applications in the area of visual communication may be regarded as one of the accelerators of e-content use.
7. At present, there is growing number of mobile communication devices. This means also that the market for mobile content is growing. Also usability in this area will be one of the decisive factors for its next development.
The conclusions regarding the organisation
1. The themes of the workshops provided interesting motifs for different target groups. To attract real interest for attendance at the seminar requires direct contact with the potential participants. The means of propagation about the seminar, e.g. leaflet, poster, etc., informed very broadly and did not influence the decision of participants to take part at the scouting workshop.
2. The reactions of the participants were very positive. It would be useful to maintain their interest and continued interaction after taking the scouting workshop, e.g., by means of online communities.
3. The great asset in developing the competences in multimedia creation is the chance to exchange views and opinions with experts from different disciplines. One of the most interesting advantages for the participants of the scouting workshop is the possibility to use the presence of different experts for analysis of the same multimedia applications. In this case they can experience different views on the same problems that creates a synthesis of knowledge.
