Re: [Gimp-gui] User Testing Report

[Alexandre Prokoudine <alexandre prokoudine gmail com>]

On Sun, May 12, 2019 at 3:45 PM Elle Stone wrote:

> Could you give an example or two in GIMP of what you consider "overly
> complicated/nerdy" terminology?

Standard Deviation in Unsharp Mask would be one such example.

And don't get me started on options in tonemapping filters :)

> Could you give some examples of convoluted defaults?

I'd need time for that.

> I don't know about the path tool working differently than the pen tool,
> because in all my 17 years of editing photographs using a computer, I've
> never once had a reason to use a path/pen tool. I'm baffled as to why
> anyone would try to use the path tool to make a selection.

Microstock photography sites tend to suggest clips around objects in photos.

> There is a great big huge difference between a "complete newbie" who's
> never edited a photograph before, and a "newbie to GIMP" who already
> knows how to use an equivalent program such as PhotoPaint or PhotoShop.
>
> A user who is clueless about editing photographs, is not going to find
> GIMP OR other advanced image editors easy to use.

That user will find some apps easier to understand than others though.

> I just downloaded Blender 2.8, and even though now I have a few clues as
> to what Blender is used for, I still have absolutely no clue what to do
> with Blender 2.8. Even the stuff I was shown regarding basic
> photo-editing in previous versions of Blender, seems to have moved. Not
> that I would ever recommend anyone using any version of Blender to edit
> photographs.

I'm sure I didn't suggest Blender as a photo editing application :)

> GIMP's current user interface is the *least* important problem when it
> comes to actual usability. Adding still-missing critical functionalities
> is hugely more important than revising the interface to make it simpler
> for newbies. It's a complete shame that the switch to GTK3/4 has had to
> take priority over adding critical missing functionalities to GIMP.

There is little shameful about moving from a semi-maintained version
of a critical component such as UI toolkit to an actually supported
and actively developed version thereof.

Also, there was (and still is) a lot of technical debt in GIMP that
has to go away to make room for new things.

Alex