Trigger images in catch-up TV

Posted October 21st, 2008 by David Hamill

Many UK TV broadcasters now have catch up TV on their websites. I’ve worked on a few of these projects myself. Images tend to feature heavily in the design of such sites and are usually pretty useful. When you’re looking for your favourite programme it can be easier to find it when images are well-used in the design.

Introducing trigger words

I’ve used the term ‘trigger images’ because they work in a very similar way to Jared Spool’s trigger words. He suggests using the exact words your users are thinking about so that they pull a trigger in users’ heads.

Trigger images

TV catch-up sites like BBC iPlayer and ITV Catch-up (a much better name than iPlayer by the way) can often have many programmes listed on any one page. Most people scan through the page looking for something they want to watch. They will not read every programme title. So the images help them quickly find something.

When done well, the images pull a trigger of recognition in the users mind. This can be recognition of someone or something they like or it could help them when looking for a specific programme. It only really works when the images mean something to the user instantly.

BBC iPlayer

Catch-up websites often get this wrong. I know that creating these images is quite an overhead but a little extra thought could improve usability. Here is a example from BBC iPlayer that shows both good and bad practice.

The central characters from ‘Heroes’ make it easy to find for those who watch it. However the ‘Silent Witness’ image is less obvious. One of the central characters is featured but she is turning away from the camera and both the characters heads are small.

People who want to watch ‘Silent Witness’ are still going to be able to find it. But they will be able to do so easier if a better image is used. People who are just browsing may overlook ‘Silent Witness’.

ITV Catch-up

The example above shows that ITV are guilty of the same thing. Let’s take the X-Factor image for instance. They’ve used the central characters, the judges, but they are difficult to recognise. Their heads are very small and the image is quite heavily compressed, so it’s pixelated. Corrie and Emmerdale are a bit better though.

Guidelines

A simple set of guidelines could help the issue:

• If the images are pixelated, then reduce the compression so that they aren’t.
• Use something recognisable like a main character or celebrity guest. It isn’t important for the user to understand the scene, just the subject or characters.
• Make the face or object clear by cropping the image before shrinking it. The important bit will then be large enough to recognise.

The subject of the image should then be easily recognisable. If it still isn’t, then consider using a different image. I’ve had a go at the X Factor image as an example. Much better isn’t it?

If you don’t watch ‘The X Factor’ then this image might mean nothing to you. But those who do, will find this image easier to recognise than 4 tiny heads.

Tags: catch-up TV, navigation, tips, trigger words