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Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!

Posted by Alex 
Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 10, 2011 08:49AM
I'm here to spoil an idea that intrigued me yesterday. Nice to work when you feel inspired!

Start here:
http://testserver.realtimedesigner.com/screenprint/index.php&tng=Y3BpPTU5OQ==

Add a clipart through the "add art" button. Good categories for this test are cliparts into the "eps test" and "Military" categories. I've tested mainly against the frog in the "eps test" one.
Once added, click the color wheel to popup up the recolor window. And here's where things changes!

You know in past (even currently, on production RTD) users had to pick the original color from a list, and then the replacement color from another list. Not reall intuitive nor friendly.
The test I'm showing you is an attempt to make this process more intuitive for users.

Now you only have to click in the clipart to have the right color selected, and then you can choose the replacement one.
Results are shown in realtime, without having to apply the changes to the clipart in designer anymore.
So, to apply the changes to the clipart in designer, users will have to click the "Apply Changes" buttons

I feel this could be of great help for everything based on cliparts recolor. So far just a test, but I'd like to know your opinion on how it looks like to you.

Cheers!
cos
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 10, 2011 11:05AM
Now that's what I'm talking about. Very cool. I hated the old method. Maybe change the wording "Click on the image to select the color you want to change" to "Click on a color in the image below to select the color you want to change then click the new desired color from the colors list".
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 10, 2011 11:31AM
Oh, wording will be the very last problem.
So far, I'm really interested in how to make it clear and useful, This mainly involve the flow I'm using, as well as the GUI.
Glad you like it.
However, wroding changed too smiling smiley
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 10, 2011 12:25PM
Love it, if we can keep making changes like this, RTD will be #1 in the market soon!
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 10, 2011 12:30PM
One thought. How does this work when someone uploads lets say a jpg that has hundreds of colors in it but it is actually suppose to look like a one color design. Will it select an exact RGB value or does it have a little more freedom to select what all should be selected that looks lets say "red". This could be very useful if it did select what looks all one color in order to help users that cannot figure out how to reduce their image colors.
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 10, 2011 07:12PM
This recolor thing only works with physical unique colors.
The server cannot know how things suppose to look like, it's a machine.
So, in case of a jpg with hundred colors, the recolor tool would simply refuse to work (it currently accept only image with max 16 unique colors).

However, we do already have a color reduction tool in there: if you upload a jpg, you will have both a link and a button to launch the tool to reduce colors.

So, technically, the tools needed to do what you're asking are already there.
Eventually it could be a matter of mixing them in some different way. Do you have any flow in mind to propose?
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 10, 2011 09:00PM
Alex,
Yeah I knew about the color reduction tool, I was just proposing what you were saying of combining the two which makes sense.
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 10, 2011 09:35PM
I'm currently thinking about that. There are so many features being tested now, but features like this one should really have the highest priority now.
Looks like that with few simple changes we can make everything far nicer and intuitive, which is probably wanted by everyone. Plus, it's kinda intriguing!

I'll let you know about how this test will develop
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 11, 2011 08:56AM
New test for you to try.
It's about the mix with color reduction tool.
Wording can be naturally changed, but I'd like to discuss the flow I'm testing.
here are the steps to perform.

1) again, start here:
http://testserver.realtimedesigner.com/screenprint/index.php&tng=Y3BpPTU5OQ==

2) Add a custom clipart through the "add art" button, "Upload/Browse your own files" command
Don't upload something big, not needed to do stress tests. The kind of image you want to upload are like the ones metnioned by mycustomhoodies, so "a jpg that has hundreds of colors in it but it is actually suppose to look like a one color design".

3) Once loaded, add it to design and click the color wheel to popup up the recolor window.
The current behavior of RTD now was to refuse recoloring it because there are too many unique colors.
However, there is now a new link, which is today's test.
That's naturally the new "Click here to reduce colors" you'll see in the same page telling you there are too many colors.
Just click it.

Actually, that link acts slightly different from the normal colod reducing tool.
It will force recolor mode, so you will just have the option of selecting which are the physical colors you want in your image.
When done, the only thing you can do (other than exiting), is to click the "Create the New Image and Return to Recolor Window".
Clicking that will actually perform 3 steps.

1st is to create a new recolored image, just as that tool normally does;
2nd is to change the clipart used in designer, so that the recolored version will be used replacing the original one;
3rd, you will be redirected again to the initial recolor window. But this time it will be about a reduced colors image, so it will work!

Long story short, with this process user will simply be guided to the process that will allow him to recolor those kind of images.

Let me know!
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 11, 2011 04:41PM
Sounds pretty close to what I think would be functional. Here is what custom ink does and I think it works really well. Click on this link and then upload an image and watch how they walk you through it:

http://www.customink.com/lab/

The biggest thing with theirs is i don't think it actually recolors the image anymore (it used to do this). Now they just make you pick colors that are close to what you want. I still want it to recolor in ours as that is very useful but i really like the flow of this so that from the very beginning it is determining what colors are used and how many colors before it is ever entered into a design. That way, when a user goes to enter it into a cart, there is no confusion at the end like "Why do I have hundreds of colors in my design?" If you address the color issue before it even gets onto the design, it alleviates a lot of frustration for the user.
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 14, 2011 10:37AM
Ok, another new small test added.
Probably I will make this optional at company level, as such an action would be needed only in case of screenprinting.

If you try now to upload your own jpg, once the upload finishes you will be shown an new intermediate page.
It's probably to be reworded (using Customink's text for the test), but it's actually a simple page in which you can inform your customers that reducing colors would be a good idea... and 2 buttons.
One to recolor, and one to skip the step.

Note that, if this will be approved, you will have a fully editable text label for that text.

Again, Let me know!
cos
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 14, 2011 05:31PM
Good for screenprinting and probably a few other things like etching and engraving.

Looks good. I loaded a vector clip and then a jpg. Works as advertised. Fully editable text label will be great.

Thanks
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 14, 2011 05:41PM
Great!
I will do some finetunings to it, I expect to put this in production during next weekend.
Other comments in the meanwhile are welcome as usual.
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 14, 2011 09:59PM
I really like this feature! Customink did some great thinking....and paved the way....glad to see more features!! Look for my update in new thread about Baby...
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 15, 2011 12:15PM
Alex, definitely heading in the right direction. Here is my question though - Why can't you not use the recolor thing where you actually click on locations on the image to recolor it right when you first upload it. I am assuming it has to do with it being vectorized and put into the designer first? I feel like that would really help if once it was uploaded and you are reducing the colors if you could click on colors in the image like you can when it is already in the designer. Cause as of right now you can reduce the colors, but then you have no control over which colors are changed to what thus causing some users to leave out of frustration. Just a thought. I am sure it is really complicated and that is why you have yet to implement it.
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 16, 2011 10:09AM
Actually, I was testing something similar. But technically it's a bit more complex than how it looks.

When you first upload the image, number of unique colors is probably still high.
The tool allowing click on locations already uses only images with a low number of unique colors, so it's just about selecting which color you want to edit. But on fresh uploads, a normal one-to-one color replacement would not be possible: I'll need to add also a tolerance level, so clicking on a "black" will actually select all colors that are also close to that "balck".

While this would not be of much trouble on simple cliparts (IE, arrows or shapes), this method would be absolutely inappropriate in case or REAL truecolor images, as pictures. I have to consider also those kind of files could be submitted, and there's no way I can let servers know if an uploaded clipart is more likely an icon or a picture.

On the other hand, the current method is actually able to recolr even pictures: it just work on thresholds against the colors you selected.
So, I'm now looking if I can find any way to do some sort of "color count" on first uploads by applying tolerance levels. Then, I could so something like the idea you proposed only in case this operation will return a low number of colors. At the end, I'm trying to force a sort of automatic color reduction to acceptable levels immediately after first upload, but this is not a very easy task. Will keep you updated on progresses.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2011 10:10AM by Alex.
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 16, 2011 11:08AM
Alex,
I knew it wouldn't be easy so take your time. If we can get this to work right, the designer will be amazing. You are the best!
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 23, 2011 10:25AM
ARGH!

I need to wait for "the idea". Feel like there's a good way to do that, but still have to figure it out.
I was able to obtain some results, but all need toomany inputs from users. And I cannot expect users to be too much tech-savy, so doing something like "click multiple times on your image to define your colors and set a tolerance ratio for each click" would probably be too much.

I guess I will need to look at sort of average based on the kind of context.
Normally, every color-reduction tool would be needed only in case the uploaded image is a clipart, while it should not even be shown as an option in case of normal photos or, in general, non-cliparts images.

An extra possible thought: what if, immediately after the upload, I ask the user if his image is to be considered a "few colors clipart" or a "fullcolor image"?
Doing this, I would at least reduce the possible problems, because a clipart SHOULD have better defined colors, evenif in need of a tolerance level to be correctly processed.

What do you think?
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 24, 2011 07:30AM
Silly me.... what I was aking is precisely what I've already done!
It's just a matter of wording.... nevermind smiling smiley
Going back to finetuning!
Re: Testing a new feature: new clipars recolor!
November 24, 2011 01:01PM
Back agin with some news and a net test.
I have added a ned mode, called "Auto Color Reduction Mode".

With it, instead of selecting which colors you want to be used in your clipart, system will do its best to create a new clipart with the number of selected colors.
I tried the new mode with some images and it behaved well, with clipart-like images.

So far, it simply asks you one thing: how many colors

For the time being, I'd like to know for you how you feel the results of that tool. If fine as it was for me, it will be time to rethink a little bit the entire color reduction screen to make an easier-to-use interface for all of the available methods.

Naturally, that option is available both in the normal color reduction popup as well as in the new step we made recently (the one that appears immediately after uploading a new image)

Happy Thanksgiving!
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