Control Panel Redesign

UPDATE: Please disregard Options #1 and #2 as they will not be used anymore.I've added 11 images (attached at the bottom of the page) that show the most recent design for the control panel. While the text hasn't been finalized, the layout and look of the pages will most likely be very similar to what is shown below.

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This is the moment I know you've all been waiting for...the Control Panel is getting a makeover! And we need your help.

I'm Jessica, the User Experience Designer, here to give the Deki Wiki interface a much needed redesign. I'm tackling the Control Panel right now, so if any of you would like to be involved with usability testing (which can be done remotely) or just give feedback, please send me a message!

I want to make your experience with the Control Panel to be easy, not frustrating. Have a pet peeve? Wish we'd add a feature? Start critiquing the heck out of this thing! The more we hear from you, the better it will be. So here's your chance to vent about what's been bugging you (and praise us for what you may like).

In case any of you have been scared away from the Control Panel and completely forgotten what it looks like, it looks something like this (depending on the skin):

The Control Panel will be a tool all on its own that isn't affected by skins or custom edits to your other pages.

This is what I think needs the most attention right now:

• Cleaning up the terminology and replacing useless explanations/definitions with definitions that actually help you
• Improving the overall navigation
• Moving the "hidden" news feed on the main page to a better location on the page as well as making it easier to read
• Better organization and grouping of all elements and functions within the panel

Here are my initial solutions:

Option #1

Option #2

I've organized all of the functions into 4 groups, making it easier for the user to find information quickly. The functions within each group may be simplified even more down the road, but for now at least, they're in the appropriate place.

Both layout options have a Basic and Advanced view of the settings within a group, which can be Shown/Hidden with a button on the top right (denoted by the gear icon). This will reduce clutter for those who choose not to use the more advanced settings, and expand the settings for those who want to see everything. The setting you choose (either Basic or Advanced) will remain set on all subsequent pages within the Control Panel that you open. So for the sake of this example, let's assume that we want to see all advanced options.

Also, Option #2 has the "About" page listed directly below the Control Panel, which may also be a show/hide feature.

Let's look at a few sample pages from both layouts...

User Management #1:

Role Management #1:

Logo & Skins #2:

Any and all comments are welcome so don't be shy! And thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback.