If you like finding exactly what you want, you’re going to love what’s coming to the Widen CollectiveⓇ in 2021. In Q1, we’re offering a new way to find assets called the Asset Digest. It offers new and effective options for finding and managing your assets.
Our research uncovers a common style of information seeking
Over the past few years, we’ve conducted many field studies and user prototype tests to better understand how you and your users search and find the right assets. During that research, we observed how users navigate between searching and browsing to find the assets they need.
Finding assets
We learned that users find assets through a style of information seeking called berrypicking. In this process, they make modifications to their initial search by browsing the assets in their search results. They flow between searching via search terms and clicking into groupings in the results to gain more information.
The Asset Digest feature supports berrypicking by allowing search to be an iterative, non-linear process. Users are able to:
- Use related assets to uncover other relevant assets
- Click through categories to quickly explore other assets
- Associate assets by collections, portals, and products to view all of the assets grouped together, get a bird’s-eye view of assets, and browse other asset groupings
Verifying assets
To select the right asset for a project, you often need to view its metadata. We tested many Asset Digest prototypes to identify a clean, simple layout that displays the details needed to decide if it’s the right asset. This includes:
- An enhanced asset preview space to assess the visual quality of the asset
- A simplified metadata field display to understand any restrictions and usage needs when using the asset
Downloading assets
Once you’ve identified the right asset for a project, you can download it. As we researched user behavior in our download process, we discovered that people aren’t always certain which file format is best for their project. They often download several formats via trial and error to determine which one is actually needed. To improve this process, we added new functionality to the download options:
- On-demand, web-friendly formats for images: Users can enter the file dimensions, quality, and format to get the correct file immediately.
- Custom conversion formats delivered via email: Users can leverage all the granularity and file transformation powers of the Collective without the wait. They can create conversion formats with specified color profiles, clipping paths, and audio and video transcoding settings. And rather than wait for the conversion in real time, they receive an email when it’s ready to download.
Opt in to try the new experience
You might be thinking, “This sounds great, but what’s the catch?” Well, there is one thing to consider: the new Asset Digest feature will change your current user interface, which may impact your task workflows. To navigate this change, you are able to opt in or out of the Asset Digest in a new user preferences section of your user profile. While the Asset Digest will improve the findability of assets for many people, we know it may not be the best fit for others.
If you decide to enable the Asset Digest feature, you’ll see it when you click an asset thumbnail from search results or the activity feed. This does not impact the existing Asset Details page, access to Quick View, or your edit options. We’ll transition away from the Asset Details page over time, as we add more and new functionality for managing and editing assets.
You can modify your preferences and disable the Asset Digest at any time. If you do, we’ll ask for your feedback so we can determine if there are any opportunities for improvement.
When will this happen?
The Asset Digest will roll out throughout Q1 2021. You’ll receive a message in the Collective when this feature is available for you to enable.
