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Viewing "New York in Plain Sight"
New York in Plain Sight is a large-scale photographic survey of everyday life on Manhattan’s streets and sidewalks by photographer Richard Howe. Here at OJC Technologies we have been cooking up ideas for how to present this amazing photographic collection online. The possibilities include a traditional Google Map-style presentation to navigate the city, a keyword search interface, or a directional/spatial way for people to travel up and down Manhattan's avenues.
As visitors browse this online photo collection we believe they will want to share pictures of locations that have meaning to them with friends and family. Using e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and other tools, we expect that sharing the collection could become a social experience. In the blog post below we describe seven approaches to navigate and share this outstanding collection. How would you want to navigate these photos? Comment below with your ideas.
Google Map
A map interface could allow users to navigate Manhattan and click on any intersection to find photos at that location. Google Maps provides a good web-based platform for this, and Yahoo has an alternative with a slightly more artistic interface.
Simple Search
A basic keyword search would allow visitors to type in street names and see small thumbnails of results that link to the larger versions.
Keyword/Content Search
The Simple Search could be expanded to allow arbitrary keyword searching. The ability to do "AND" and "NOT" within a search would allow visitors to get creative. A search for photos "above Chambers Street" could be smart enough to pull up photos based on North-South and East-West position.
Mobile Location-Specific Experience
Users on a mobile phone that provides location awareness can be presented with the nearby intersection photos.
Blogging
Blogging tools can provide a story-telling capability for people to share recollections and memories from different intersections and photos in the collection.
Social Sharing
OJC recommends providing capabilities for 'email to a friend', 'share on Facebook', and 'share on Twitter'. As visitors navigate this photo collection, we expect they will want to share photos and personal stories and that this will greatly increase the exposure and reach of the collection.
Directional Navigation
At any point when viewing any photo or search result, we recommend providing a simple direction-based navigation, such as the mockup below, to move through Manhattan. The website can show 4 buttons to move one block in each direction, and show buttons to turn to see the other 3 views of the intersection. A user-friendly layout would really allow people to move through the city in a natural way. They would feel that they were oriented in a particular direction and could turn and walk a block at any time.
What do you think? How would you like to navigate and delve into this amazing collection of photographs?
