This evening I was watching the Nascar Coca Cola Zero 400 on TNT. This is the first time I have watched a race on TNT this season. Their coverage for this race they called “wide open”. As I was watching the race I was getting very irritated by how much of the screen was taken up by the lower third even when there was no additional information being displayed.
Figure 1: Original Layout
In Figure 1 the race was displayed in the section labelled Video. The Ad section was usually a static version of some sponsor. The Leader board was displayed on the top section. The lower portion of the lower 3rd was used on occassion for additional information. When it was not used it was just gray and wasted space. This lower section could have been designed better by just allowing it to collapse when there was no additional information.
The other issue I had with the coverage was these popup commercials throughout the presentation.
Figure 2: Video Ads
I personally think this is very distractive from what I am trying to watch. I actually would rather prefer to have it on the side not overlapping my viewing area so if I wanted to ignore it I could, but with where it is located it just covers the track up.
Here is a possible better layout in my opinion.
These issues happen constantly in applications today, especially the web. The more moving content there is and overlap of content you take away from the User Experience. It is important that you ensure the information the user wants to see is clear and in focus. Overlapping content causes distractions and makes the interface seem cluttered. In today’s society we already have information overload with all of the different sources we have for information, why do we have to make the information even harder to follow.
When you are designing interfaces please keep them clear and concise.
NOTE: I did take pictures of the interface that TNT used but decided based on their statement at the end of the broadcast it would not be proper to use them in this way either based on their verbiage.