PicLens: 3D UI that works

PicLens is a browser add-on which allows photo galleries (including Flickr and Google image search) to be viewed in a three-dimensional display.

Apart from looking rather neat, it is proving to be an excellent interface for searching through images on the web. One benefit of the 3D view is that it allows you to zoom so that you can see a single image fill the screen, many smaller images together, or any size in between. Another nice feature is that a single click on the image, will load the full resolution image without changing the view. However, in my opinion, the number one feature is its progressive downloads; instead of clicking on a 'next' link to view another page of images, thumbnails simply load as you move to the right. It has made image searching so much faster for me.

The 3D desktop is a relatively new movement and generally gets an 'oh cool' type of response, but there are few 3D user interfaces that I've found to be really helpful. My favourite 3D application prior to PicLens was Google Earth. Overall, Google Earth provides a wonderful experience, but it has one important issue that keeps me from ever using it: it's a hassle to open up. It's only a minor barrier, but enough of a barrier to mean I use the simpler Google Maps in my browser instead.

fig 1: Hover over an image in google image search and a little play icon appears on the image, informing you that this page supports PicLens. Clicking the icon takes you into the 3D view (fig 2).

Lenspic does not have this issue.

First, it runs in the browser and opens instantly. Load times are a huge barrier when the actual task is a very quick one, so this is a huge plus.

But I think the smartest UI decision for PicLens was to provide a contextual link on websites that support it. If you do a Google image search, for example, you are likely to click on one of the images in order to view the full image. As you do so, a little play-icon will appear on the image reminding you that you can view these results in PicLens (see fig 1). Click that icon and you are transported into 3D mode.

It's an absolutely brilliant design decision because it helps form the habit of using the add-on. If a user has to think about using a new feature by going to a menu or clicking in a toolbar, they are less likely to start using it. But when you insert the new feature into the user's normal workflow, the habit of using it gets formed without trial.

fig 2: The PicLens three-dimensional view.

If Google Earth was as seamless, I would be using it a whole lot more.

Drupal already has a module to add support to a website (though I've not tried it yet).