All user tests were conducted in full-screen mode which meant that no user could access the menu bar (this should be changed until next user test so that the menu bar “auto hides” in full-screen mode).

1. All participants requested layers (we have layers but no UI for it, yet).
2. Although no participants explicitly said so, all of them would have enjoyed a brush-preview when they where adjusting the brush settings.
3. All of the participants instantly understood how to use the new color picker (wheel + triangle) and two of the participants loved it more then any other color picker they have ever used.
4. All participants seamed to like the new default eraser (its own context plus pressure sensitive diameter).
5. Two of the participants complained that the diameter slider was “too sensitive to get the exact diameter you want” and one of them requested being able to enter the diameter numerically from the keyboard (current diameter slider: 207 pixels wide, from 0.5 to 1500 with gamma 2.5).
6. Two of the participants did not know what the difference between Flow and Opacity is and could not figure it out even after some testing.
7. All of the participants used the Hardness parameter quite a lot.
8. Two of the participants requested being able to change the background color (currently possible, but only from the console).
9. Two of the participants asked if it would be possible to select and move a portion of the canvas (not currently possible).
10. Two of the participants tried to hit the Z key when they were told to zoom (doesn’t work).
11. One participant tried to “double click” the space-bar when told to snap the view (doesn’t work).
12. None of the participants noticed the “zoom box” at the lower left corner even after they were asked to zoom.
13. All participants seamed to like the rotate-canvas-feature and understood how to move the pivot point.
14. One of the participants asked “what is the current DPI?” (he knew he was at 100% zoom but he didn’t realize that’s how you are suppose to know the resolution you are at).
15. All of the participants loved the draw-straight-line feature but requested more advanced functionality. One of the participants (Kalle) requested being able to draw curves in a similar fashion and told us it’s very important to be able to offset the curve, without changing it, to draw repeating patterns.
16. Two of the participants requested being able to get some sort of “A4-paper reference” that just hovered above the canvas.
17. None of the participants realized that you could move around the color picker and brush settings window.
18. We forgot to test if the user realized that it was possible to pan around the canvas using the rulers.
19. One of the participants thought the F key would be more logical for flip-horizontal then the H key.

1. Martin loved being able to rotate the canvas but didn’t like the shortcut Space+Shift. Martin usually rotated the canvas in a way that made it possible to move the hand in a back-and-forth (as opposed to left-right) direction while painting.
2. Martin loved the draw straight line tool and was able to find the shortcut himself (Shift).
3. Martin used the eraser a lot, both as a painting effect and a way of undoing mistakes. Martin likes to work with an eraser with a large diameter as well a smaller one.
4. Martins brush setting of choice for sketching was a hard round 24 pixel wide brush at 36% zoom with a light blue color.
5. Martin liked to outline his sketch with a hard black brush with a diameter that depends on pressure (not possible on the current version).
6. Martin requested the “multiply blending mode” between layers.

Yesterday, Daniel & Max was over and we did a user test on Daniel. Here is a list on things that probably should get addressed:

1. Daniels initial reaction after lunching the application was something along the line: “What tool, brush and color do I currently have and how do I change it?” Daniel eventually figured all of this out, but it was not obvious from the start.
2. When Max was experimenting around in Leonardo he zoomed out to ~15% and continue painting without realizing that he was at ~15% zoom. This was never a problem for Daniel though.
3. Daniel wanted to draw a straight line but never figured out how to do it (it is obviously impossible for the user to know to hold down Q). Once I told him how to do it he instantly loved the way the “draw straight line tool” worked.
4. When Daniel got the task: “convert your current painting to gray-scale” he did not realize that the command “Luminosity” under Filters does this.
5. Both Daniel and Max wanted to create a new Canvas and start searching for “New…” under the File menu, but is not there…
6. By mistake Max eyedropped white, he then resumed painting but did not realize he was painting with white and asked why nothing was happening.
7. When Daniel was switching to Finite Canvas he thought it was strange that the canvas boundary did not get aligned with his current view.
8. When Daniel should flip the image he flipped it vertically when he was supposed to flip it horizontally (an icon should probably make this much more obvious).

I have defined 3 primary user cases for Leonardo:

1. Lean Forward – the user sits in front of his PC or Mac with his right hand on the Wacom and the left hand on the keyboard. The user might drag-n-drop tabs and files, using the built in console and other “advanced” stuff.
2. Lean Backward – the user sits in a sofa with a wireless Wacom in his lap while doodling on his big screen TV. The user might not have “easy” access to the keyboard and the TV might be far away which makes small things harder to see.
3. Doodling in a public place – the user is doing some rough sketching on his iPad on the subway, in a cafe or public park. When the user gets back home he wants to continue on his PC or Mac with minimum fuzz.

I believe the second user case really is the future of digital doodling and less hardcore painting. I realized this after seeing two of my friends throwing out their stationary PCs and now is doing everything in front of their TVs with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

This has convinced me to buy a big screen TV, a Mac Book Air, an iPad and a wireless Intuos.