I've been using Notable for a current website redesign project and I thought I'd share a few thoughts about it. Notable is a web-based service for sharing and providing feedback on design comps.

Like other, similar, services, its purpose is to speed up and organize the review process and make it easier to collect feedback from teams.

I am using the free version of Notable, which allows you to post up to 10 designs and lacks any of the organizational features that come with paid plans such as grouping designs into sets and managing multiple projects.

Most importantly (for me at least, when it comes to a web app), the UI is elegantly implemented, which makes using Notable intuitive and enjoyable to use. There are two main views for reviewing web page designs:

1. 'Feedback post view' (example) which serves as an overview of all the feedback on the comp along with any additional commentary.
2. 'Interactive view' (example) which displays the full size comp and is where feedback boxes can be added, edited and commented on.

It's extremely easy to add comps via a variety of methods (there is even a Photoshop plug-in); from there you just start drawing boxes and adding feedback in the form of notes. Comments can easily be added to notes as well as to the page as a whole. Sharing comps with other team members works as expected, with the option to send an email or copy a link.

The app is very responsive and I have had no problems with lag when adding feedback and moving around the application's screens.

Previously I have mainly used Basecamp for reviewing designs, which works well enough but lacks the ability to add your feedback exactly to the area in question. Notable is certainly a better tool in this respect.

The one area of disappointment for me with Notable is in its pricing. In order to unlock all of its functionality, including sets (arranging comps into groups) and workspaces (managing multiple projects) you must subscribe to the Premium plan, which at $49 per month is on the expensive side.

I would much prefer it if the cheaper, Basic plan gave you access to all of Notable's functionality but limited you in other ways — say, in terms of storage or number of users (which is how Basecamp works).

Overall, I am very impressed by the functionality and utility of Notable — I only wish it were a little more lenient in terms of its pricing options.

Posted on: September 16, 2011 | 9 Comments

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