Shapeways Rebranding

[m0rris]

Evening all,

 

I see that for some reason Shapeways have decided to undertake a significant rebranding exercise with the blue being replaced by red all over the place... I can't say I am a particular fan and it has made a lot of simple processes significantly longer.

 

After going through the community forum there it seems that there quite a large number of changes and alterations being made to the site, is it under new leadership? I can't say I am too impressed, its making it difficult to upload and buy my own designs (which is what I went online to do tonight) - I hope I am just being a luddite and that this wont become a major issue for all customers across the site!

Edited August 6, 2018 by m0rris

[AndyID]

Evening all,

 

I see that for some reason Shapeways have decided to undertake a significant rebranding exercise with the blue being replaced by red all over the place... I can't say I am a particular fan and it has made a lot of simple processes significantly longer.

 

After going through the community forum there it seems that there quite a large number of changes and alterations being made to the site, is it under new leadership? I can't say I am too impressed, its making it difficult to upload and buy my own designs (which is what I went online to do tonight) - I hope I am just being a luddite and that this wont become a major issue for all customers across the site!

 

I see what you mean. It took me a little time to find my models too.

[rue_d_etropal]

Not sure why the colour changed, but the text does look bigger. Maybe red (looks more pink on my screen!) stands out better on some screens. Wonder if they are making mods to suit smaller screens. Pleased I have my own front end website, as it takes me directy to where I need to go.

Looking at info provided(email?), I think they are trying to make it run faster, for updates etc. Not sure if that is atually happening, as I have just upgradedmy internet connection which has made most things faster anyway. The area that still slows me down is the online design checking, but sometimes it is really fast.

Edited August 6, 2018 by rue_d_etropal

[MGR Hooper!]

They notified us of these changes in an email last week. Anyone who has a Shapeways account would've received an email detailing all the changes.

 

I've not seen the new changes yet.

[AndyID]

They notified us of these changes in an email last week. Anyone who has a Shapeways account would've received an email detailing all the changes.

 

I've not seen the new changes yet.

 

Thanks! It probably got lost in the blizzard of emails I get from Shapeways.

[MGR Hooper!]

Thanks! It probably got lost in the blizzard of emails I get from Shapeways.

Yes, they do seem to send many unwanted emails.

[JCL]

The answer might lie here - new broom and all that. https://www.shapeways.com/forum/t/announcing-new-shapeways-chief-executive-officer.96641/

 

Unfortunately the homepage design is a bit pants, and doesn’t look great on an iPad. Haven’t got into the functionality yet.

Edited August 7, 2018 by JCL

[Metr0Land]

Is it me?  I can't find any of my old orders or conversations on this new version.

[CarriageShed]

Thanks! It probably got lost in the blizzard of emails I get from Shapeways.

 

And I don't get any, despite checking my settings to make sure that I should. This redesign is a bit clunky. The logo choice alone is... unfortunate.

[Spitfire2865]

Because when you run an online business you never contact your actual users for input on chances before you actually roll them out...Maybe we could call it a "Beta"?

Utter incompetence on Shapeways part.  

[Metr0Land]

Is it me?  I can't find any of my old orders or conversations on this new version.

 

Found it.  On the home page where it says  DESIGN  MAKE  SELL there are 9 small blocks to the left that look like a logo.  If you hover over this you will see orders and messages.  Pity they couldn't have thought about how users would actually use the glossy new website and what their reuqirements might be.  Consult the users?  What do they know?

[Spitfire2865]

Found it.  On the home page where it says  DESIGN  MAKE  SELL there are 9 small blocks to the left that look like a logo.  If you hover over this you will see orders and messages.  Pity they couldn't have thought about how users would actually use the glossy new website and what their reuqirements might be.  Consult the users?  What do they know?

Its not like your users make your business work or anything! Its like youtube constantly making "improvements" (a fancy new word for completely screwing over the primary creators that make the website interesting and worthwhile.)

Also the "DESIGN MAKE SELL" buttons are completely useless for anyone looking to BUY products. The marketplace has now been moved to the BOTTOM of the page under "Services".

It appears "DESIGN" functions similar to the forum "Find a designer" function, "MAKE" is just ANOTHER way to upload, and "SELL" is a shortcut to make a store.  

Edited August 7, 2018 by Spitfire2865

[rue_d_etropal]

I had to order some items yesterday, so tried the new buttons, which took me round the houses, so went back to my own website which had direct links to each item, rather than taking me via the edit page.

Looks more like someone has done a quick(botched) modification or some reason. In efect I think it has done the opposite of what they want, and that is to brose their website to find stuff.Problem is that , like any large database based system, finding things is not that easy. One reason why we referred to these SQL systems as Quickbuild(the name they marketed the system), Slow Run. That was 30 years ago, and the software has not got that much better. My own webpage is in effect an alternate index, which has been shown to be the fastest way to get where you want. Having said that, I do need to rejig some of my pages as they are starting to get cluttered.

[Spitfire2865]

I had to order some items yesterday, so tried the new buttons, which took me round the houses, so went back to my own website which had direct links to each item, rather than taking me via the edit page.

Looks more like someone has done a quick(botched) modification or some reason. In efect I think it has done the opposite of what they want, and that is to brose their website to find stuff.Problem is that , like any large database based system, finding things is not that easy. One reason why we referred to these SQL systems as Quickbuild(the name they marketed the system), Slow Run. That was 30 years ago, and the software has not got that much better. My own webpage is in effect an alternate index, which has been shown to be the fastest way to get where you want. Having said that, I do need to rejig some of my pages as they are starting to get cluttered.

On the forums, the staff keep spouting how "most customers find products via direct links rather than searching through shapeways" as an excuse to absolutely destroy what basic marketplace there was before.  Screw actually fixing the search system or allowing you to search by most of the options available when setting up a product listing...

[m0rris]

On the forums, the staff keep spouting how "most customers find products via direct links rather than searching through shapeways" as an excuse to absolutely destroy what basic marketplace there was before.  Screw actually fixing the search system or allowing you to search by most of the options available when setting up a product listing...

What is particularly annoying about that is that I will routinely go to buy an item and then have a little browse before I hit checkout in case there is something new that tickles my fancy. The clunkier the set up, the less likely I am to give that extra 5% of sales to Shapeways every time.

[Spitfire2865]

What is particularly annoying about that is that I will routinely go to buy an item and then have a little browse before I hit checkout in case there is something new that tickles my fancy. The clunkier the set up, the less likely I am to give that extra 5% of sales to Shapeways every time.

They call us "partners", oh how Id love to laugh in their faces.

Their current changes and attitude towards their primary users makes it seem almost as if they dont WANT people to "SHOP" at Shapeways, but ONLY use it as a 3D printing service.

[rue_d_etropal]

Ultimately if Shapeways make it more difficult to 'shop' then less gets sold and so they willl lose money. Does not make sense. Sounds like the attitude taken by supermarkets to move things around results in customers finding new items, when in practice it annoys more people, whio have to search for what they want, and if they can't find it, they don't buy it.

I will sometimes have a browse to see what else is of interest on Shapeways, partly to check no-one has done something I am planning, and also looking for ideas for new items. Might be called doing some market research.

Trouble with a lot of my stuff, in particular the track system, there was a lot of it, and it needed to be properly indexed. SQL search and display was putting it in a random sequence, making it far more difficult for potential customers to work out what was what. The images are not that clear. The easier it is  for people to find something, the better it is , not just for me, but also Shapeways.

Looking at the way their database was designed, it was obviously mainly for those with far fewer designs than I have, so the bog standard search system would work OK. They eventually changed the default 'looping' value after I mentioned searching my own list was returning 'not found' . It was only then that I remembered it being mentuoned 30 years ago when I worked on some of the first SQL systems.

Trouble is that these days those working in IT, have less awareness, it seems, of how the systems work. They just expect to be able to call up a routine, and it to return what they want. Agin that was something we were warned about in the early days. You will get some results, but not necessarlily the ones you want.

[JCL]

Hi Simon, I agree a fair bit with what you have to say, but on a couple of your points I'm afraid I have to differ."They just expect to be able to call up a routine, and it to return what they want." - as one of those 'they', I can't see the problem with this. As long as the routine does what it's supposed to do, then it would be silly and expensive to keep reinventing the wheel. Using pre-tested routines (because you certainly wouldn't use routines that haven't been tested) means that less new code will be written, and therefore, we are far less likely to introduce errors into the code. Which leads me to "You will get some results, but not necessarlily the ones you want." - which is why we have testing.

 

I think it's too easy to blame the IT department when something like this happens. The IT department might have implemented this, but would not have signed off on it at the end. They would also have had nothing to do with the comms. piece. Given the wholesale changes to the functionality of the site, and the changes to the brand, this must a project that must have been initiated and signed off by the senior management if not the board.

 

Very very simply, one of the driving forces of proper change management is the process of talking to interested parties to find out what the current situation is, and then to identify the ideal situation. Next, you use many different methods to ensure that everyone understands what's going on and that (enough) people are happy with it. This is a company that has failed to do any of this. Maybe they think they don't need to because they have what is effectively a monopoly. I remember when Blockbuster was in the same position

Edited August 10, 2018 by JCL

[MGR Hooper!]

I'm not against the re-branding exercise, For starters I like the colour. Their older website had it's flaws also and was so bland to look at. So I like the new colourful setup. However it's lost it's functionality.

 

What I really want Shapeways to improve and change is their shipping options and costs. They insist on using UPS only, I cannot afford to pay anything between $15 and $30 for shipping (depending on where I am) for 3D prints that cost barely $5. And I also don't think it's fair to give some people an option of cheaper shipping and not others. Most people who have options are ones who reside in Europe and America and already had cheaper options to begin with.

 

I cannot even order and deliver elsewhere because Shapeways will only deliver goods to the country where your credit card/debit card is registered.

[CarriageShed]

You will get some results, but not necessarily the ones you want.

 

As a non-programmer, that's always been my experience with searching on Shapeways. It can be intensely frustrating and rarely results in a long search. I can probably get better results by entering a Google search.

[rue_d_etropal]

I have simpathy with anyone outside Europe and the USA. I would hope that Shapeways would set up, or at least have an arrrangement with more 3D printing facilities in other countries. Ultimately this is one of the big advantages of 3D printing. Not only does tis result in reducing transportation, but it also gets round many of the importation tax problems(until someone decides to tax virtual items!).

 

Changing the colour does not bother me. Companies are always making this type of change. It does seem to be more difficult to use , and I can't understand why any company would do that. Given the speed it was done in(not much warning, if any), then I wonder if there was some more serious problem (security linked) , and something had to be done quickly.

 

From my own experience working in IT, including  some well known companies, I probablty know more about how systems are developed than some. IT departments were in a good position to say what should happen. We tended to work across many departments, and could see patterns. If we recommended something, chances are that we would get the go ahead. Problems usually only arise when someone outside the IT department is pushing to get their own way.

We also had advantage that we could get inside both the code and the data. These days many systems are written too far back from the real world, and too many assumptions are made. It is unfortunately one big problem with what is referred to as 'object oriented' programming. My reference to not necessarily getting results you expect, is somethin said to me 30 years ago , by some of those developing the original SQL sysems, ie the tech people who knew. ONe aim was to stop programs falling over(and therefore stopping normal buiness the following day), but at the cost of potentially incorrect results being produced. I can see why this idea was dreamed up, but unpredictable errors are far more damaging.

[JCL]

I agree on the shipping - shipping to Canada is hideously expensive considering that the models are printed not that far south of the border. CarriageShed, there are a few websites that I use where I have to do a google search instead. If anyone wants to do this, you just type in site:<sitename> keywords. So, an example would be site:shapeways.com Furness. You can then click on Images to see the models. It's not perfect, but it might help.

 

---

 

Hi Simon, either on purpose or by accident, I’m afraid you appear to be missing the point entirely, and your experience from 30 years ago (around when I first started), whether or not it was with household names, doesn't extrapolate to what's going on in the industry now.

 

'These days many systems are written too far back from the real world, and too many assumptions are made' - not by companies that know what they're doing. Assumptions aren't made, code is tested.

'one big problem with what is referred to as 'object oriented' programming' - which has nothing to do with anything, as that code too is tested.

'unpredictable errors are far more damaging.' - I agree, which is why we test.

'IT departments were in a good position to say what should happen. We tended to work across many departments, and could see patterns. If we recommended something, chances are that we would get the go ahead. Problems usually only arise when someone outside the IT department is pushing to get their own way.' - If you swap out 'IT department' and replace with 'the company' I would say that this is precisely why Shapeways has made such a hash of things.

 

 

If you were talking about Shapeways, and companies like them, I would agree with a couple of points you've made. I also understand why you think everything was better in 'the good old days', but you really should't go about tarnishing the industry as a whole because this company doesn't know how to manage its website development properly.

 

I don't think there's anymore to say, as I've a feeling we are too far apart on this.

Edited August 11, 2018 by JCL

[brian777999]

Does everybody else have to go through that stupid ''click on the road signs'' and then ''click on the roads'' every time they sign in ? It is driving me nuts and I could not be bothered any more.

[JCL]

I’m afraid so Brian. It took me a while to get in and I went onto cars because I failed to identify all the bits of cut up signs.

[MGR Hooper!]

Does everybody else have to go through that stupid ''click on the road signs'' and then ''click on the roads'' every time they sign in ? It is driving me nuts and I could not be bothered any more.

 

 

I’m afraid so Brian. It took me a while to get in and I went onto cars because I failed to identify all the bits of cut up signs.

 

 

Yes, it's most annoying. When I select the blocks that contain small parts of the signs it makes me do more of those. Then it goes onto roads and cars and all that nonsense. On many occasions Shapeways' website will say my login details are invalid even when they're correct (I know this because I have copy-pasted the details on multiple occasions and got varied results). Shapeways' website and shipping cots leave a lot to be desired. At this moment in time even their new names for the materials are annoying me!

Edited August 11, 2018 by MGR Hooper!