I thought I would start a series called makeover, where I will try to spend the least amount of time possible making-over a website or UI element. Why “least amount of time”? Because I want to show with just a little time, a designer/IA can greatly improve the usability and over all attractiveness.

Stats:

• makeover: Firefox Software Update Alert
• amount of time: 20 minutes
• tools: PhotoShop
• changes:visual, IA

Quick Notes:
When you first see the pop-up you’re not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. So I added a green “check” icon to indicate this is a positive thing. Next I put more emphasis on the version that is now released, when it was released and what version you are currently running. I also included the “What’s new?” section to give you an idea of why you should upgrade (instead of “we strongly recommend”). The disabling of extensions is a big deal for some users and should be called out more. By added a “alert” icon and adding a little red, you know this is something you should pay attention to. Finally I change the “Later” button to “Not Now” to match the “would you like to save this password” buttons elsewhere in Firefox.

The icons come from the free set at famfamfam (which i’m in love with…).