Thread: A Concept

..i didn't like the eye either..it was kinda ugly..like from an old person...

kinda odd coming from a guy who has an eye for a signature.

I think he was referring how that eye in particular looked old. I can sort of see what he means, like the skin around the eye... its really not though. It's a young woman's eye.

Dylan

Originally posted by Kaniaz
kinda odd coming from a guy who has an eye for a signature.

yea, but i consider my the eye in my sig to be more "pretty"

http://www.digital-delusion.com/styles_dem.../index.php?s=17

i like how that curved line protrudes into the bar above the banner; i think something like that could work for us. as i've said i wanted a grey bar at the top, and the grey buttons on the bottom (and, btw, the buttons in this example are probably close to the ones i'm going to make). anyway, our logo could be in/on top of the curved line on the left, and an image could be on the right, and obv. the colours and whatnot would be different, and OH MAN, maybe that would kick ass?

i've stolen (read: borrowed) some of planetsoul's template so that i can start working on the new design; ours will definitely come out looking a lot different, but i always need a foundation in which to start.

anyway, i've just played around a little bit so far, and i drew this up to give everyone an idea of what i'm aiming for:
.

right now the two things i'm working on are the background and the folder-top colour. i'm thinking perhaps i'll switch to getting a temporary banner up there (with the buttons), which might help further set the mood and make it easier to determine what works and what doesn't. basically i'm trying to take planetsoul's theme and make it brighter because i think it's too dark for us. anyway, if anyone else wants to do a print screen, throw it into your graphic editor and play around with it to see if you can come up with something that works, then either grab it off of planetsoul's site or use www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum.


peace out g

www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=1
www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=2
www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=3

or simply click on the banners after they appear to cycle through them.

i played a little more around with the new colours as well, but it's tricky with those folder colours not being right yet. i'm also not sure if the greys i've done (the horizontal lines background, and the plain grey on the sides of the forum's layout) are too dark.


oh...and i think the grey folder here with the lighter blue bar looks, well, i guess the best so far, but it's not right yet:



maybe it would look better if the dark lines separating the cells were white, but i don't feel like playing w/ it anymore tonight.

To be honest, I'm actually starting to dislike those two ones I made... quite a bit - and even more so when they're used in that design. They plain don't fit in my opinion. At the same time, although that first one (the original image) fits with the design well, it seems too "techy". With that new design in mind I might start tossing some new ideas around, but I am coming into " EXAM TIME ", so I won't be able to throw out concepts quite as quickly as I was able to before.

Also, I noticed in the top left corner of the header "tab" images, it seems like they were meant for a different background. Maybe they should be edited to match the current one. You probably realized that but I wanted to point it out just in case.

Take it easy,
Dylan

Originally posted by Dylan
Also, I noticed in the top left corner of the header \"tab\" images, it seems like they were meant for a different background. Maybe they should be edited to match the current one. You probably realized that but I wanted to point it out just in case.

yah, i haven't touched those because the colour for the folder tabs hasn't been decided yet, so i've been leaving them at their original colour. keep in mind that nothing has been decided yet, except for basically the grey bar at the top, the grey buttons, and that there will be folder tabs. colours and tones are still completely up in the air, and i'm hoping some people will have some good suggestions. esp. keep in mind that the final colours will be brighter than what's up there right now.


also, if someone else has a banner they'd like me to try, just let me know...it's very easy now for me to throw it up there w/ the others.

come on people, let's get some ideas rolling here and make this place look awesome! the template i've started with isn't by far a final product...it's just something to work with.

hey, i mentioned it elsewhere, but i kinda made a blue-ish sorta template, if you want i can upload it and let you see it.

alright peeps, i did a bunch of changes to the colours and whatnot; i think it looks much better now--and it's definitely closer to what i want--but i'm not convinced we're there yet. i really like it, but then i always do until i see something better or someone makes a suggestion. anyway, there's still some work to be done to make sure the fonts are readable, and i'm experimenting with colours and whatnot, and the footer has not been changed yet, and i haven't worked on any pages other than the index page. please check it out and give some comments! if no one says anything, this could very well become our new theme and maybe everyone will hate it. i'm wondering if it still needs to be lighter...regardless, it's much lighter than what i had before.

www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=1
www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=2
www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=3


also, again please feel free to experiment with it and come up w/ different colour tones, etc.




oh, and techboy: you're welcome to show us your theme, but i'm leaning more towards a grey/silver theme accented w/ blue (like what i've done so far).

Originally posted by icedawg
alright peeps, i did a bunch of changes to the colours and whatnot; i think it looks much better now--and it's definitely closer to what i want--but i'm not convinced we're there yet. i really like it, but then i always do until i see something better or someone makes a suggestion. anyway, there's still some work to be done to make sure the fonts are readable, and i'm experimenting with colours and whatnot, and the footer has not been changed yet, and i haven't worked on any pages other than the index page. please check it out and give some comments! if no one says anything, this could very well become our new theme and maybe everyone will hate it. i'm wondering if it still needs to be lighter...regardless, it's much lighter than what i had before.

www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=1
www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=2
www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/index.php?banner=3


also, again please feel free to experiment with it and come up w/ different colour tones, etc.




oh, and techboy: you're welcome to show us your theme, but i'm leaning more towards a grey/silver theme accented w/ blue (like what i've done so far).

The third one looks really good.

Just a note, when you mouse over the column with the forum name, it changes colour to something which makes it unreadable...and it doesn't change back.

IGNORE THIS: NOT WORKING. k.
anyway, the thing i did can be found at
http://dreamviews.com/artists/Techboy/theme/
feel free to tweak it if you wish. I deliberately went with the "simple" approach. All the colours and stuff are in the CSS.
I'm about to upload index2.html with the 3rd logo, cause i really like it.

edit: http://dreamviews.com/artists/Techboy/them...eme/index2.html
ignore the repeated header, i just can't be bothered fixing it. oh, and i can't need to get it black instead.

oh, and icedawg, take note that the main index is a .php file nothing...erm, bad...in it (i simply couldn't be bothered renaming it), but there could be, couldn't there.

Personally I prefer the current layout we have as opposed to those new ones. I didn't think the layout needed changing at all. I really like it. I thought only the top banner was going.

To be honest icedawg, I've gotta agree with lucidnina... quite strongly. Aside from a few possible colour changes and other minor touch ups, the forum layout is quite nice as it is. The look of the new designs that you're fiddling with now is most often seen on gaming forums and the likes. I really don't think it gives off the right atmosphere for a lucid dreaming forum. I remember what you said before, about how you didn't want the design to be too dark and sinister looking... now though, in my opinion, it seems even less inviting (in a different sort of way, but less inviting nonetheless), more cold and impersonal... not so welcoming... i guess, that "generic" metalic look. And definately lacking quite a bit of colour, the whole thing's silver despite a few blue bars.

Just my opinion ,
Dylan

I really like folder tabs and whatnot though, and I'm also rather excited about a new theme for the forum. so...If you don't like the new design I'm working on, start making suggestions on what can be improved.

Ok, well I don't want to insult anyone and I admire the amount of work that has been put into this, but this is just coming from the opinion of a real web designer so I hope you might take what I have to say as being worth something. These are the first impressions I get when I go through the new forum layout that you have suggested. Sorry it's kind of scattered, but here are all the things I came across that I thought could use fixing/tweaking.

the test forum thing turns a weird turquoise color when you roll over it and it doesnt turn back when you roll off it...personally...I like the current rollover states that we have at DV now they are alot more subtle.

the light grays, darker grays, and whites make the text somewhat difficult to read than on the site as it is now, also the text seems a bit small to me, like when it lists users online, mods, DGs, etc.

those buttons on the top "home, FAQ, Search, etc." look way too tall, they should be shortened alot

everything is spaced a bit too far apart as the folder tab things go

when i click on the thread I get all these different colors, i see dark turquoise gradients mixed with navy gradients and I don't think turquoise and navy mix together well at all (and using so many different gradients is just basic bad design) , also seems way too dark in comparison to the light gray background, maybe keep them the same as the nice lighter blues you have on the first page

also the white text is way too hard to read on this light gray background, esp. in the posts made within the thread, and those dark dividers between the posts seem too much contrast and don't really fit, maybe make them the same light blue as the first page?

also the secondary pages look completely different from the first page with the nice blues on it (I really liked the first page until I rolled over the thread)...maybe you should reconsider those darker colors and stick with the lighter blues

and when I click on a user there are all these gradients of different colors that are so dark and contrast too much, and the light gray text is too hard to read on the light gray background, and also the gray text inside the gradient headers aren't so easy on the eyes either

All in all I love the format we have at DV now, but if you do change it...please take into consideration some of the suggestions I've made. It will make it alot more user friendly and alot easier on the eyes. Let me know if anything I've made isn't clear and I can take screen shots or something as examples. Hopefully this made sense, I'm really tired.

Also, if I had to chose, I guess I'd pick the header from banner 3

Thanks!

i'm sorry, apparently i haven't been very clear:

1. i've only worked on the index page; no changes have been made specifically on the other pages so they should be ignored. i've posted the URLs simply because i'd like some opinions on what has already been done before i do more throughout the template. i'm not planning big changes throughout the rest of the theme with respect to what we have now (save for introducing consistency of course) so that's not something that really needs to be worried about; i'm mainly interested in giving us a new index page.

2. i haven't finished the index page but again just wanted comments thus far; anything that doesn't fit in (i.e. the turquoise colours) are from the original template and have not yet been modified...thus the footer needs to be changed, the lopin fields, and the cell-hilighting.

3. as i stated, i'm aware the text colours need to be more readable but i didn't want to spend a lot of time on them yet in case this design gets completely scrapped.


personally i think this design has a lot of potential, and also that if we had the right banner up there it would shed a more favourable light upon it. i think perhaps i need to lighten the colours up some more, but otherwise i think it looks very welcoming and much more appealing than our current forum index page. remember, the right banner will aid in making it feel more "welcoming."

oh...and i think i could look into making the buttons shorter.

alright, i've made a bunch more changes:

as lucidnina suggested:

- removed spaces between folders
- fixed font colours somewhat (but still experimenting with)
- cell hilightling adjusted
- two additional test banners with smaller buttons (although i'm not sure on the style i want yet...i just quickly did this)


i also made everything lighter once again (it really is significantly lighter, and uses many of the same grey tones in the current forum's design), and i adjusted a few more little things here and there. personally, i think it looks great. i'm kind of changing my mind on the banner and wondering if we can get something really neat up there.. i think that, along with the lighter colours, will make the forum more "welcoming." i don't know exactly what would look good up there...like maybe even some characters or whatnot? i really don't know. i'm open to suggestions though. regardless, the 'forex currency' one just isn't doing it for me and i really don't think it's doing justice to the theme.

so anyway, please check out the index page (just the index page) and everyone let me know what you think. not many are replying, and i'm closer and closer to making this our new theme, so if you don't like it or want somethign changed, now's the time to say something.

http://www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/in...ex.php?banner=4
http://www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/in...ex.php?banner=5
http://www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/in...ex.php?banner=1
http://www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/in...ex.php?banner=2
http://www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum/in...ex.php?banner=3

also, here is what the folders would look like with those little icons...i think the blue might need to be adjusted to match the design, but again i think they'll help make the forum feel "warmer":



finally, just some notes:

Sorry I haven't been tossing in my input, been preoccupied outside DV for a few days. Don't make any banner related descisions yet! Not until i've had a stab at it at least.

I want to try to make you a cool banner like that smooth looking one, and a footer if I could.

So, which one of those did you want to make the new theme?

I have to admit, it's starting to come along... maybe it's just grown on me? I don't remember what you changed, but it looks better than it did before. Maybe instead of shortening the buttons.... you could just get rid of them altogether. See how it looks with just the silver bar (like on the left side), and just extend it all the way. The buttons could just be text, but aligned to the right. To be honest I dont think the font colours aren't that bad, except for the ones you cant read obviously, and the ones at the bottom.

Also, What if you were to put a thin line on either side of the forum... since it's centered, it might make it fit in there a little nicer. If black is too dark, try a darker gray, like in the cell... Actually maybe even a little shadow.

Here's what I mean:


Doesn't seem right yet, but definately improving... getting there.

I'll probably have more suggestions later, but I'm heading to bed now. English final tomorrow.
Dylan

It's definitely coming along Ice. I'm just still having issues with those buttons on the top. I noticed that you shortened them, but they still don't really look right or fit with the design. They almost look like post-its stuck on this nice design. But I do think they should stand out rather than be totally aligned with the bar as in Dylan's version. Maybe you can keep them larger but add that nice cut off corner curved shape that the folders have...so it integrates more into the site. Maybe just do this to the first button...I dunno, give it a try?

Edit: Actually, now that I look at it again I do sort of prefer that they are lined up...like in Dylan's verson...otherwise they might not fit with the rest of the site design. Maybe you can make them stand out in another way.

Originally posted by Dylan
I have to admit, it's starting to come along... maybe it's just grown on me? I don't remember what you changed, but it looks better than it did before.

if anyone's really interested, this essentially marks the gradual evolution:






it seems to me it's gotten better and better as it's gotten brighter, and i'm wondering if it's still not quite bright enough? just a note that everyone should keep in mind that once we \"moved in\" (i.e. applied the theme to this board, so that we had 23423 forums on the main page) it would probably feel a lot more like \"home.\"

Originally posted by lucidnina+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lucidnina)</div>

It's definitely coming along Ice. I'm just still having issues with those buttons on the top. I noticed that you shortened them, but they still don't really look right or fit with the design. They almost look like post-its stuck on this nice design. But I do think they should stand out rather than be totally aligned with the bar as in Dylan's version. Maybe you can keep them larger but add that nice cut off corner curved shape that the folders have...so it integrates more into the site. Maybe just do this to the first button...I dunno, give it a try?

Edit: Actually, now that I look at it again I do sort of prefer that they are lined up...like in Dylan's verson...otherwise they might not fit with the rest of the site design. Maybe you can make them stand out in another way.[/b]

haha...yah, i'll have to come up with something that will work. i see what you mean about using the folder tab idea to get them to fit in...i'll have to experiment with that. regardless, thanks for the comments!

<!--QuoteBegin-Lomebririon
Sorry I haven't been tossing in my input, been preoccupied outside DV for a few days. Don't make any banner related descisions yet! Not until i've had a stab at it at least.

I want to try to make you a cool banner like that smooth looking one, and a footer if I could.

a footer too? woo, that sounds awesome. i was going to play around there (i.e.: take someone else's idea and change the colours, which is what i do best ) but i haven't found what i want yet.

anyway, since it'll be easy to do, i've decided we're going to pick one default banner (that everyone will see when not logged in) but allow users to select a different banner through their profile. i know i said i'd do something like this a long time ago, but the code is pretty well there now because i've added other stuff to the profiles since then, so it won't be hard to do. this way, since it's doubtless that everyone will have different opinions, hopefully everyone can be happy. i'll have to impose a limit on banner dimentions though (so that it will fit with theme). i think--and i know the new theme is currently 800 pixels wide--everything should be 780 or so pixels wide (so that those with 800*600 resolutions can have the vertical scroll bar appear without causing its appearance to force the horizontal scroll bar to appear....know what i mean? ) oh...i think we'll have to come to an agreement on the button bar though, so that can at least remain consistent and make this a little easier.


anyway, thanks for all the input.

Hey, that looks better. I still like the third one.

i didn't really have much time to do anything with it today because of other stuff, but i added a border around it like Dylan suggested, and also i made the forum name links blue, which is a small change but i think it made it look much better.

on a side note, i discovered the blue forum names would look better when i added the folder format to our current theme. i wanted to make the off-topic and teams forums more distinguishable because i don't think everyone has found them yet, so i thought i might as well introduce part of the new theme to our current one.