must have been complicated. to be honest i'm not too sure i like it being mixed in with our current theme. but hey, whatever.
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must have been complicated. to be honest i'm not too sure i like it being mixed in with our current theme. but hey, whatever.
I like this one.Quote:
i liked the first one and the third one in no particaular order ice.
I've lightened the board once again as well as altered the blues. The top folders are too light, but I didn't want to select them in photoshop - the text in there should be black or a dark grey as well. And I whipped up a simple header that followed the same blue colour as well.
http://www.dystantmedia.com/whatimean2.jpg
Cheers,
Dylan
wow, actually, i know you said you just whipped up the banner, and also that it doesn't coincide with what i've said i'm looking for, but i think it's kinda hard not to like that banner. i definitely like it more than any i've seen thus far, and i think it works really well with that theme. great job, really. :mrgreen: oh, and with the logo in the centre like that, it (to me anyway) makes the completely straight button-menu thing look even better.
as for the lightness, i think it depends on one's monitor. i've got a really nice & new LCD on my main computer and the last version of the design that i did is nice and bright; i was using an older LCD yesterday and it looked too dark. so i really don't know... you might be totally right and maybe we need it that bright, but it's almost glaring on my monitor right now... also, the white boundaries separating the folders from the background are essentially lost. i think we need some more comments. :)
oh, the shadow thing on the sides is definitely nice, but it's not going to work: that would cause a horizontal scrollbar to appear to users w/ 800*600 resolutions; i want to decrease the size of the design to like 780 or so pixels wide to prevent that.
EDIT: hrm...after going back and looking at my last attempt, it now looks too dark! but i still think this one is a bit too bright...maybe we need to find a middle-ground?
Haha oh god... LCD MONITORS :|. I have one of those at my other house... and as much as I love it, it's horrible to design on. The colours look so vibrant and everythign looks great on them, but as soon as you switch to any other monitor it looks dull and desaturated. :( I always have to retouch any design I make on another computer.
Anyway though, the last design you made, before mine, looked good anyway. You're right, it's probably best to go with a design that looks good on both monitors as opposed to one that's walking the fine line. It's still good nonetheless... I would suggest, though, for you to slightly lower the saturation of the blue bars - just a touch.
Nice to see you like the banner... it is fairly simple I guess, and pleasant. It would need a lot of touching up though, if you were actually considering using it.
Cheers,
Dylan
i think the banner looks great, really.
anyway, the more i see your version of the theme, the more i like it. still i think it's a little too bright though. maybe in a day or two or whatever i'll try and further lighten up the last one i did. on a side note, the dark blue in the banner works really well with your light theme, and i think some of that would be lost in the darkness of the current version.
btw, you're probably right with the LCDs. i really liked the blues that we used to have in this current theme, but no one else did...then i discovered what they looked like on other monitors, and understood where people were coming from. CRTs suck. :)
I actually had another idea. Since you want to make it customizable for people, why don't you make the COLOURS customizable... the same general theme can apply, just the overall colours will change. I don't know how hard it is for you to do this, but it doesn't seem like it would be hard if you're able to switch banners anyway. Hue can easily be changed in any graphic.
Here are some examples:
http://www.dystantmedia.com/blue.jpg http://www.dystantmedia.com/green.jpg
http://www.dystantmedia.com/pink.jpg http://www.dystantmedia.com/purple.jpg
http://www.dystantmedia.com/red.jpg http://www.dystantmedia.com/teal.jpg
http://www.dystantmedia.com/yellow.jpg http://www.dystantmedia.com/orange.jpg
If people get bored of one colour... BAM, new colour. I think this would be awesome! :-P
Cheers,
Dylan
I really like the third night sky one.
Wow there's a lot going on in the forums now I can't keep up! =P
I likses the bright green one. 'Cuz anything that's green is cool. But I also like the old DV theme...Meh. Just shows why color options are a good idea.
What do you think of this banner I made?
http://img23.exs.cx/img23/2523/bannerstastastic8gf.jpg
I made it along the lines of the forex currency banner, If you like it and want me to change anything, let me know.
They all look good to me, but as far as colors go, I am kind of fond of blue for some reason. I guess it is because everything gets blue in the twilight before bed?
Customizable colors are a neat idea though, are they difficult to do and maintain?
Ah, see? Already we have people taking preference to different colours! I hope you think it's a good idea as well. It shouldn't be too hard to do either... I don't think so at least.
Also, take a look at the shadows again. :P I love the way it makes the page pop out. Perhaps if we can't come to an agreement, "shadows"/"no shadows" could be added to the options which people can set in their profiles? hahaha :-P
I'm liking the new layout. But I've yet to see a banner that's really "the one". Keep trying guys. Sorry I haven't come up with anything, finals week is a BITCH and I've been designing shit out my ass and I'm soooo sick of it. But I may try something when I get the time.
i agree for sure, but from a design point of view i don't think it's very feasible. if you come up with a way of doing it though, lemme know.Quote:
Originally posted by Dylan+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dylan)</div>Quote:
I actually had another idea. Since you want to make it customizable for people, why don't you make the COLOURS customizable... the same general theme can apply, just the overall colours will change. I don't know how hard it is for you to do this, but it doesn't seem like it would be hard if you're able to switch banners anyway. Hue can easily be changed in any graphic.
Here are some examples:[/b]
that is a really good idea, but i don't immediately know what that would involve with PHP.
it's not quite doing it for me; i think i've just been turned off of the whole forex currency one now! Regardless, thanks a lot for making one. the more submissions we get, the more ideas we'll have...plus, i mentioned earlier about allowing users to pick their banner.Quote:
Originally posted by Lomebririon@
What do you think of this banner I made?
<!--QuoteBegin-Dylan
Also, take a look at the shadows again. I love the way it makes the page pop out.
alright, so here's today's changes:
[list][*] made both cell colours a little lighter, but not as light as the version Dylan displayed[*] made horizontal lined background a little lighter, but again not as light[*] made darker font colour a little lighter[*] increased some font sizes[*] put up the latest banner by dylan[*] made silver bars above and below his banner a little lighter (note: didn't use his bars because of quality loss due to image format; the original ones I lightened aren't as light as his)
[list]
i left the plain background colour alone because i think it works better when it's dark. i also didn't change the silver folder tabs to a lighter version because when i lighten them, the whole thing gets lighter; the folders in Dylan's version stay pretty well the same dark tone in the middle but end in a lighter colour, which i think looks pretty nice but his ended at pure white and i thought that was a little too light. also, i didn't change the blue bars because i'm not so sure yet that they need to be changed...? i looked at changing them anyway for testing, but again they're a little fuzzy in Dylan's due to image format and I probably wouldn't be able to match that colour properly.
anyway, here's a quick image to illustrate my changes--on the left is the one i did today; on the right is the one i did previously:
http://www.dreamviews.com/images_oth...ys_changes.jpg
here is the one i did today on the left, followed by the one Dylan did on the right.
http://www.dreamviews.com/images_oth...er_lighter.jpg
dylan: i'd like to increase the brightness of the folders in the style in which you have (i.e. with the dark part remaining essentially as dark), but i don't want to go quite as light as you. any chance you can help me out with that? :mrgreen: i think your silver bars above and below the banner would look nicer too, but again i don't want to go quite as light as you did.
comments? suggestions?
thanks.
EDIT: here's the URL of the current one: http://www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum
awesome. :mrgreen:Quote:
Originally posted by lucidnina
I'm liking the new layout.
hrm. i really do like that last one by Dylan. the dark blue works really well with the light theme i think, and the full image looks great as well. plus, having the logo in the middle seems to work really nicely and isn't something you see very often. we could experiment with different images, different fonts, maybe throwing in some pizzaz or whatnot, but i really do like it.Quote:
But I've yet to see a banner that's really \"the one\". [/b]
That looks much better than what it did previously.
hrm.
does anyone else think the new theme looks a little plain? i don't think it'll be as bad once it's populated with all our forums and whatnot, but still...does anyone have any ideas of what else we could throw in there? should we introduce some more blue someplace or something?
thanks a lot for all the comments and help thus far!
Just an idea. Not sure if I like it, but don't see any harm in posting it... might spark an idea for someone else.
http://www.dystantmedia.com/whatimean3.jpg
And by the way, I don't see how adding the shadows would be hard. In fact they'd be tremendously easy, if you wanted you could give me the template and I'd add them in.
Dylan
i like it! and the more i see it, the more i like it... it adds a little more pizzaz to the theme, and the watermark extending past the banner's boundary is totally do-able.Quote:
Originally posted by Dylan
Just an idea. Not sure if I like it, but don't see any harm in posting it... might spark an idea for someone else.
well as i said there were complications regarding 800*600 resolutions and preventing a horizontal scrollbar from appearing, but OH BABY, i found a way! let's all take a moment to say, 'GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Santa 'dawg!' hrm. holy crap, was that ever lame. alright, setting aside that momentary falter, this is what i discovered:Quote:
And by the way, I don't see how adding the shadows would be hard. In fact they'd be tremendously easy, if you wanted you could give me the template and I'd add them in.[/b]
html doesn't allow one to alter the state in which a background image is displayed, but css does; i was able to get it to center the background image so that the repeat would work properly. next, i created an image (of height 1) with a shadow to the left, and a shadow to the right, and 776 pixels of emptiness in between. i tried that out but the repeating screwed up on larger resolutions because it was stacking them on the same line; i then added emptiness to the left and right of the shadow image, thus creating an image of height 1 and width 1200....and it works! HAH! take that those of you who said it couldn't be done! and you know who you are! in your FACES. plus, i tested it and a horizontal scroll bar is not added when the background image exceeds the window size, which is exactly what we need. anyway, this won't work if someone has a crazy-big resolution, but i suppose i could make the file bigger (like 1600 width or whatever), but for 99.9% of the people out there it should work quite nicely.
check it out: http://www.dreamviews.com/kickass_forum
i redid the shadow because i had it end in a darker colour (so i thought i'd have it start in a darker colour too) but i couldn't get it to turn out as nicely as yours did. hopefully we can get a better one done, but that can't really happen until we decide on the final colours. oh...i had to adjust the banner to 776 pixels (which, btw, should be the new standard for anyone else submitting a banner).
anyway, it'd be great if we could get some more comments on the exact colours of things and whatnot but i'm having a helluva time getting people to come in here to look, including our moderators. :( if we could get the final colours hammered down it would allow me to get a final version done and really get the ball rolling, but i'm still not even sure on the brightness.
LMFAO!! Dear lord I've been sitting here for like the past 5 minutes trying to figure out who the hell Santa'dawg is since he posted here last...but no...it's Icedawg...I just realized you changed your name....fuck I'm slow.
Ok, Dylan...I really like that. ;) As I've said before, you rock.
Cool Icedawg. It's really turning out. Good job with the shadow problem! It was apparently bigger than I'd though, but nice job. I also like the dividers you made for the silver bar below the header. I must say, it truly is becoming a "kickass forum"! To be honest I really like the colours. And also, do you not think you're going to have the colour changing option? I really think it would be awesome... I have an idea of how to program it. I'm really rusty with PHP so I'd probably just be able to throw the concept at you... but it's similar to what you did with the banner swapping there, the colour images would be variables as well. I can help you if you'd like by making the new images. You're working so hard there, maybe it could take a little load off your back :P as small as it would be.
Also, what did you mean by "hopefully we can get a better one done"? Better what done?
And thanks Nina :)
Cheers,
Dylan
[Edit: I just realized a problem that might arise... you know how people sometimes post pictures on here that are bigger than the width of the page and cause a scrollbar? Sure that's annoying, but it's not a huge problem for this forum... With a definite header width it WOULD be though. If someone posted a picture any bigger than 600 pixels (or however thick the banner is) then the table will pop out further than it and it would look like utter crap........ how do you think this problem could be solved?]
Dammit! :? I was hoping it'd rock.Quote:
Originally posted by Santa 'dawg
it's not quite doing it for me; i think i've just been turned off of the whole forex currency one now! Regardless, thanks a lot for making one.
What kind of thing are you looking for now? Some examples would be good.
I fear that i'm just sitting here, all "back of the bus".
haha. sorry...as i've said, i'm not really good at saying what i'd like. :wink: i kind of just know when i see it, which doesn't really help people in the design process. i really like the latest one dylan did up though. it's simple; it matches and accentuates the design very well; it's professional looking but not boring; it's somewhat surreal (with the watermark) and i think that helps fit in the aura with a lucid dreaming site, but it's not too dreamy (i.e. upon visiting the site w/o knowing it's contents the visitor doesn't immediately think, \"Ah, another dreams site\"; but upon identifying the site's content, I think the user can relate the banner to the site); and finally i'd say it's a rather unique design (with the logo in the middle). i'm a little concerned about file size, esp. considering adding the watermark (i.e. now the image will be much bigger and i can't simply use very small repeating gifs to do the grey bars and part of the background) but i'm hoping it might work out.Quote:
Originally posted by Lomebririon+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lomebririon)</div>Quote:
<!--QuoteBegin-Santa 'dawg
Dammit! :? I was hoping it'd rock.Quote:
it's not quite doing it for me; i think i've just been turned off of the whole forex currency one now! Regardless, thanks a lot for making one.
What kind of thing are you looking for now? Some examples would be good.
I fear that i'm just sitting here, all \"back of the bus\".[/b]
if you have spare time, have the motivation, and want to try some other ideas then please go ahead. as i said i think we'll include a bunch of banners and let users select their own. i just don't know what guidance to give you.
exactly which ones? the ones that are in the lighter version, or the really light ones in the example you gave? i didn't want to go quite that light as i said because of glare, but also the cells in yours were pure white (#FFFFFF) which doesn't allow me to go any brighter to do the cell highlighting. :mrgreen: i haven't exactly signed off on the current colour brightness i'm using, but i'm not getting much input from people. i think i'll just make a few more changes and then post the URL in the Community Team and the Dream Guide forum and try and get some input from those members.Quote:
Originally posted by Dylan
To be honest I really like the colours.
but anyway i'm really pleased about how it's turning out as well...i think the shadows went a long way to help it. i'm still wondering if it's too plain in the middle though...i don't know what else we could do to liven it up?
it sounds like you're suggesting manually doing all the colour variations; i'm wondering if there's a method in one of PHP's image packages that would allow hue adjustment of an image? then we could just have PHP change the colours of the images and not have to worry about creating individual ones.Quote:
And also, do you not think you're going to have the colour changing option? I really think it would be awesome... I have an idea of how to program it.[/b]
the shadows. :mrgreen: i'm using paint shop pro, and i find it very frustrating to make things look right. of course, i also don't know what i'm doing. i'm still thinking maybe the silver bars above & below the banner, and the file folder bars could be a little lighter like yours (but not quite as bright), but when i did that i lost the darkness in the middle; somehow yours seemed to stay about as dark in the middle but end in a lighter colour.Quote:
Also, what did you mean by \"hopefully we can get a better one done\"? Better what done?[/b]
oh, and yes little buggers who post images exceeding the page's boundaries will compromise the site's design. i think we'll just have to beat silly anyone who does that.
Well I meant the COLOURS :P like the actual blues. I liked the blues in mine actually, yours aren't bad, they seem a bit too saturated. you know. I agree though, the whites are too light in mine, yours are nice.Quote:
exactly which ones? the ones that are in the lighter version, or the really light ones in the example you gave? i didn't want to go quite that light as i said because of glare, but also the cells in yours were pure white (#FFFFFF) which doesn't allow me to go any brighter to do the cell highlighting. :mrgreen: i haven't exactly signed off on the current colour brightness i'm using, but i'm not getting much input from people. i think i'll just make a few more changes and then post the URL in the Community Team and the Dream Guide forum and try and get some input from those members.Quote:
To be honest I really like the colours.
[quote]Haha, can't these boards set a size limit? I remembered that on another PHP forum.Quote:
oh, and yes little buggers who post images exceeding the page's boundaries will compromise the site's design. i think we'll just have to beat silly anyone who does that.
Dylan