Design Comments, Please?
I’ve just remodelled much of the site. It has a new look, new pages, new colors, and new features all over the place–so tell me what you think. Comments blasting the site, suggesting improvements or features, and etc will be implemented! I know yesterday 1034 of you visited the site, so by the end of tomorrow I expect a minimum of 500 2 comments.
Update:
According to the design trends of 2005, I’m hit and miss here. Let’s take a look at how these forecasts apply to my recent redesign:
Thematics:
Freshness: New ideas, new colors, new layouts, and new approaches.
+1, I have a bad habit of continually making changes and improvements to the site. I randomly stay up until 4 AM to add a new feature.
Effort: Minimalism is out; detail is in.
-1, The current layout is rather detail-sparse. It’s cleancut and clear, but it’s not complicated and gritty.
Professionalism: Site users have little patience for amateur design.
+1, My site looks professional. Thanks Michael and Matt.
Looks aren’t everything:
Out: Retro; Swiss/Euro; Minimal; “that standards-compliant look”
0, I’m in their “out” group, but I disagree. Their in alternatives aren’t that appealing.
Laydown:
The pure 5-piece website (header, menu, sidebar, content, footer) has worn out its welcome; designers are more willing to vary from the standard. Faceted classification becomes commonplace in sites with a large quantity of dynamic content (including personal sites).
+1, I’m all hot for object-oriented design. That’s what the archives, plugins, news (front page) are for. Content is organized by type, not by hierarchy.
Colors
Color of the year: Brown
Tech grays and blues take a sabbatical; may not be back soon.
-1, I’m using blues…
Lots of “in-between” colors (yellow-greens, red-oranges, etc.) used to achieve fresh looks
+1, Coupled with a strong palette of leafy greens and earthtones!
Type, Text:
Designers realize that Verdana is ugly; most stop using it.
+1, For my serifs…
The novelty of Georgia as a body text type wears off; still used for headings.
+1, I still use the “big G” in my headings.
Coding sk3l7z:
Table-using designers increasingly seen as belonging to a lower caste.
+1, It’s all table-free here, except where data is presented.
sIFR reintroduces typography to sites with dynamic content.
-1, I should jump on the sIFR bandwagon, but one look at Shaun Inman’s site is enough to disbar that notion from my brains. All that flash takes eons to incrementally load, making me wonder what’s going on up top.
Final Score: +5, not bad. My priorities for the next design: More detail, more ways to get into the content, and some flash tricks (sIFR?).
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 9th, 2004 at 4:22 am and is tagged with faceted classification, object oriented design, leafy greens, menu sidebar, bad habit, cleancut, header menu, design comments, news front page, minimalism, design trends, personal sites, grays, freshness, dynamic content, oranges, professionalism, new feature, hierarchy, layouts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback.
Add New Comment
Viewing 8 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment
Trackbacks
(Trackback URL)
10/24/2008 at 8:43 pm
[...] to my expertise in the area of conversation and the ludicrousity of the other opinion. See these IE comments ...