Forum Design: Skin

[Mac]

Ok guys time to give the forum a facelift, i want to know what you want the new skin to look like....we need a main and default skin that everyone can use instead of having a numerous amounts of different skins, as it makes us harder to identify.

1. Forum Colour?
We will ad colour variations later, but it's best to start on just one

2. Icon Sizes?
Big/Medium/Small...provide an example if you would like to.

3. Banner?
We have Ryes, Atnas' and Yeyindes famous Spongen Banner...which is good but do you like it? Or would you like to see it change? You could mock up your own if you like.

4. Anything else?
Provide us with anything else about what you want it to look like :)



Thank you!

~Mac

[Cup o' Wisps]

1. blues, grays, (but i hate whites) they always look nice and pleasing to me.
2. small... i don't have an example, but they tend to get in the way anyway
3. whichever one is the one on the skin i'm using, which is a random with headphones, a screwdriver (yeah i know haha) and reading a book
anything i mocked up would be turned down for many an obvious reason, so blah :p
4. solid colors... gradients & complicated patterns suck.

[Ronove]

I like my banner. ;_; It says what the site is supposed to have!

Anyway, I think I really loved the Blue Mist skin, even though my banner wasn't that prominent on it. I liked the icons you used for that to say read or not read. And Blue is always a safe color, not many people will be outright against it. But, having a choice of different colors (like Green, I really like green, or even brown earthy tones) it would be nice.

Just, one more thing: when you make a new skin, make sure all the links and editing works before disappearing. On Blue Mist, you still can't edit comments in blog and I think the friends-list-page-2 still errors out.

[Cup o' Wisps]

That's my skin, "Just Like Home", I always forget... guess that's default? The friends page error happened on all the themes for me.

green is a great color, but so few people know how to use it without making it so you feel sick and your eyes burn trying to see, or there's simply too subtle.

[Ryuk]

Purple! pwn

[Euphony]

Anyway, I think I really loved the Blue Mist skin, even though my banner wasn't that prominent on it. I liked the icons you used for that to say read or not read.
Same here, Blue Mist is my favorite and the one that I always use. It stretches nicely to fill my wide laptop screen, the navigation bar is simple and sleek (silver buttons ftw), and the whole thing looks like it could work really well with color variations. I agree that the banner could be more exciting though. Mr. Spongie is kind of squished into a little corner up there. :weirdy:

Also, the other skins have an awkward Blogs option on the navigation bar. On Blue Mist, you can just click Blogs and you instantly get that nice list of latest blog posts and comments. With the other skins, it's a drop-down menu and you can't seem to access that "Recent Entries" list that, IMO, makes the Blog section so great.

[Alisa_Tana]

I wouldn't mind BlueMist if it didn't have the white background. Like Cup, I'm not a fan of white... I find it makes things a little too clinical/stark.

http://fc22.deviantart.com/fs39/i/2009/001/3/e/Complementary_Colour_Swatches_by_DigitalPhenom.jpg would be a good resource. I like most of them.

I love Rye's banner. I'd maybe line one that's shorter and long, but that's just me.


If you're reskinning, the only thing I'd really like to stress is that they should all just be children of a single skin... the style sheet should be the only thing that changes, for sake of consistency and ease of updating.

I don't care a whole lot about what a site looks like so long as its easily navigatable and useful.

[Jaabi]

I use Just Like Home, because I find it easier to read things if there's shorter lines. My website is within a width of about 790px, and so is this theme.

The only thing I dislike about the theme is how it's rather flat. I think the background could use a bit of "popping out" to separate the whites and blues.

I suppose an example would be a website I checked out yesterday. I liked it's style, though knew my own website would never suit it. I hate it when I see something that inspires me but know I have nothing suitable to use the inspiration with. :<

Erhem, anyway. http://www.mania.com/
The thing that interested me was how the background outside the main body was darker than the background within the main body. While it is usually hidden by the content, you can still see how it is the same background overall, but is lighter within the main body.

Though this design also feels a little too "media heavy". It's obviously based on Gamespot, but removing all it's content and replacing it with our forum, would you guess that? I certainly couldn't see this site using Spongen's theme.
My point is that while Mania's style is good, I think it would probably not be as suitable for us. Or maybe I'm just too used to whites and blues.

[Mac]

Thank you guys for all the suggestions, i will tally it up and put them into popularity then the most popular skin and recommended change will be complete.

I check out that site out Jaabi, i see what you mean by the contrast between the main and background, also good point about the text...the writing needs to be easily readable for userability.

[Buster]

Purple! pwn

+1 :-D

[Ryuk]

*high fives Buster*

[Buster]

*high fives Ryuk back*

[Nin]

Did someone say purple?

[Buster]

Did someone say purple?

I'm pretty sure this counts as a third vote for purple. :D

[Ryuk]

YESSSS! Mac that makes it certain, a majority wants purple :P

[Nin]

Purple is so freaking boss you must be nuts to not do purple.

Actually
not purple

INDIGO (deep indigo)
with black
those colors will draw visitors in like flies on shit

[Kojo]

Do one optional skin that is all the same fonts, black and white, with limited windows 98 blue colors. Disable images, replace them with fonts like "[image here]."

Then call that one "Work Safe."

That way it looks like we're reading some boring office crap, especially when bossman comes into the cubicle.

[supershigi]

I've been using "just like home" which I think I like just because I've been using it since I started here and I'm familiar with the layout. I wouldn't mind at all if there was still the option to use it. But if not, I like blues and grey color schemes. I also like Rye's banner (the guy with the headphones).

I guess I don't really mind how it looks so long as all the features work properly (I noticed that I also get that error when I try to view my 2nd page of friends... it has an alligator on it). A bunch of people have also commented on my "being 16" because I didn't choose to enter a birth year, and it defaulted to 1992 rather than just leaving it blank, haha.

[Mac]

Information Stats so far:-

Just Like Home: 3
Blue Mist: 3
Blue + Grey: 2
Blue: 1
Purple(Indigo + Black): 3
Small-Big Activity Icons: 1
Small Icons: 1
Ryes Banner: 4

MAKE A MINIMAL LOAD THEME
POP OUT JLH MORE AS IT'S FLAT
MAKE MR SPONGIE LONGER AND BIGGER
SOLID COLOURS

We seem to be torn between the basis of the theme being Blue Mist or Just Like Home...along with either the Purple or the Blue, i'm not saying my opinions on what i want cause i wanna exclude myself...so i'm not making like how i want it.

[Buster]

Someone else vote purple. Pleeeeease?

[Nin]

How about purple WITH Rye's banner?

[Ronove]

What does "Indigo+Black" mean? I can't say I want anything unless I know what it looks like. :\

[Buster]

This is exactly what the forums will look like with indigo+black:
http://www.vuni.net/artofgregmartin/1024x768/indigo.jpg

Seriously, you all want it.

:p

[Nin]

Oh, wow. :D
I love Indigo. It is such a great color. It just pulls your eyes in.
True indigo would probably be in a transition between the blue and purple in Buster's picture but it gives you the idea.

[Ronove]

I know what the colors mean--just how would they be used on the forum. :eek:

[Nin]

Black background. Indigo board/logo. White text. Indigo Buttons
Or
Indigo Background. White Board/logo. Black text. Indigo Buttons

[Buster]

I know what the colors mean--just how would they be used on the forum. :eek:

I know, I was just sensationalizing how awesome an indigo-black themed forum would be. :p

[Ronove]

:x @ white text. That always makes my eyes hurt. But if you can make it look spiffy, I'd go with some purple theme with my banner. :eek:

[Buster]

I actually like dark backgrounds and light text, as long as they don't contrast TOO much... for instance, Muse's messageboard is very easy on the eyes for me (http://board.muse.mu/). But theirs is more of a dark grey background with very light grey text...

[Nin]

Rye, I do agree that White Text on Black can hurt your eyes.

But Buster's example with lesser extremes does look nice. I switched back and forth between this site and the other and the other was a little easier on my eyes.
Could use some indigo though. :)

Oh, and what about a light gray background and black text?

[Buster]

I was kind of imagining something like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/BusterSword777/purplespongemock.png

Although there might be a little bit TOO much purple in there. :p

[Mac]

Here's an example of the blue one so far...imagine this in purple...i'm doing both purple and blue...so we have the choice straight off.

Click on the Thumbnail below to see!

[Nin]

Hmm! Try making the taskbar thinner and the blacks less black.

[Buster]

That's really nice, actually, although the blue is a tad bright.
And the taskbar could use some narrowing, as Nin pointed out.

[Ronove]

I agree with what Nin and Buster said. I like it. :) Good on the eyes in my opinion, though the blue is bright.

[Cup o' Wisps]

Personally I'm not a fan of dark backgrounds. The blue I don't think would be so bright the background was lighter. Then again, I just really dislike dark backgrounds and find them amateurish and childish looking.

[Ronove]

but apparently, it does attract people to sites. That's what someone said somewhere.

[Mac]

Yeah accordingly black forum attracts alot more users than a white one, god knows why, it's most likely psychological...but yeah i've been taking what you've all been saying and have been applying it to the new skins....here's the updates:-

Click the thumbnails :happy:

[Ronove]

Maybe you should make two versions, a light version and a dark version so people can be happy with either. :smile:

[Mac]

Yeah sure Rye :), i'm going to make loads of different colour variants...as soon as it's all sorted cause then everyone can have their own colour basically :happy:

[Ronove]

Just make sure you do it then. :wink:

[Nin]

Nice work :)
And yeah definately make a white version as well.
And make it the default so if what Cup o' Wisps said is true we would be attracting more sophisticated members...

[Mac]

Thank you, i'm glad you're liking it so far, i will make sure it's all done.

The new skin will be open for testing tomorrow, in which you will be able to get adjusted and voice any errors or problems.

[Kojo]

Sweet, I'll be the first to tell you all the problems I have with it. Maybe not the first. In fact, I'll probably be last to say anything. If anything at all. But I will test it out. In a month.

[Buster]

So... is this still happening? Not trying to rush you or anything, just wondering.

[Ronove]

Mac apparently get to this site on his regular computer, so I guess it ain't happening for the time being. That sucks. :sad:

[Lunarea]

I really like the combination of colors I have in my profile: gray, purple and teal. Gray could also be substituted for brown.

My 2 cents :3

[Ronove]

ooh, your profile does look nice. :3 Spiffy colors.