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Post by Phenotype on Mar 14, 2008 13:15:08 GMT -5
As many of you have noticed I've had some vague comments in my avatar about something new in the works. Most of you probably guessed that I might be redesigning my Zoids site again and you are correct. For the last two years I've been doing web design and development and recently I started a new job that focuses more on graphics design. Since both my graphics skills and coding skills have grown a lot since my last redesign I figured this would be a good time to not only implement a lot of the things I've learned in the last two years but also test some of the things I'm still learning now. I have several goals I am trying to achieve with this new design: - The site should be compliant with the latest web standards
- The design should be Web 2.0
- The layout and menu should be simplified and easier to navigate
- The site should use the least amount of Javascript as possible
I've been working on this during my lunch breaks here and there for the last few weeks, here's what I have so far: www.abstraktsystem.com/ztest/pagelayout_zoid.htmlThe design has gone through several revisions so far and may change again before the site goes live but for now I'm happy with this. Right now there's no tentative date for the site going live, I'm not going to impose a bunch of deadlines on myself like I did last time. It'll get done when it gets done but I would imagine that with everything I have going on right now it won't be up for at least another month or two. I'm curious as to what your thoughts will be but please reMember that while I will consider any suggestions made in the end it's my choice so don't be upset if I don't use your suggestion. |
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Post by Charlie on Mar 14, 2008 16:15:29 GMT -5
Looks great.
I was expecting more would happen when you choose the allegiance (maybe background, color, etc.). I also see that there a lot of pictures here, so do you plan on adding addtional text to specific pictures?
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Post by SkyKnight on Mar 14, 2008 18:27:06 GMT -5
Wow, you were able to do this during lunch break, that's Awesome!
With the current layout, I don't like the "busy" background (the dark colors plus the industrial look), I like how you keep it simple for the new one, but I don't know if you are going to follow Charlie's suggestion.
Also, will the photos on top be displayed as a side show or a fixed gallery (before you click on the image to enlarge it)?
Those are just my personal opinion so far.
Well keep us up to date with your progress, and it always nice to see someone keeping their Zoids passion burning!
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Post by Tilly on Mar 14, 2008 19:51:22 GMT -5
Haha, conicidence -- I've been working on swappable stylesheets recently, and I'd thought of also working in variations in the review pages by faction. And you reminded me. Dammit. No, brain. TOO MUCH WORK.
The switchy seems to need Javascript- there a way to do it without? My other problem - unless I maximize my browser (which I hate doing) I get scrollbars and the bottom border for the main text area moves over funny. I imagine anyone with a lower res would get that too. I'm sure there's a way to make it more fluid...hrm. Is it all one graphic at the moment?
I'd also switch the Saurer and the Tiger around for the alliances, 'cause the pics are good but...Geno Saurer = Zenebas o_O? I also snicker at the Republic keywords given what I'm translating right now, but I imagine that's what they'd WANT to be associated with.
Regardless, this is a huge improvement, and I like the thumbnail switchy thing.
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Zoidmagnite
Major
Fan of Zoids since the beginning.
Posts: 809
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Post by Zoidmagnite on Mar 14, 2008 20:43:47 GMT -5
Well, it's hovering around what I envision when someone says simpler.
Cleaner, leaner, and more clickable photo options. Should be easier on Dialups. The speed difference is not noticeable with my broadband cable.
I don't know about the whole allegiance thing; it may be a bit too gimmickee. But I'm on the high side of 35 years old so bear that in mind with my comments.
I'm not sure how you are planning the links to work. Drop downs can be slow via dialup. I guess one thing I'd really suggest is keep the simple idea in mind.
It's kinda like pro audio, versus poor audio. The cheaper stuff has more flash, bling and blinky lights. The pro stuff gets down to biz with the knobs and switches.
Just my 2 cents.
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Post by Phenotype on Mar 14, 2008 20:58:27 GMT -5
Well I've seen some great responses so far. Thanks for all the words of encouragement. Here I'll address the questions you all had: I was expecting more would happen when you choose the allegiance (maybe background, color, etc.). There will be a few more small accents that will change (text and icons I haven't added yet) but for the most part the major change will be in the header. I thought about having a lot more changes but in the end I settled on this because I felt it kept the layout a little more simplified, which is one of my goals. I'm struggling with a good way to do that right now. I like the scrolling script for the thumnails but obviously in doing it that way I lose the image captions. In the first version of this redesign I used the lightbox script that you see everywhere but in the end I decided against it since I felt that script took away too much focus from the rest of the page when viewing the images. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing about that in the end but it's definitely on my mind. Also, will the photos on top be displayed as a side show or a fixed gallery (before you click on the image to enlarge it)? I'm not sure what you mean, the thumnails along the top scroll from right to left when you mouseover them. The switchy seems to need Javascript- there a way to do it without? Nope. No, there are six graphics that comprise the main elements of the page. You're going to get scrollbars no matter what because the DIV's containing the header, content, and footer are a fixed width. It's the only way to do a background like that without giving myself a gigantic headache. I see what you mean about the footer not aligning correctly when the browser isn't maximized, I'll have to take a look at the CSS and see what's causing it to do that. Good catch. Totally agree, I had done the BL and ST before I decided to even add Neo-Zenebas to the line-up. I did the Geno Saurer real quick just to have something for the header so I could visualize how everything would look but I fully intend on switching those two. I don't know about the whole allegiance thing; it may be a bit too gimmickee. But I'm on the high side of 35 years old so bear that in mind with my comments. I think it just gives users a fun option as to how they want to view the site. The script enables a cookie that will keep your selection with you as you browse different pages on the site. No drop-downs. Minimal javascript is one of my goals. I'm actually reducing the number of pages the site has, basically cleaning out a lot of the excess crap I don't feel is necessary. Instead of wading through menu after menu clicking "Forum" will take you directly to the forum. Clicking "Zoids" will take you to a master list of all Zoid pages on the site. Once finished it should be a lot easier to navigate. |
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channelzi
Corporal
Static In My Attic
Posts: 165
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Post by channelzi on Mar 14, 2008 22:00:12 GMT -5
Ahhh...I knew you couldn't stay away forever. ;D Damn...raising the bar and I haven't even revamped my place yet...  Looks very good...but I'm a big fan of a clean, crisp layout anyway.  Were it me, I'd make hyperlinks to each of the related Zoids as they're listed, as well as the CPs.  |
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Post by Tilly on Mar 14, 2008 22:23:56 GMT -5
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Post by Phenotype on Mar 14, 2008 22:41:53 GMT -5
I wasn't thinking about PHP when you asked me about that because I don't know it. Forgot you do. Thanks. I've had that site favorited for awhile. I'm definitely aware of CSS drop-downs, I've used a few at work. I'm not really sure why I said that thing about javascript. I think I'm going to avoid drop-downs on the menus altogether though, I just feel it will be easier to select which Zoid you're looking for from a master list than having to choose categories and then the Zoid. It reduces the number of clicks, which is part of my goal of keeping it simplified. I thought about having multi-level drop-downs with category > Zoid list but that would just be insane to try and fit that many Zoids in a drop-down menu. I'm definitely going to play around with some different ideas, nothing's set in stone yet. |
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Post by Tilly on Mar 15, 2008 0:07:11 GMT -5
I don't know any php, I've just ganked an odd script or two...I found that page a while back when I got curious about multiple styles.
And yeah, multi-level dropdowns of death would be hell to make and take longer to load. I definitely like them better on a category page.
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Post by SkyKnight on Mar 15, 2008 9:29:42 GMT -5
I'm not sure what you mean, the thumbnails along the top scroll from right to left when you mouse over them. My bad, I didn't notice my Firefox blocked the scripts for your test page, after I allowed it to read the scripts, it works. And yours work in a good way, not like a continuous side slow where you have to point the mouse to stop. |
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Post by quattro on Mar 15, 2008 9:52:22 GMT -5
very very nice work on the page.. very clean and very nice layout. keeping it as simple looking as is makes the the site very fresh  |
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Post by Maethius on Mar 16, 2008 13:54:54 GMT -5
Hey, that's a great, clean look! It's very tidy, colors are crisp, and the layout invites you to poke around. Great stuff, Pheno! Looking forward to seeing the new site when it's ready!
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Post by Ernestotaku on Mar 17, 2008 8:28:15 GMT -5
Very nice, simple and effective, big buttons, cool design and a lot of information.
Go on Pheno!!!
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Post by ninjahobbit on Mar 17, 2008 22:16:26 GMT -5
With the backround added it will look awesome. I think its really cool. =D
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Were it me, I'd make hyperlinks to each of the related Zoids as they're listed, as well as the CPs. 
