GFX Utopia

[Azhrialilu]

Hey all.... I thought it'd be amusing to confront the wolves today (that would be those of you who decide to go and look ;) ) and get some feedback on the style of my latest baby. The forum itself is not open to the public yet (although it is viewable to all) and the style is still a W.I.P. (at least for the next couple of days). There are plugins installed and some may be getting removed, depending on my mood tomorrow ;)

Mainly I'd like some feedback on the actual style - every image is customised (or will be when we're completely finished in the next day or so) so any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

So, after all that waffle I guess you want the url huh..... http://gfxutopia.com/forum

Thanks guys n gals :)

[Snake]

Sweet, I'm lovin' the skin. Great job!

[Azhrialilu]

Thanks, Aftermath! We've just changed our user legend to something a little more funky - you might like it ;)

[Snake]

Wow that's much better. I really like that but the problem is its using too many images so be sure to reduce that and fix the width of the skin. Other than that it's good. :)

[Tony G]

I really like that colour scheme - good combination with the purple and you didn't overuse it either which is good. Well done. :)

[Shelley_c]

Wow that's much better. I really like that but the problem is its using too many images so be sure to reduce that and fix the width of the skin. Other than that it's good. :)

The way the user legend was sliced warrants the amount of images as there are rollover effects in place which doubles the standard amount. As more usergroups are added the amount of images will increase. If there's an alternative I'm open to ideas and would gladfully re-slice and customize the User Legend.

Fix the width? I'm not quite sure what you mean?

More suggestions would be appreciated as it's still a w.i.p and I'm really looking into improving the whole design.

Edit If you meant fixing the width to compensate for the 800 x 600 users I may still fix this but it's not set in stone. It would only entail a small modification to the logo which I may do when it's nearing the completion stage. :)

[Bubble #5]

We've just changed our user legend
Is there a link for this user legend? :bunny:

[Azhrialilu]

Nope, Shelley_c designed it specially for GFXU :)

[Princeton]

I find it a hard to read anything on that site.
Personally, I think it's a poor choice in color ...

If you want to increase traffic/registration/participation, I suggest changing the colors. You need to provide more contrast!

[Azhrialilu]

There are a number of styles avaialble, Princeton - not just the dark one :) Although, the text is an off-white/grey colour and looks pretty clear on my monitor - but monitors are calibrated differently so it's good to be aware of this issue - I'll look into changing the font colour to another lighter one :D

[Princeton]

The other styles are of no importance to me -- it's the default style that everyone SEES that's important.

-monitors are calibrated differently
-the majority of people have something wrong with their vision; not everyone has perfect eye vision (blindness, color-blindness, etc);

[Azhrialilu]

Indeed :) which was the reason for me asking other people's opinions before taking the site "officially" live.

Could I trouble you to take another look? I've just changed the font colours to something lighter.

[Shelley_c]

I find it a hard to read anything on that site.
Personally, I think it's a poor choice in color ...

If you want to increase traffic/registration/participation, I suggest changing the colors. You need to provide more contrast!

I've never been guilty of implementing poor colour usage. Granted, dark styles aren't everyone's cup of tea (I'm not to fond of dark styles) but this was what Azhrialilu wanted so I didn't overuse colours on the style and designed the graphics to highlight the style rather than the style itself (if that all makes sense to you). My question is though, What area of the style are there colours which you percieve as being poor?

[Azhrialilu]

Thank you for your feedback, Princeton, it really is appreciated and corresponds with what other people have been saying. To this end, I have decided to change the default style with one myself and Kennethj (my co-admin) are currently designing. The new style will opt for a more mid-tone range of colours which should suit users who like dark or light styles.

The current default style, while a great design and inline with my own personal tastes, probably was not the best choice for the site I'm building. Most graphic designers spend so much time in front of their screens, the last thing they would want is to go to a site for ideas and support and have to squint to see what's being said/discussed.

I also want to move the site style away from the default forum layout to something a little more custom - something I've hinted at in the new style our business side is in the process of designing for The Admin Zone.

[Bubble #5]

I find it a hard to read anything on that site.
Personally, I think it's a poor choice in color ...
You've hit the nail on the head! Your statement is exactly what turned us off from registering. One of the first things that someone learns in graphics is basic shapes (squares, circles, etc.) and then the contrast of basic colors. If using simple/basic contrasting techniques isn't glaringly obvious to them, then you begin to wonder what kind of a 'graphics' site it really is. It would be like going to a cooking site that doesn't know how to boil water. The good news is that it's easily fixable but still, if someone has to "point it out" to them you begin to wonder... :surprised:

[Amaranth]

I think you have done a really nice job with the skin, it reminds me of how a nightclub forum might look. I hade an immediate positive reaction to the colour-scheme, and i think the icons all work well. I don`t like the grey text on the grey navbar, but it`s not bad - just not very legible.

[Azhrialilu]

It's also a matter of taste, Bubble :) A lot of people love the style (see Amaranth above me - I've just changed the font to a lighter one, which looks awful lol but I don't have time right now to fix it - dinner time ;) )

But a lot of people don't and the site needs to cater for everyone. Originally there was going to be one dark and one light style to suit both worlds - but while working on a few styles lately, I decided that a midtone one would be the best way forward.

One of the main reasons behind the dark style (apart from the fact I LIKE dark styles <grin>) is that on research the majority of sites who offer graphics, etc all are dark and *shudders* green (not my favourite colour!) so I made the mistake of going down that path.

I have to reiterate that shelley did a great job on the style, but must also state that although I told her what colours I liked, that was basically my sole input into the graphics side of the style - I simply coded it. Now, however I do both graphics and code (along with my business-parter, Ken who, I have to say, knows more about coding styles for vb than I could learn in a lifetime :D) so the new style, which may take a week or two, will be something special :D

[smacklan]

I personally think it's one of the best dark designs I've seen. I think you are on the right path, however, for the general population that will be coming to the site. Aside from that, the unique layout changes via the code are what interests me the most...definately thinking out of the box and I heartily approve :) Finally, you guys are very welcoming and knowledgable and I like hanging out there ;)

[Azhrialilu]

We love you too, darling :D